Counterfeit, Consumer Attitude, Consumer Adoption, Social Identity
Counterfeit products account between 5-7% of world trade, worth an estimated US$600 billion in revenue a year (International Chamber of Commerce 2007). Theoretical and empirical research on counterfeit products is scarce, especially research from consumers' perspectives. This paper presents a pragmatic study that focuses on factors that influence Indian consumers' perceptions on attitudes about counterfeits. A descriptive study of eight respondents was conducted; their participation in the discussions was analyzed. Conclusions have been drawn based on consensus and views expressed. Research findings indicate that consumers are influenced by peer pressure, social acceptance and cost benefits as factors that motivate them to indulge in buying or using counterfeit products. Additionally, there are strong factors that bear an influence to use genuine products such as home conditioning, influence of role models and appreciated personalities.
Full Text : PDF
- Aaker, David A. (1991), ‘Managing Brand Equity,’New York: The Free Press
- Albers-Miller, Nancy D. (1999), “Consumer Misbehavior: Why People Buy Illicit Goods,” Journal of Consumer Marketing, 16 (3), 273-287.
- Bamossy , G . and Scammon , D . (1985),“Produce counterfeiting: Consumers and manufacturers beware,“Advances in Consumer Research , Vol. 12 ,pp. 334 – 340.
- Boonghee, Yoo, Seung-Hee, Lee (2005),"Do Counterfeits Promote Genuine Products?”,Zarb School of Business, Hofstra University.
- Bush , R . , Bloch , P . and Dawson , S . (1989),“Remedies for product counterfeiting,“Business Horizon , Vol. 32 , No. 1 , pp. 59 – 65
- Calder, Bobby J., Lynn W. Philips, and Alice M. Tybout (1981), “Designing Research for Application,” Journal of Consumer Research, 8 (September), 197-207.
- Chakraborty , G . , Allred , A . and Bristol , T . (1996), “Exploring consumers’ evaluations of counterfeits: The roles of country of origin and ethnocentrism,”Advances in Consumer Research, , Vol.23 , pp. 379 – 384 .
- Chapa, S., Minor, M., Maldonado, C.,(2006),“Product category and origin on consumer responses to counterfeits: Comparing Mexico and the U.S.”Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 18(4), 79-99.
- d’Astous, Alain, and Ezzdine Gargouri (2001), “Consumer Evaluations of Brand Imitations,” European Journal of Marketing, 35 (1/2), 153-167.
- Dawar, Niraj and Philip Parker (1994), “Marketing Universals: Consumers’ Use of Brand Name, Price, Physical Appearance, and Retailer Reputation as Signals of Product Quality,” Journal of Marketing, 58 (April), 81-95.
- Fishbein, M. and I. Ajzen, (1975),“Belief, attitude, intention and behaviour: an introduction to theory and research.” Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
- Gentry, J.W., S. Putrevu, C. Shultz II, & S. Commuri (2001),“How now Ralph Lauren. The separation of brand and product in a counterfeit culture,”Advances in Consumer Research, 28, 258-265.
- Givon , M . , Mahajan , V . and Muller , E ., ( 1995 ),“Software piracy: Estimation of lost sales and the impact on software diffusion ,”Journal of Marketing , Vol. 59 , January, pp. 29 – 37
- Grossman , G . and Shapiro , C . ( 1988 ),“Foreign counterfeiting of status goods ,”Quarterly Journal of Economics , Vol. 103 , No. 1 , pp. 79 – 100 .
- “Investigating the counterfeit nightmare: Procter & Gamble and Oki Data count the costs,”Strategic Directions, Vol. 1 , No. 3 , pp. 9 – 12 .
- Katz, D. (1960),“The functional approach to the study of attitudes,”Public Opinion Quarterly, 24 163-204.
- Keller, Kevin Lane (1993), “Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Managing Customer-Based Brand Equity,” Journal of Marketing, 57 (January), 1-22.
- Lichtenstein, Donald R., Nancy M. Ridgway, and Richard G. Netemeyer (1993), “Price Perceptions and Consumer Shopping Behavior: A Field Study,” Journal of Marketing Research, 30 (May), 234-245.
- Mason, Roger (1998), “The Economics of Conspicuous Consumption: Theory and Thought Since 1700,” Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing.
- McCarthy, J. Thomas (2004), McCarthy’s Desk Encyclopedia of Intellectual Property, Third Edition. Washington, DC: Bureau of National Affairs.
- Moores, T,. Chang, J., (2006),“Ethical decision making in software piracy: initial development and test for a four-component model,”MIS Quarterly, 30(1),167-180.
- Nia, Arghavan, and Judith Lynne Zaichkowsky (2000), “Do Counterfeits Devalue the Ownership of Luxury Brands?” Journal of Product and BrandManagement, 9 (7), 485-497.
- OECD - Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. (2007) “The Economic Impact of Counterfeiting and Piracy,”OECD.org, Executive Summary, pp. 5 – 9.
- Sharon Shavitt (1989), "Products, Personalities and Situations in Attitude Functions: Implications for Consumer Behavior," in Advances in Consumer Research Volume 16, eds. Thomas K. Srull, Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 300-305.
- Simi T B (2009), "Combating Counterfeit GoodsCompromising Development?" in CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics &Environment (CUTS CITEE), Pages: 300-305.
- Vida, I., (2007),“Determinants of consumer willingness to purchase non-deceptive counterfeit products,” Managing global transitions, 5(3), 253-170.
- Wilke , R . and Zaichkowsky , J . L . (1999) “Brand imitation and its effects on innovation competition, and brand equity,”Business Horizons, Vol. 42, No. 7, pp. 9 – 19