Factors affecting customer intention toward counterfeit brands: the mediating role of attitudes

Abstract EN

The main objective of this study is to investigate factors that potentially affecting customers' attitudes and intention to purchase counterfeit genuine brands.

These factors include social risks, religiosity, value consciousness, face consciousness and materialism.

To achieve this objective a questionnaire was administered with a convenience sample of 493 respondents from Lebanon.

Mediation analysis was conducted to investigate the role of attitudes as a mediator.

Data analysis process didn't support that both social risks and religiosity negatively affect customer's attitudes and intention to purchase counterfeit genuine brands.

Also, it didn't support that value consciousness positively affects customers' attitudes and intention to purchase counterfeit genuine brands.

the findings support that face consciousness negatively affects customers' attitudes and intention to purchase counterfeit genuine brands while materialism positively affects customers' attitudes and intention.

Finally, the outcomes didn't support that attitudes play a mediating role among social risks, religiosity, value consciousness and customers intention while it is support that they play a mediating role among face consciousness, materialism and intention.

The study outcomes benefit genuine brands marketers and government public policy makers to inspire customers to buy genuine brands and encounter the threats of counterfeit products.

This research is considered as a pioneering study in analyzing customers' attitudes and predicting their behaviors to buy counterfeit genuine brands.