Counterfeit luxury consumption: A review and research agenda

Abstract

This article captures the present state of research on counterfeit luxury consumption by providing a critical review of the existing body of knowledge. The article proposes a novel conceptualization of counterfeit luxury consumption from a consumer perspective. Based on predetermined inclusion criteria, the paper provides a systematic review of the growing yet still fragmented scholarship on counterfeit luxury consumption. It provides a historical overview of the extant counterfeiting research, synthesizes the existing body of knowledge, and provides propositions for future research and practice. In our pursuit towards building a robust counterfeiting theory, this study identifies the key perspectives that seek to explain the consumption of counterfeit luxury brands through different lenses. The article reviews key theories and constructs, identifies inconsistencies in findings, and provides explanations towards a common understanding. To this pursuit, a synthesis of three counterfeiting research domains is presented; moreover, an integrated model, which captures their interrelationships, is proposed. Finally, the implications for theory and practice are spelled out. The resultant five key tenets are, therefore, proposed to guide the future of research in counterfeit luxury consumption.

Constructing generational identity through counterfeit luxury consumption

“…Millennials are especially skilled at using their cognitized luxury brand knowledge to facilitate and legitimize their counterfeit purchase decisions (Lee and Trim, 2019). Thus, millennial mavens may be well poised to make the right counterfeit choices for themselves and for other generational members (Çekirdekci and Latif, 2019;Khan et al, 2020). More importantly, given that mavens are instrumental in establishing consumption norms (Clark and Goldsmith, 2005), we expect them to be instrumental in establishing counterfeit luxury consumption as a generational norm.…”

“…However, countercultural theorists argue that millennials' preference toward counterfeits is driven more by their desire for the counterfeit and less by their desire for the genuine brand (Francis et al, 2015). This is because unlike genuine brands counterfeits signal a cool image which millennials find appealing in signaling their identity (Khan et al, 2020). Thus, cool may be associated more with the "counterfeit product" and less with the "genuine brand."…”

“…Why might counterfeits signal a cool image when their genuine counterparts are unable to do so? According to the countercultural perspective of counterfeit luxury consumption, certain brand meanings may be exclusive to counterfeit brands and may not reside in genuine brands (Khan et al, 2020). For instance, cool signals opposition from mainstream norms and whatever is mainstream cannot be perceived as cool (Ferguson, 2011).…”

“…According to Morales (2005), individuals are likely to hold the firms responsible for their moral duty and the evaluation of performance is followed by a reward or punishment. For instance, consumers often seek to resent luxury brands for violating sustainability norms (Khan et al, 2020). This may be especially relevant for millennials who are considered to be environmentally conscious (Batat, 2019) and the torchbearers of the collaborative consumption movement (Hwang and Griffiths, 2017).…”

Effective Online Engagement Strategies Through Gamification

“…The systematic literature reviews are of different types, such as structured reviews (Canabal & White, 2008;Khan, Fazili, & Bashir, 2021), framework-based reviews (Paul & Benito, 2018;Udall, Groot, Jong, & Shankar, 2020), bibliometric reviews (Kumar, Poonia, Gupta, & Goyal, 2021;Linnenluecke, Marrone, & Singh, 2020) and meta-analytical reviews (Barari, Ross, Thaichon, & Surachartkumtonkun, 2021;Mishra, Singh, & Koles, 2021). Consequently, the most applicable review type for this study is structured reviews, as the authors are trying to explore effective online gamification strategies through previous academic content.…”