Counterfeit Products

Assigned by
Dr. Kaleel Rahman

Done by
Yasmeen Al Aali
Reema Al Khatib
George Dedoussis
Abdallah Baki

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 Literature Review
As the basis for our research on counterfeit products, we have summarized and
analyzed four articles as the main foundation for our literature review. The first article:
“Thailand’s Counterfeit Dilemma” is an article written by Rujirutana Mandhachitara,
Tasman Smith D.Phil, and Keith Blois. The second article is: “Do Counterfeits Devalue
the Ownership of Luxury Brands?” and is written by Arghavan Nia, and Judith Lynne
Zaichkowsky. The third article summarized is titled: “Consumer Misbehavior: Why
People Buy Illicit Goods” by Nancy D. Albers-Miller. Last but not least, the fourth
article: “Spot the Difference: Consumer Responses Towards Counterfeits”, is written by
Swee Hoon Ang, Peng Sim Cheng, Elison A..C. Lim, and Siok Kuan Tambyah.

The first article: “Thailand’s Counterfeit Dilemma” is an article by Rujirutana

Mandhachitara, Tasman Smith D.Phil, and Keith Blois. It basically discusses the
presence of software counterfeits in Thailand. Since 60 percent of the software category
(particularly the sales of counterfeit CD’s), is transacted in one location in Thailand,
which is an exclusive IT mall known as Pantip Plaza. The objective of this article is to
focus on scrutinizing the system that supports software counterfeiting in Thailand. The
authors attempt to examine the supply of counterfeit software in Thailand by studying
Pantip Plaza which is a Bangkok shopping mall. The author further examines software
counterfeiting in Thailand from different perspectives, which includes the legal, cost, and
moral aspects. The article goes further into discussing the factors contributing to the
availability of counterfeit products in Thailand; in addition to the negative implications
counterfeiting has on both the economic and social environment.

In “Do Counterfeits Devalue the Ownership of Luxury Brands?” by Arghavan Nia, and
Judith Lynne Zaichkowsky, the authors attempted to find the perceptions and thoughts
people have when buying or looking at counterfeit products. The authors further stress on
the fact that having counterfeit products reduces the company’s brand equity and
devaluates its image. But the results of the research conducted shows otherwise. In
general, having counterfeit products does not lower the image of a company because
according to the research, customers buy these luxury products for a physiological
reason, which enables them to feel that they can afford such products or feel proud that
they can afford them. But again, this is a double-edged sword. In other words, the more
famous your product is, the more it is appealing for people to produce fake products, and
the more people would want to own them.

Our third article titled: “Consumer Misbehavior: Why People Buy Illicit Goods” is
written by Nancy D. Albers-Miller. The study that was conducted intended to prove that
the decision to purchase illicit products, instead of legitimately offered products can be
explained by a combination of variables drawn from the study of criminal behavior and
buyer behavior. The respondents to this survey were night graduate students at a large
southwestern university taking MBA classes, who were also involved in jobs. It was
based on three variables; the selling price, the situation under which purchase takes place,

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and the risk association with the purchase. The importance of these variables was
established using discriminate analysis and these weights were aggregated into three
clusters using Ward’s method. The overall model was shown to be significant, although
they varied by cluster. The main effects of product type, buying situation and price were
all significant predictors of willingness to buy. The interactions of risk with product type
and price with product type were also significant predictors for some clusters.

Last but not least, our fourth and final article is titled: “Spot the Difference: Consumer
Responses towards counterfeits”, by Swee Hoon Ang, Peng Sim Cheng, Elison A..C.
Lim, and Siok Kuan Tambyah. This article basically discusses consumers’ responses
towards counterfeit products, as the title suggests. Counterfeit products are becoming
widely used all over the world and the origin of these counterfeit products comes from
Asia. In fact the main reasons for the emergence of such products are the attractive
pricing of fake products and the self-image of the consumers whom choose to buy such
products. Moreover there are certain issues and disadvantages associated with buying
counterfeit products which include the risks, perceived harm/benefits to singers, music
industry, and society, the morality of buying fake products, social influences in addition
to personality factors. There are various ways to prevent counterfeit products from
emerging such as the enforcement of government rules and regulations that would impose
punishments on manufacturers and dealers of those fake products.

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In an attempt to describe and analyze the main points mentioned by the respondents in
our interviews, it is crucial to acknowledge the true meaning of counterfeit products.
According to Webster’s dictionary, counterfeit is: “made in imitation of something else
with intent to deceive”. In other words, it is an attempt to make fraudulent copies of
something valuable with the intent to defraud. Therefore, a counterfeit product is
something that has been forged, copied or illegally imitated for the purpose of generating
money from gullible or consenting clients to the detriment of the legal manufacturer.

