UROP Proceedings 2010-11

Department of MarketingWhy do Consumers buy Counterfeid Goods?Advisor : DALTON Amy N / MARKStudent : LEE Wing Sze Ida / MARK(UROP1100, Spring 2011)A materialistic social environment has led individuals in the pursuit of obtaining luxurypossession that are heavily advertised. With genuine products demanding a premium price tag,some consumers purchase counterfeit products as an alternative. Most existing literaturefocuses on materialism being the main motivation for consumers to purchase counterfeitgoods, however there is a need for further investigation to explore other possible motives.This research will focus on how self-monitoring and variety seeking consumers would affectthe relationship between the presence of counterfeit products appearing in a consumer'schoice set and the likelihood to buy designer brands.Counterfeit Consumption: Self-control and TemptationsAdvisor : DALTON Amy N / MARKStudent : LEUNG Kiu Man Lydia / MARK(UROP1100, Spring 2011)This research demonstrates that consumers’ desire for counterfeit goods is based on their levelof self-control. To consumers, counterfeit products may be regarded as a temptation regardlessof their level of self-control. In particular, people with higher self-control tend to choose itemsthey have classified as necessity while those with lower self-control tend to choose items tofulfill their indulgence. However, with the presence of counterfeit product, people with higherself-control seek for more hedonic options. Experiments are conducted to demonstrate theabove theory by manipulation of choice sets. Interestingly, results suggest the opposite asproposed, due to variety seeking in the choice sets.Counterfeit ConsumptionAdvisor : DALTON Amy N / MARKStudent : YIP Kwan Kiu / FINA(UROP1100, Spring 2011)This research aims at exploring the effects of the presence of counterfeit luxury brands onconsumers’ perception for genuine luxury brands and other non-luxury brand options. Theeffects vary with the level of self-monitoring. Results show that the subsequent negativechange in their preference for the real brand is greater when the luxury brand option is knownto be a popular choice. There are several hypothesis made: 1. Low self-monitoring tend to bea consistent factor regardless of the counterfeit option; 2. High self-monitoring may give ahigher or lower rating to the luxury brand with the presence of counterfeit option; 3.Popularity has an impact on high self-monitoring to go for the genuine designer brand.69