This research introduces “brand prominence,” a construct reflecting the conspicuousness of a brand's mark or logo on a product. The authors propose a taxonomy that assigns consumers to one of four groups according to their wealth and need for status, and they demonstrate how each group's preference for conspicuously or inconspicuously branded luxury goods corresponds predictably with their desire to associate or dissociate with members of their own and other groups. Wealthy consumers low in need for status want to associate with their own kind and pay a premium for quiet goods only they can recognize. Wealthy consumers high in need for status use loud luxury goods to signal to the less affluent that they are not one of them. Those who are high in need for status but cannot afford true luxury use loud counterfeits to emulate those they recognize to be wealthy. Field experiments along with analysis of market data (including counterfeits) support the proposed model of status signaling using brand pr...

/pdf/signaling-status-with-luxury-goods-the-role-of-brand-1nqgevrw98.pdf

Signaling Status with Luxury Goods: The Role of Brand Prominence

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions and attitudes of original luxury brand owners towards counterfeit luxury goods. The results indicated that all respondents found luxury products fun and worth the price they paid for them, whether they were original or counterfeit. Almost 30 percent of respondents owned no counterfeits and only original goods. These respondents believed that counterfeits were inferior products and believed that ownership of original luxury products was more prestigious compared to counterfeit luxury goods. Conversely, those who owned more counterfeits had a positive image of them and did not believe these products were inferior. Overall, 70 percent of respondents indicated that the value, satisfaction, and status of original luxury brand names were not decreased by the wide availability of counterfeits. Further, the majority of respondents disagreed that the availability of counterfeits negatively affects their purchase intentions of original luxury brands.

Do counterfeits devalue the ownership of luxury brands

Purpose – This paper sets out to examine how social and personality factors influence Chinese consumers' attitudes towards counterfeits of luxury brands and how these two sets of variables influence purchase intention. It provides a profile of buyers and non‐buyers of counterfeits of luxury brands.Design/methodology/approach – A self‐administered questionnaire was designed using established scales. A survey was conducted in downtown Shanghai through the “mall intercept” method. A variety of statistical techniques were used to analyze the data.Findings – Status consumption and integrity are strong influencers of purchase intention, whereas normative susceptibility, information susceptibility, personal gratification, value consciousness, and novelty seeking had weaker influencing relationships. The attitude towards counterfeits of luxury brands is found to influence purchase intention. Collectivism does not influence attitudes nor purchase intentions towards counterfeits of luxury brands.Research limitation...

/pdf/devil-wears-counterfeit-prada-a-study-of-antecedents-and-4okf6x6xbo.pdf

Devil wears (counterfeit) Prada: a study of antecedents and outcomes of attitudes towards counterfeits of luxury brands

Purpose – Counterfeiting has become a significant economic phenomenon. Increased demand for counterfeit branded products (CBPs) makes the study of determinants of consumers CBPs purchase behaviour more worthwhile than ever before. Existing studies have largely neglected brand influence on consumer purchase behaviour of CBPs. This research seeks to examine the impact of perceived brand image, direct and indirect effects (mediator and moderator effects) of product involvement and product knowledge on consumer purchase intention of counterfeits in the context of non‐deceptive counterfeiting. Design/methodology/approach – The current study tests the conceptual model and hypotheses developed based on the existing literature. Four focus groups (ranging from six to eight participants in each group) are used to construct the research instrument. The conceptual model and hypothesis are tested using hierarchical regression analyses with survey data from 321 consumers in the UK. Findings – This research is the first in the literature on counterfeits to establish that perceived brand personality plays a more dominant role in explaining consumers' purchase intention of CBP than other influential factors (e.g. benefit and product attribute). Involvement/knowledge has no significant influence on counterfeit purchase intention. Evidence of involvement as a moderator does not exist. Brand image is not a mediator of the effects of involvement/knowledge on purchase intention. Research limitations/implications – This research only investigates one brand of one product category (watches) in the context of non‐deceptive counterfeiting, although this has not prevented the emergence of significant results. Practical implications – The results of this study hold important implications for both practitioners and academics. They help to alert practitioners to the factors that truly affect consumer proneness of CBPs, for example, brand personality. For academics, they demonstrate that brand influence should not be further ignored in the study of consumer behaviour in relation to CBPs. Originality/value – This research is one of the few which investigate CBP not only as a product but, more importantly, also as a brand – a counterfeit brand.

/pdf/the-role-of-brand-image-product-involvement-and-knowledge-in-5dl6cic6ve.pdf

The role of brand image, product involvement, and knowledge in explaining consumer purchase behaviour of counterfeits: Direct and indirect effects

Trade in contraband amounts to billions of dollars each year, and yet the buyers of these products are still a mystery. The purpose of this study was to model the decision to purchase illicit goods, using four predictor measures: product type, buying situation, perceived criminal risk, and price. Part‐worth conjoint analysis was used to obtain individual weights of main effects and selected interaction effects on the willingness to purchase. Individual respondents evaluated the purchase of illicit goods differently. Cluster analysis was used to segment the respondents. Discriminant analysis was used to assess variable importance. The overall model was shown to be significant. Although the results varied by cluster, the main effects of product type, buying situation and price were all significant predictors of willingness to buy. The interactions of risk with product type and price with product type were also significant predictors for some clusters.

Consumer misbehavior: why people buy illicit goods

Counterfeiting is a serious problem besetting an increasing number of industries. It affects not only products whose brand name is synonymous with its quality or flavour, but also products which require a high level of research and development, and marketing. Counterfeit merchandise cuts into profits and harms the brand owner′s reputation. To be effective in eradicating counterfeiting, one also has to understand the consumer′s propensity to purchase counterfeit products. Challenges the prevalent assumption that price is the main motive for purchasing counterfeit products. Offers conceptualizations of eight possible non‐price determinants of consumers′ behavioural intention towards the purchase of counterfeit products. Uses established scale development procedures to create multi‐item scales for these non‐price constructs. Explores the explanatory role of these constructs by relating them to purchase intention responses for four common counterfeit consumer products, through multiple regression analyses. A ...

Kim‐Hong Cheok

Papers

Non‐price determinants of intention to purchase counterfeit goods