Demystifying deliberate counterfeit purchase behaviour: Towards a unified conceptual framework

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce a unified conceptual framework for deliberate counterfeit purchase behavior by combining its diverse economic, ethical and socio-psychological perspectives using cognitive dissonance theory. Specific hypotheses are put forth about the interrelationships among counterfeit proneness (CFP), ethical judgments, subjective norms, counterfeit product evaluation (CPE) and purchase intentions. Design/methodology/approach – A field-survey with 380 shoppers (who had ever purchased a counterfeit product) in Hong Kong across four frequently counterfeited product categories (backpack, luxury watch, software and movie DVD) with varying levels of involvement, usage context and purchase motivation. Findings – As hypothesized, CFP positively influences ethical judgments and subjective norms about buying a counterfeit product, which in turn positively affect CPE and CPI. All these effects are fairly stable across the four product categories, which suggests robustness of the proposed unified model. Research limitations/implications – Using Hong Kong as the research setting and a relatively younger sample of ethnic Chinese consumers helps ensure high internal validity but it may also restrict the generalizability of the findings. Future research with a more diverse sample of consumers would help replicate the results reported in this paper. The conceptual framework may also be extended by including variables such as consumer innovativeness, risk-taking and change-seeking as antecedents of counterfeit purchase behavior and usage. Practical implications – Findings show that consumers are influenced by a combination of individual and sociological factors when they decide whether to buy and use counterfeit products. Hence, marketers and authorities need a multi-pronged strategy to curb the growing demand and usage of counterfeit products, especially among ethnic Chinese consumers. These results may also help identify consumer segments more prone to counterfeit purchase behavior and to develop special communication to target them more effectively. Originality/value – Past studies mostly explore the “direct” and “independent” effects of consumer attitudes, ethical judgments and subjective norms on their counterfeit purchase behavior, ignoring their impact on each other and the roles of “CFP” and “product evaluation.” This paper addresses all these gaps with a unified conceptual framework that incorporates all these constructs using cognitive dissonance theory and provides useful insights about their direct and indirect effects on each other

Customer–company identification and the effectiveness of loyalty programs

Customer loyalty programs constitute an important customer relationship management tool, adopted by multiple industries. This study investigates how customers perceive benefits from a loyalty program that enhance their loyalty to that program directly, as well as to the company indirectly through program loyalty. Our findings show that program loyalty and customer–company identification enhance customer loyalty toward the company. The development of customer–company identification can transform program loyalty into company loyalty, and reduce the company's latent financial risk

A Structural Guide To In-Depth Interviewing In Business And Industrial Marketing Research

Purpose – The authors aim to present a structural guide for data collection in a participant-oriented, B2B context. Design/methodology/approach – A three-stage interview process following the work of Seidman is presented, along with key issues on how to plan, structure, and execute a B2B interview-based hermenuetic ethnographic study. Research limitations/implications – The framework presented in this paper provides strong theoretical foundation for further theory development in global industrial marketing research and managerial cognition research. However, given the conceptual nature of the research, empirical scrutiny and further conceptual and empirical research are required. Originality/value – There is a serious gap in the literature when addressing the issue of B2B contextual studies, focusing on managers, manufacturers, and various other professional personnel

A Structural Guide To In-Depth Interviewing In Business And Industrial Marketing Research

Purpose – The authors aim to present a structural guide for data collection in a participant-oriented, B2B context. Design/methodology/approach – A three-stage interview process following the work of Seidman is presented, along with key issues on how to plan, structure, and execute a B2B interview-based hermenuetic ethnographic study. Research limitations/implications – The framework presented in this paper provides strong theoretical foundation for further theory development in global industrial marketing research and managerial cognition research. However, given the conceptual nature of the research, empirical scrutiny and further conceptual and empirical research are required. Originality/value – There is a serious gap in the literature when addressing the issue of B2B contextual studies, focusing on managers, manufacturers, and various other professional personnel

