Quality, value, satisfaction, trust, a

surroundings and presentations (Berry and Clark 1986), mental visualization and association
(Berry and Clark 1986), effective advertising (Berry and Clark 1986, Mittal and Baker 2002,
Zeithaml and Bitner 2000), and the use of image and brand management (Berry 2000, Edgett and
Parkinson 1993).
2.1.5. Intangibility from the Brand and Generic Product-Category Perspectives
Consumer choices follow a somewhat hierarchical process whereby different choices are
related to different levels of abstraction (Howard 1977). Choices at the product-category level
are higher-level, more abstract choices, while lower-level choices involve more concrete
alternatives such as the brands within a category. Unlike Howard’s hierarchical process, Johnson
and Fornell (1984) hypothesized a continuum of attributes from concrete to abstract and showed
that the more noncomparable (dissimilar) products become the more abstract their product
attributes. Building on these hypotheses, the authors showed that specific product attributes are
associated with brands while generic attributes are associated with product categories. Since
generic product categories are more abstract and brands are more specific and concrete, we
hypothesize that:
H1: The degree of generality associated with generic category-level choices is higher than it is for brand-level choices.
Mental tangibility and specificity appear to be the most efficient tools for reducing customer perceived intangibility especially for
information and virtual products (Laroche, Bergeron and Goutaland 2001). Along the same lines, Mittal and Baker (2002) suggested
that brand identity and brand positioning were useful advertising strategies in fighting against the intangibility of hospitality
services. Brands, like pictures and company logos, may help consumers visualize services and therefore, increase mental tangibility.
Based on the limited evidence in the services literature, we infer that brands reduce mental intangibility for both products and
services, leading us to hypothesize that:
H2: The degree of mental intangibility associated with generic category-level choices is higher than it is for brand-level choices.
Since physically intangible products are not easily seen or touched, physical intangibility should be independent of whether the
product is branded or belongs to a generic product category. Be it a Sony or a generic version, for example, the physical intangibility
of an MP3 file always exists. For services, however, the independence of physical intangibility from brand and generic perspectives is
questionable. Being physically intangible, services necessitate a physical representation strategy aimed at enhancing service tangibility
through physically accessible objects, which are directly or peripherally a component of the service (e.g., buildings) (Berry and Clark
1986). For instance, some hotels purposely park luxury cars before their entrances in order to make their services appear more
physically tangible (Kotler et al. 1999). We thus infer that the physical representation required to tangibilize services will be more
easily achieved through branding as opposed to a generic strategy.
H3: The degree of physical intangibility associated with generic category-level choices is a) higher than it is for brand-level choices
of services and b) similar to it for brand-level choices of products.
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