Few studies have examined the relationships between brands and consumers in the context of counterfeiting. In this context, this research aims to explore how the attachment of a consumer with a luxury brand can affect her/his decision to buy counterfeits, and how this relates to her/his public self-consciousness. Two survey based studies were conducted among potential counterfeit buyers in Brazil. A sample of middle-class female fashion shoppers from Brazil was used to test the hypotheses in study 1 (n = 532) and study 2 (n = 276). Innovatively, this research provides convincing implications for the need to differentiate counterfeiting theory between emerging and developed economies. Evidence of the positive impact of actual self-congruence and ideal self-congruence on brand attachment to luxury brands in emerging economies is provided. The role of brand attachment is in contrast to findings reported in other emerging economies. Interestingly, the results demonstrate that the purchase of counterfeits is a more hedonic process compared to the purchase of originals (study 1). The effect of brand attachment on the willingness to buy counterfeits may vary according to how attachment is measured (study 2). Yet, brand attachment has a consistent positive effect on intentions to purchase originals. Producing increments in the emotional brand attachment level can reduce the behavioural intentions of purchasing counterfeits. Hence, the findings suggest that the creation of emotional links with brands can be an appropriate strategy to reduce counterfeiting.

Background: The deterioration of the health status of the Romanian population during the economic transition from a centrally planned to a free market economy has been linked to lifestyles factors (e.g. diet) regarded as a main determinants of the disparity in life expectancy between Eastern and Western Europe. Reforms in the health care system in this transition economy aim to focus on preventive action. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that impact on the individual decision to engage in Dietary Health Preventive Behaviour (DHPB) and investigate their influence in the context of an adapted health cognition model.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships between determinants and primary antecedents of advertising and attitudes to advertising in the context of European Union accession countries.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on data from consumer surveys conducted in the major urban areas of Bulgaria and Romania the study conceptualises an extended version of Pollay and Mittal's model of beliefs and attitudes toward advertising. It tests a comprehensive range of attitudes toward the institution of advertising and its instruments in each country to identify similarities and differences in consumer perceptions.FindingsFindings confirm that consumers in the two countries are more positive about advertising as an institution than the instruments used to promote advertising. While product information acquisition is the main personal use of advertising which influences general attitudes to advertising in Bulgaria, the entertaining value of advertising was found the strongest personal use in Romania. No significant differences were found in the attitudes toward the institution and instruments of advertising in the two countries.Research limitations/implicationsAs data used in this study come from major urban areas in Bulgaria and Romania this might account for small research bias if the overall population of the two countries is considered. Interview bias were reduced by eliminating the verbal or non‐verbal cues to the respondents. The diverse composition of the two samples and the random selection of respondents have limited the research bias which is often a problem with other studies in Central and Eastern Europe that use predominantly convenience student samples.Practical implicationsThe paper suggests that managers should focus on and exploit the overall positive general attitudes toward advertising in Romania and Bulgaria. Marketers should prioritise the informative power of advertising and use it cautiously in view of its perceived manipulative role especially to children. Advertisers need to devote more specific attention to re‐enforce the credibility of the institution of advertising in both countries.Originality/valueThe paper is a result of an original research that has extended theoretical concepts and compared their applicability to comparable EU accession contexts. Its findings suggest that advertising should be adapted to the personal uses and attitudes to advertising in the researched contexts by putting more emphasis on image building in order to increase its persuasive power and raise public trust in the institution and instruments of advertising.

This paper considers the use of the h-index as a measure of a journal's research quality and contribution. We study a sample of 455 journals in business and management all of which are included in the ISI Web of Science (WoS) and the Association of Business School's peer review journal ranking list. The h-index is compared with both the traditional impact factors, and with the peer review judgements. We also consider two sources of citation datathe WoS itself and Google Scholar. The conclusions are that the h-index is preferable to the impact factor for a variety of reasons, especially the selective coverage of the impact factor and the fact that it disadvantages journals that publish many papers. Google Scholar is also preferred to WoS as a data source. However, the paper notes that it is not sufficient to use any single metric to properly evaluate research achievements.

Abstract:Despite growing interest in ethical consumer behaviour research, ambiguity remains regarding what motivates consumers to buy ethical products. While researchers largely attribute the growth of ethical consumerism to an increase in ethical consumer concerns and motivations, widened distribution (mainstreaming) of ethical products such as fairtrade, questions these assumptions. As such, a model that integrates both individual and societal values into the theory of planned behaviour is presented and empirically tested to challenge the assumption that ethical consumption is driven by ethical considerations alone. Using data sourced from fairtrade shoppers across the UK, structural equation modelling suggests that fairtrade purchase intention is driven by both societal as well as self-interest values. This dual value pathway helps address conceptual limitations inherent in the underlying assumptions of existing ethical purchasing behaviour models and aids understanding of what motivates consumers to buy ethical products.Additional Information:Question ResponseIs the manuscript currently submitted anywhere else? No Powered by Editorial Manager® and ProduXion Manager® from Aries Systems Corporation 1 REVIEWER COMMENTS AUTHORS' RESPONSE Reviewer #1:You sometimes use Fairtrade (the official certification), sometimes fair trade and in other cases fairtrade. Please be consistent with spelling, are you referring to Fairtrade as the certified mark in all cases, or should most of these read as fair trade, i.e. the general trade type.The biggest comment I have relates to the dropping of several constructs from the model during the analysis, and how much this is discussed. This is not very typical, and I would like to see some methodological references to support your decision, as well as more about this in the discussion (why do these established constructs not work in your data etc.)One other bigger thing regarding your constructs that I am somewhat confused with is the "Intention". I struggle to see how this is a reflective construct with these items. Why would purchase intentions for bananas, coffee, tea etc. be expected to be related to each other and load onto 1 construct (from a theoretical perspective). Some people may not drink coffee or tea, but could still plan to purchase chocolate etc. I think you need to justify why these are a construct, rather than being treated as separate dependent end variables (i.e. testing the same model for all products).We have reflected a consistent use of 'fairtrade' throughout the manuscripts.The explanation on dropping subjective norm has been expanded with further methodological references and a theoretical justification for the lack of differentiation between attitude and subjective norm.Thank you for this comment. Previous studies suggest that purchasing different fairtrade products can be combined conceptually as the fairtrade label and premium price are common elements typical of all fairtrade products. Our approach was to adopt a multi-item measurement and this approach...