摘要：The current literature focuses on the cocreation of brands in dynamic contexts, but theimpact of the relationships among brands on branding is poorly documented. To address thisgap a concept is proposed concerning the relationships between brands and a model is developed,showing the influence of the latter on the identity and reputation of brands. Therefore, the goalof this study is to develop a brand relationships concept and to build a framework relating it withcorporate brand identity and reputation, in a higher consumer involvement context like highereducation. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used for this purpose. In line with this,interviews, cooperatively developed by higher education lecturers and brand managers, were carriedout with focus groups of higher education students, and questionnaires conducted, with 216 completesurveys obtained. Data are analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equationmodelling. Results demonstrate that the concept of brand relationships comprises three dimensions:trust, commitment, and motivation. The structural model reveals robustness regarding the selectedfit indicators, demonstrating that the relationships between brands influence brand identity andreputation. This suggests that managers must choose and promote brand relationships that gel withthe identity and reputation of the primary brand they manage, to develop an integrated balancedproduct range.