According to both our video and audio interviewees, the concept “counterfeit” has been
further referred to as fake products, imitation, not original, and copy of branded products.
Moreover, the majority of our respondents associated the definition of counterfeit with
cheaper or lower quality. Generally, all of our respondents agree on a few characteristics
that define the concept counterfeit.

In an attempt to gain understanding on the meaning of counterfeit products, we utilized

both audio and video interviews to gain information from our interviewees. The age of
our interviewees ranged from 24 years old to 41. Although the nationalities of our
respondents vary, they are all residents in the United Arab Emirates and particularly in
Dubai. We interviewed two males and four females as a foundation for our analysis on
counterfeit products. Our video interviewees were approached for the video interview
with no prior preparation of the subject matter. As soon as we obtained their consent to
interview them, we asked them our questions. This manner was made to acquire
impetuous responses from our voluntary interviewees.

Our respondents vary in their social classes; one of them is from the upper income class,
and one is from the lower income class, whereas the remaining 6 respondents
characterized themselves as part of the middle income group. The time span of the video
interviews ranged from approximately 3 minutes to 10 minutes, as for the audio
interview, it lasted for 22 minutes. Although the majority of the video interviews were
somehow short, we placed great efforts to ensure an inquisitive conversational style.
Fortunately, we have successfully obtained informative and diverse perspectives from our
interviewees regarding counterfeit products.

Our research outcomes suggest that consumers have a combination of both positive and
negative attitudes towards counterfeit products. From the responses obtained, in addition
to our respondents’ facial expressions, body language, and enthusiastic speaking style, we
have come to understand their negative attitudes towards certain counterfeit products and
the issues related to this subject matter. On the other had though, the same respondents’
demonstrated favorable attitudes towards a few counterfeit products which are mainly
pirated CD’s and DVD’s. This may be as a result of the insignificance of these products,
the low perceived risks associated with them, and the wide availability, and ease of
accessibility of these products.

The most common words suggested by our respondents when asked about their
awareness of counterfeit products were fake, imitation, copy of the original, and copy of

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the branded products. These words are utterly synonymous with the word counterfeit.
Also, some of our interviewees associated the word counterfeit with fake brands, “look-
alikes”, and copyrights. Moreover, the majority of our interviewees perceived counterfeit
products to be of “poor quality”, “good bargain”, and “cheap prices”.

Furthermore, with the regards to the reasons our respondents purchase counterfeit
products or think why counterfeit products exist, the majority of our respondents believe
that purchasing counterfeit products enables them to get a good bargain on particular
items, which includes fake brand goods such as leather bags, shoes, DVD’s, CD’s and
expensive Swiss watches. When asked why a person would purchase a counterfeit
product, one of the respondents stated: “Because it cheaper, affordable”. This suggests
that a person might settle for a counterfeit product because it is an affordable alternative
compared to the original good. The respondents further argue that most branded products
are highly priced to the extent that it makes it impossible for most people to buy such
products; thus, they resort to purchasing fake products which are “look-alikes” of the
original product. A respondent clearly stated: “For me of course, I prefer original but it
depends if you have a budget, but if it’s just for fashion only, go Rolla”! This suggests
that a person might be inclined to purchase a counterfeit product if it was only for fashion
purposes, whereas if a person seeks reliability, he might probably choose the option of
buying an original product.

Also, the manifest availability and the accessibility of these fake products make it
appealing and much easier for people to buy them. One of the respondents mentioned her
experience of purchasing a counterfeit product in Thailand. She described the ease of
access to these products in Thailand, and the appealing store layouts which aims at
enhancing the probability that a person would buy such products. She stated: “I was out
of the country, I saw these bags, they were very nice and they attract you by nice prices.
It looked especially nice in the display within the store, the lights and the way they
presented the products. It attracts you to buy”. This implies that the store ambience,
layout, and cheap prices may certainly be a determinant of purchasing counterfeit
products.

Moreover, some of our respondents agree that people including themselves, tend to
purchase counterfeit products for reasons of fashion and style, which consequently
enhances their confidence and self-image. On the other hand, some of the respondents,
which are either from the middle-income group, or upper income group, argue that they
would never think of purchasing certain counterfeit items such as branded bags, shoes,
and apparels because they believe that purchasing a fake product destructs their self
image and makes them uncomfortable in public, whereas purchasing an original product
enhances their self-esteem and confidence.

Moreover, one of the major points our respondents agreed and emphasized on is the
“poor quality” associated with counterfeit products. They described counterfeit products
to be of low quality, manufactured from cheap materials which include the cheap quality
of leather when it comes to leather goods, in addition to the poor paint finishing, and the

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non original parts used to manufacture fake goods. The majority of the respondents argue
that fake products do not last long enough, whereas original products last longer. This
clearly indicates that consumers generally associate fake products with “low quality”, and
original products with “high quality”. High quality implies that products have both
tangible and intangible benefits such as the quality of raw materials used to manufacture
original goods, which makes it long lasting; thus denoting reliability.

