Marketing Seminar（2016-08）

Title: Catch Me if You Can: Counterfeit Luxury Consumption in a Social Context

Speaker: WANG, YAJIN , University of Maryland

Time: Wednesday, 8 June 15:00-16:30

Location: Room217, Guanghua Building 2

Abstract:

What happens when consumers use counterfeit luxury products in a social context? The authors show that counterfeit users respond to signals that other people may be sending about the authenticity of the luxury product. In three studies, women are given a counterfeit luxury product to use, and while using the product, receive a compliment or a question about the product’s origin from another person. Women often interpret a compliment (question) as a signal that the luxury product has been accepted as authentic (detected as a counterfeit). Further, a compliment causes the counterfeit user to morally disengage from social norms against counterfeit purchases; a question has the opposite effect for women who believe it is easy to detect counterfeits, but has no effect for women believing it is difficult to detect counterfeits. In a final study, the authors use these findings to test a new anti-counterfeit advertising strategy with women who have purchased counterfeits, and find it to be effective in reducing interest in purchasing luxury counterfeit products in the future.