Self-discrepancy and consumer responses to counterfeit products

Counterfeiting is the production and sale of a fake product that is seemingly identical to an original brand-name product. International trade in counterfeit goods has shown a steady increase in the new millennium, totaling an estimated 475 billion a year, or nearly 8% of world trade (International Anti-counterfeiting Coalition, 2008). This increase in the buying and selling of counterfeit products continues to gain ground despite global efforts by governments, enforcement agents and intellectual property rights–holders to stop counterfeiting and piracy. The anti-counterfeiting forces seem to be fighting a losing a battle, as consumers often knowingly purchase counterfeits (Nia and Zaichkowsky, 2000). Therefore a clear and actionable understanding of the motivations underlying consumers’ purchase of counterfeits is necessary to influence counterfeit consumption behavior (Wilcox, Kim and Sen, 2009).