Modelling the Effects o f Materialism, Ethics and Variety-Seeking Behaviour on Counterfeit Consumption of Young Consumers

Research investigating consumer's willingness to purchase counterfeit brands is scarce, particularly in emerging Asian markets. The present research explores the relationship between materialism, variety seeking and counterfeit consumption among Indian consumers. Consumers of counterfeit brands were surveyed to collect data for the study. Structural equation modelling results suggest that there exists a positive relationship between materialism, variety seeking and counterfeit consumption. Also as predicted, findings reflect a negative relation between materialism and ethics. However, contrary to previous findings, it was found that ethics and willingness to purchase counterfeit fashion apparels were positive. The present study contributes to the growing research on non-deceptive counterfeits by empirically confirming the effect of materialism, ethics and variety seeking on consumers' purchase behaviour in the context of ever-growing counterfeit fashion apparels.