What is brand mimicry? a conceptual investigation in the luxury brand industry

Copying, imitation, counterfeiting and knock-offs have been considered to be detrimental to the global economy and to innovation. While Mimicry has been applied to various areas of sciences such as engineering, biomimetics and behavioural sciences or even in areas of Management, it is however rarely applied in Marketing. Based on the Theory of Mimicry, the mimicry phenomenon that animals use in nature is a direct reflection of what is occurring in our marketplace, specifically the luxury brand industry. It can be observed that copying extends beyond direct counterfeiting and there are established and well known luxury brands who are participants of various degrees of brand mimicry - which is the copying of style, design or even product. The presence of mimicry can be applied to facets of the marketplace. It is of interest that the study examines whether mimicry inhibits innovation, or which type of mimicry would be better evaluated. As such, mimicry in Marketing is defined and various levels of mimicry reflected in our marketplace will be categorized according to the biological definitions. Real life marketing examples will serve as the stimulus through an experimental design. A conceptual model is developed which can be applied and test across various types of mimicry. The model also explores how the degree of mimicry would affect perception of luxury and consumer evaluations between the original and the mimic brand. Various theories from biology, sociology and psychology are used to explain the mimicry phenomenon. The implications of the study will contribute conceptually, methodologically and managerially

What moderates attitudes and purchase intentions in a luxury brand counterfeits context?

The study aims to understand the moderators that would enhance the relationship between attitudes towards counterfeits of luxury brands and purchase intentions of Chinese consumers. Data collection was conducted in a major shopping complex in downtown Shanghai. A response rate of 14% was recorded. Findings reveal that both social and personality factors enhance the relationship of attitudes towards counterfeits of luxury brands and purchase intentions. However, only value consciousness was found to be insignificant moderator. Various implications were derived and limitations and future directions of the study were also delineated

The Island Has Two Sides : Female Subjectivity in Postcolonial Adaptation

My dissertation is entitled: “The Island has two sides: Female Subjectivity in Postcolonial Adaptation.” In it I will argue that many postcolonial narratives either consciously or unconsciously adapt Shakespeare’s The Tempest in an effort to resurrect repressed female narratives of resistance. Through an examination of Elizabeth Nunez’s Prospero’s Daughter (2006), J.M. Coetzee’s Foe (1986), Maryse Condé’s I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem (1988), and Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea (1966), this dissertation will contribute to the fields of feminist and postcolonial studies by arguing that the kinds of female critical voices that we find embedded within these postcolonial texts, either through fictional characters or through an author’s narration, call for us to reassess our understanding of the female characters, both present and absent, in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. I will begin by establishing Sycorax, Miranda, and Claribel from The Tempest as prismatic figures. When I use the terms prismatic and prismatism, I am referring to women’s ability to transform or reflect the singular, limited gender role/identity imposed upon her into a vast female spectrum, one which is both varied and unified. In my estimation, thinking of these characters as prismatic allows us to imagine the 20th century postcolonial novels above as providing a feminist lens that can teach us how to read arguably some of the most understudied and misunderstood female characters in early modern literature. Thus, this study asks for us to reassess the kinds of complex and problematic female characters represented by Miranda, Sycorax, and Claribel, not only in the early modern period, but in the present day. Further, I argue that these seemingly disparate characters and tropes should be read in terms of their gendered similarities rather than judged on the basis of their perceived differences. I suggest that we may interpret their re-emergence in different forms in postcolonial novels of the 20th century as having recovered the repressed female narratives of these renaissance era women. In the end, by showing the ways in which Rhys, Condé, Coetzee, and Nunez have adapted some of Shakespeare’s early modern women for a modern audience, I argue that these figures revive and illuminate the complicated position of early modern female characters to postcolonial feminist rebellion

Brand mimicry of luxury brands

This research extends the theory of mimicry from the discipline of biological and natural sciences to the luxury brand context. Three brand mimicry scales namely Wicklerian-Eisnerian, Vavilovian and Pouyannian mimicry were developed and validated. A conceptual model is developed to test the influences of the three types of brand mimicry across four categories of luxury products. The findings provide academics, practitioners and policy makers with valuable insights into mimicry in the luxury brand industry

Measuring the Effectiveness of Guilt Appeals in the Promotion of Certified Products

The purpose of the research aims to examine the effectiveness of anticipatory guilt appeals on Fairtrade certified products. The results show consumers’ willingness to pay more for Fairtrade certified products when aroused by anticipatory guilt. The results have also shown the importance of varying the levels of perceived inferences of manipulative intent to desired levels of guilt arousal. Self-efficacy has been shown to moderate the relationship between anticipatory guilt arousal and willingness to pay more

