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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
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Results for consumer behavior
1 results foundAuthor: De Cat, Dennis Title: Counterfeiting and Consumer Behaviour Summary: Many reports state that the overall magnitude of counterfeiting is obviously on the rise. For instance, the Taxation and Customs Union from the European Commission (EC) reports that the number of counterfeit articles detained in EU member states only, has risen from 25 million in 1999 to 178 million in 2008 (European Commission, 2008). The most frequently cited number to ‘value’ counterfeiting is the one the OECD proposes in their analysis of international trade data. They suggest that, worldwide, up to USD 200 billion of internationally traded products could have been counterfeit in 2005. However, one must remain critical. As the OECD report suggests itself, “available information on counterfeiting and piracy falls far short of what is needed for robust analysis and for policymaking”. Chaudry and Zimmerman (2008) even state it is virtually impossible to determine the real size of the worldwide counterfeit product market as it concerns an illegal activity. Green and Smith (2002) blame the fact that there exists no exact standard or agreement about the factors that should be taken into account when calculating the monetary value of counterfeiting for this non-transparency. Nevertheless, they also suggest that product counterfeiting is significant and growing. This statement is confirmed by previous research on the reasons of counterfeit growth by Vagg and Harris (2000). Not only the magnitude of counterfeiting is increasing. The same goes for the scope of counterfeiting. Chaudry and Zimmerman (2008) state that the types of products being counterfeited are broadening. Not only CD’s, DVD’s, computer equipment, clothes and shoes are being counterfeited. Other product categories frequently being imitated are toys, pharmaceuticals, automobile component parts, electrical equipment, food and beverages, tobacco and personal care products. This is confirmed by the OECD (2008) which even finds a shift from luxury goods to common consumer goods. These results are also congruent with the findings of the Taxation and Customs Union from the EC. Gentry et al. (2006) even put it more extreme: “If one can attach some value to a consumer brand, one is likely to find counterfeit imitations of it, somewhere.” This view is supported by Lewis (2009) who ads the aspect of the illegal profit margin that has to be high enough before a product is attractive for being counterfeited. Despite the fact that other product categories are on the rise, the OECD (2008) and the EC (2008) report that fashion items (i.e. clothing, jewellery, accessories and footwear) still account for the largest part of counterfeit trade, e.g. the textile sector and jewellery together make up 66,2% of all interventions by European Customs. Gessler (2009) states that counterfeiting is the major obstacle the luxury fashion industry is facing today. These astonishing numbers explain why the author opted for investigating non-deceptive counterfeiting (i.e. people are fully aware of the fact they are buying a counterfeit at the time of purchase) and consumer behaviour in the luxury fashion industry. The consequences of counterfeiting are enormous at various levels. Gessler (2009) divides ‘the true costs of counterfeiting’, i.e. the consequences of the phenomenon, in six categories: the cost to brand owners, government burdens, the effects counterfeiting has on consumers, child and forced labour issues in the production of these counterfeits, organised crime and terrorist funding activities of counterfeiters and the moral cost of counterfeiting. Later on in this paper the author will make a distinction on the basis of personal and societal harm counterfeit trade causes. One thing is clear: counterfeiting may no longer be seen as a victimless crime as it has a damaging effect on businesses, national economies, consumers and on society as a whole (UNICRI, 2009; Santos and Ribeiro, 2006). In the anti-counterfeiting literature many authors propose different strategies to counter product and brand counterfeiting. These anti-counterfeiting tactics range from the use of RFID tags (Tuyls and Batina, 2006) to the development of new legal frameworks (Bush et al., 2001). However, Berman (2008) states also companies can contribute to the reduction of the counterfeiting problem through the development of consumer education programs that publicize the personal and societal dangers counterfeiting causes. A part of this education process is that ‘marketers need to develop advertising campaigns that focus on the significant safety, performance and financial risks associated with the purchase of counterfeit merchandise’. To the author’s best knowledge, no such research has been conducted before that classifies and investigates the potential consequences of counterfeiting in such an extensive way. Furthermore, by integrating the construct of ‘societal harm’, this research responds to the critical remark Gessler (2009) made: ‘Unfortunately, the societal impact of counterfeiting remains largely under researched and often neglected’. In this research we will assess the impact of consumers’ awareness of societal consequences on their attitudes toward purchasing CLFI. Altogether, the main interest of this research goes out to examining consumers’ attitude toward purchasing counterfeit luxury fashion items (CLFI) and their intention to purchase CLFI. More specifically, the author will be investigating if there exists a difference in attitude toward purchasing CLFI if one is being informed about the personal harm counterfeits cause rather than being informed about the societal consequences bound to counterfeit trade. In addition, several factors proven important in previous research (e.g. subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, etc.) will be reinvestigated in a Belgian context. The relationship between the price level, the quality level and perceived quality will be examined as well. Finally, the linkage between attitudes and intentions is assessed in a counterfeit-related context. Details: Ghent, Belgium: Ghent University, 2010. 109p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed March 7, 2013 at: http://lib.ugent.be/fulltxt/RUG01/001/459/733/RUG01-001459733_2011_0001_AC.pdf Year: 2010 Country: International URL: http://lib.ugent.be/fulltxt/RUG01/001/459/733/RUG01-001459733_2011_0001_AC.pdf Shelf Number: 127865 Keywords: Consumer BehaviorConsumer FraudCounterfeit GoodsCounterfeiting |