Qualitative Methods In International Sales Research: Cross-Cultural Considerations

As the global marketplace continues to change owing to the proliferation of global brands, changing international trade policies, and the rise of consolidated buyer power, the need for cross-cultural sales research continues to increase. International sales research differs from its domestic counterparts because its application to a multitude of cultural environments where comparable, relevant data are oftentimes nonexistent. In a similar vein, the roles, activities, and approaches to sales may vary across markets, which injects bias and confounds the results. Because of this complexity, conducting international sales research requires flexibility and creativity on the part of the researcher. The complexity of the international marketplace, the extreme differences that exist in different countries, and the unfamiliarity of foreign markets demand better information prior to launching costly international marketing and sales strategies. The focus of this paper is to develop a framework and discuss the role of qualitative methods in international sales research. More specifically, the paper focuses on the following key topics: the value of qualitative research, measurement equivalence in cross-cultural sales research, theory testing and building, and cross-cultural issues in conducting international sales research

Qualitative Methods In International Sales Research: Cross-Cultural Considerations

As the global marketplace continues to change owing to the proliferation of global brands, changing international trade policies, and the rise of consolidated buyer power, the need for cross-cultural sales research continues to increase. International sales research differs from its domestic counterparts because its application to a multitude of cultural environments where comparable, relevant data are oftentimes nonexistent. In a similar vein, the roles, activities, and approaches to sales may vary across markets, which injects bias and confounds the results. Because of this complexity, conducting international sales research requires flexibility and creativity on the part of the researcher. The complexity of the international marketplace, the extreme differences that exist in different countries, and the unfamiliarity of foreign markets demand better information prior to launching costly international marketing and sales strategies. The focus of this paper is to develop a framework and discuss the role of qualitative methods in international sales research. More specifically, the paper focuses on the following key topics: the value of qualitative research, measurement equivalence in cross-cultural sales research, theory testing and building, and cross-cultural issues in conducting international sales research

A Socio-Marketing Analysis Of The Concept Of Cute And Its Consumer Culture Implications

Cute has become the favored language of (the predominantly female) popular consumer culture. This paper examines the roots of “cute” and its evolution with reference to its relevance to marketers. We follow the cultural appropriation of Japan’s “Kawaii” by the Western “cute”, and introduce a social, marketing-oriented description and analysis of the concept. We present its socio-cultural, experiential, symbolic, and ideological relevance to consumption in general, and to consumer culture theory in particular. This examination steers clear of scientific generalizations prevalent in consumer behavior research and aims, instead, to illuminate the cultural dimensions of the consumption cycle, and allow a better understanding of what it is like to form social attachment and loyalty in the context of cute consumption and consumer culture theory. Especially interesting questions arise regarding the trans-social acculturating elements of cute, as well as the apparent mainstreaming (cultural appropriation) of the cute Asian subculture into the dominant Western consumer and material cultures

Processing of product placements and brand persuasiveness

Purpose -- This research contributes to literature on marketing communication by exploring the roles of depth of processing and the dispositional factor, need for cognition (NFC), on consumer perceptions of product placement. Design/methodology/approach -- A web-based experiment with a 2 (low versus high prominence) x2 (low versus high brand awareness) x2 (with versus without prior disclosure) between-subjects full factorial design was conducted. Findings -- The results indicate that prominent placements were found to elicit more extensive processing, which was negatively correlated with brand attitudes. A significant negative relationship between NFC and purchase intention towards a placed brand was also revealed. Practical implications -- The study offers managerial and policy implications for practitioners and educators. It is suggested that brand practitioners should avoid placing brands too prominently or in film genres which are cognitively demanding. The low NFC group appears to be more vulnerable to covert marketing. Therefore it is suggested that media educators target this group and plan effective media literacy programs to guard youngsters from surreptitious selling. Originality/value -- This is the first study to empirically examine the role of prominence, brand awareness and prior disclosure in the processing of product placement information and their influence on product placement effectiveness