Seeking country of origin information as an indicator of social status to make egoistical purchase decisions

This study investigated elite Sri Lankan consumers’ egoistical purchase motives for seeking Country of Origin (COO) information when purchasing convenience, shopping and luxury goods for different occasions. 327 self-administered questionnaires were returned. The findings revealed the consumers’ motives were influenced by their desire to boost their ego, power and enhance social standing

Ethical Ideologies in Purchasing Attitudes Towards Counterfeit Fashion Brands

Fashion brands offer iconic associations with the consumers about their personalities and approaches, which are beyond their basic need of product features. Counterfeit fashion brands are similar or confusingly similar copies of authentic fashion brands and these are typically available at a fraction of the original product price with lower quality. The purpose of this study was to measure Indian consumers’ ethical and other values based on various factors affecting the consumer-purchasing attitude of counterfeit fashion brands. The study determines important predictors of attitude towards counterfeits as fashion and brand consciousness and social impact. This study also supports the fact that attitude towards counterfeit fashion brands leads to ethical judgement and ideologies and is negatively influenced by consumer’s ethical consciousness. The findings of this study may benefit fashion brand marketers, producers and practitioners in their marketing communication to design their branding strategies in the Indian context

Characterization of normal and “albino” phenotypes in Erythrina crista-galli

We present here a characterization of Erythrina crista-galli L. (syn: Erythrina lamifolia Jacq.) seedlings, obtained from a plant from the Botanical Garden of Pisa University. This plant produces seeds that, during germination, have shown two different seedling phenotypes: normal (NT, 75%) and "albino" types (AT, 25%). Albino seedlings survive only 8–9 weeks and their growth is dramatically reduced when compared with wild type seedlings. Biochemical investigations have shown that albino seedlings completely lack chlorophyll and carotenoids and also soluble sugar levels are lower than in the normal type. We have also conducted sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) experiments and silver staining analysis on different protein extracts from shoots and leaves of both phenotypes, and demonstrated strong differences in protein patterns. The almost total absence of putative small and large RuBisCo bands in albino seedlings should be emphasized. We have also microspectrophotometrica..

The effects of extrinsic cues and product involvement toward willingness to buy non-deceptive counterfeit branded products: The case study of Indonesian consumers

The current study investigates Indonesian consumers’ willingness to buy counterfeit products. Two predictors have been utilised in this regard are product involvement and extrinsic cues (brand, store, and price). The sample of the study is postgraduate students in the field of business and management. The research found that hypothesis 1 has been clarified as being different by product, depending upon whether the category is categorised HPI (High Product Involvement) or LPI (Low Product Involvement). Other findings, the study confirmed that single direct effects of brand and retailers’ reputation significantly influenced consumers’ responses about willingness to buy a counterfeit product, no matter the product category. However, the discounted price did not significantly influence the willingness to buy a counterfeit branded product no matter their product category. Thus, consumers’ responses to hypothesis 2 and hypothesis 3 were fully supported, but not fully supported for hypothesis 4

Targeting buyers of counterfeits of luxury brands: a study on attitudes of Singapore consumers

The paper examines the factors that influence Singaporean consumer's attitudes towards counterfeits of luxury brands. Data was collected from a convenience sample of postgraduate students of a large university using a self-administered questionnaire. Social influence, brand consciousness and price quality inference were found to significantly influence attitudes towards counterfeits of luxury brands. There is no significant relationship with personal gratification, value consciousness, and brand prestige. Attitudes towards counterfeits of luxury brands were found to influence purchase intention