When asked about the most frequently purchased counterfeit goods, all respondents
suggested the wide production and purchase of fake leather goods, which includes bags,
shoes, and wallets, in addition to DVD’s, and CD’s. Also, the majority of respondents
agreed on well-known brand names such as Louis Vuitton, Lacoste, Guess, Gucci, and
Fendi as being among the most frequently purchased counterfeit products.

Surprisingly, when asked if a respondent has ever purchased a counterfeit product, she
admittedly denied it and stated: “never, never, never, never. No I’ve never had or bought
for myself a counterfeit product”. But later on in the interview, she clearly said: “I must
admit, I’ve bought DVD’s, fake DVD’s. I bought them, you buy them”. This particular
respondent even asked the interviewer if he knows where she can find the Chinese
women that sell those pirated DVD’s, because she did not find them anymore, and stated
that the reason for this is the law enforcement efforts in Dubai towards combating
counterfeit products. This clearly indicates that some people may be completely opposed
to purchasing branded counterfeit products; yet, unconsciously perceive the purchase of
pirated DVD’s as something completely normal and may even be considered somehow
ethical to those who consider counterfeit products as unethical.

It is crucial to emphasize the counterfeit products are becoming increasingly available

regardless of the fact that governments are placing huge efforts to combat such practices.
In the UAE for example, most of our respondents agree that the UAE government is
placing huge efforts to combat counterfeiting; yet, it still exists on a wide scale not only
in the UAE, but throughout the world as well. This may be a result of the poor
enforcement of these laws even though they do exist. It may also be due to globalization,
which makes the world an open market to import and export goods easily.

In conclusion, our literature review gives us a background on counterfeit goods; focusing

on the system that’s supports a large counterfeit market in Thailand, why counterfeit
goods do not devalue branded goods, how price, situational factors and product type
played a great role in why consumers buy counterfeit products and finally, the issues
related to counterfeit goods being purchased in general. Our respondents varied in age,
nationality, and social class they belong too, however within their responses it was found
that all of them agreed on some basic characteristics that define counterfeit products.
From the interviews conducted it was found that the low perceived risk, wide availability
and accessibility of CD’s and DVD’s has created favorable attitudes towards these
counterfeit goods, though most other goods tend to have negative attitudes. It was also
found that the major reason for consumers to buy counterfeit goods was that it offers
them a bargain or rather because of their cheap price and in some cases due to fashion
reasons; while it was also found that if seeking reliability people would be inclined to buy

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original products. Further, the ease of accessibility and availability of counterfeit goods
makes them much more appealing to be purchased. The majority of our respondents
agreed that people buy counterfeit goods for reasons of fashion and style; however they
would never intend to do so because it would destruct their self-image and make them
feel uncomfortable in public. Also respondent viewed counterfeit goods as of “low
quality” and an original product of “high quality”, thus denoting the latter’s reliability.
Some key brands were recognized as counterfeit targets that were frequently purchased,
such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Fendi. Respondents were also found to view pirated
DVD’s and CD’s as something normal and not a counterfeit good as opposed to other
products, also although respondent recognize that the UAE government is placing huge
efforts on counterfeiting, it still exists widely. Our findings show that counterfeiting is a
great problem to our society and will probably continue to be as some reasons behind its
existence are similar to the majority of the population.

Works Cited List

Albers-Miller, Nancy D. 1999. "Consumer Misbehavior: Why People Buy Illicit Goods." Journal
of Consumer Marketing 16 (3): 273-87.

Ang, Swee Hoon, Peng Sim Cheng, Elison A. C. Lim, and Siok Kuan Tambyah. 2001. "Spot the
Difference: Consumer Responses Towards Counterfeits." Journal of Consumer Marketing 18
(3): 219-35.

Eisend, Martin and Schuchert-Gluer. “Explaining Counterfeit Purchases: A Review and

Preview”. Academy of Marketing Science Review volume 2006 no. 12

Hassey, D. N. and Smith, M.C. 1996 “Complusive buying: an examination of the

consumption motive”. Psychology and Marketing. 13(8): 741:752

Nia, Arghavan and Judith Lynne Zaichkowsky. “Do counterfeits devalue the ownership
of luxury brands?”. Journal of Product and Brand Management. 9(7): 485:497

Rujirutana, Mandhachitara and Tasman S. D. P. “Thailand’s Counterfeit Dilemma”.

Anzmac 2000. 756:761

Tom, G., Garibaldi, B., Zeng, Y. and Pilcher, J. “Consumer demand for counterfeit
goods”. Psychology and Marketing. 15(5): 405:421