Determining factors of attitudes and intentions towards downloading: an australian perspective

Digital piracy has been a rampant phenomenon that has attracted attention both from major corporations, policy makers and the media. This study investigates the factors influencing "illegal" downloading of movies and TV series through P2P networks to gain a better understanding of downloaders. Specifically, it examines how social and ethical orientations of university students and their attitudes towards downloading impact on downloading intentions. The data analysis of 284 useable responses produced several significant relationships. Neutralisation theory and the theory of planned behavior are used to explain some of the results. Facilitating conditions and personal moral obligation were found to predict attitudes towards downloading. Personal moral obligation and attitudes towards downloading are also found to influence intentions to download. Findings derived from this study can provide useful managerial implications for marketers and policy makers to have a better understanding of down-loaders and help developed better measures to a problem which is likely to persist

Buyer and non buyer of counterfeits of luxury brands: examining their differences in behavioural outcomes

The purpose of the study is to examine the behavioural differences between non-buyer and buyer of counterfeits of luxury brands. Data was collected using a mall intercept in downtown Shanghai, China. 202 useable responses were retained for analysis. Findings revealed that there are differences between both group of consumers. Social and personality factors do influence attitudes and purchase intentions towards counterfeits of luxury brands. Managerial implications were also discussed

Medications and meanings in Maori households with chronic illnesses

Domestic spaces have always featured as sites for health care. The home is increasingly referred to as a new therapeutic space within which chronic illnesses are managed within everyday life. This research explores the meanings and use of medications within four Māori households containing at least one chronically ill householder. A broad ethnographic approach was used to capture popular understandings and medication use in daily life. Multiple methods were used, including group discussions with household members, individual interviews, household mapping, and photographic and diary elicitation tasks. Findings shed light on the sources and uses of medications, householder knowledge of medications, communal practices of sharing, caring, rationalising use, grappling with side-effects and the management of illness. I consider what it means for householders to take medications themselves or give these to others, and the care-giving practices that feature in the everyday consumption of medicines. The research is based on the premise that medications are material objects with therapeutic uses that enter into and take on meaning within people’s lives. Medications become culturally embedded phenomena that carry meanings and shape social relationships and practices with Māori households. As such, medications were used in a way that reflected the cultural values and bonds within the households. Within household relationships, medications were invested within meaning to show aroha, support and care. Within a Māori whānau context, the values of maanakitanga, rangatiratanga, and whanaungatanga were recognised as having an integral role in understanding the social practices with medications in each household

?Are you a peer to peer pirate?? attitudes towards downloading movies and TV series through P2P networks

This study sets out to investigate how collectivism and personal moral obligation may influence young consumers' attitudes towards the ethical stance of downloading of movies and TV series from the Internet and subsequent downloading behaviour. Data were collected using a convenience sampling method and 282 usable responses were used for analysis. The two factors were found to be significant predictors of attitudes, and in turn, attitudes is a significant predictor to intentions to download. Implications of the study and the corresponding recommendations are presented and discussed

Black Male Incarceration And The Preservation Of Debilitating Habits Of Judgment: An Examination Of Mississippi

Abstract: the purpose of this research is to discover how mass incarceration and other historical methods of racialized social control in the south have preserved and reinforced habits of judgment that adversely affect the social mobility of black males in Mississippi. A historical research method was employed to locate and analyze recurring themes of habitual judgment patterns justifying age-old systems of social control and how those patterns have influenced the current trend of black male incarceration at disproportionate rates. Questionnaires were administered to professional employees from the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) in attempt to gather useful data about the socioeconomic backgrounds of the black male inmate population and identify the key factors for their imprisonment. Theories of crime and deviance were applied to establish and identify relationships between recurring concepts found in existing literature and inferences made from data collected from questionnaires completed by MDOC employees. Findings suggest that disconnections from institutions because of discriminatory practices and social stratification, and the weakening of black males\u27 bonds to the very institutions of power that prevent crime (e.g., family, education, and employment) as a consequence of imprisonment, enable the reproduction of habits of judgment which manifest through popular culture (e.g., media, literature, etc.) Rationalizing public concern. In turn, policies implemented to ensure public safety target disadvantaged black communities, engender higher rates of arrest and incarceration, and facilitate a vicious cycle of crime and poverty preserving the socioeconomic inferiority of black males in Mississippi