How Counterfeits Infect Genuine Products: The Role of Moral Disgust

Abstract

We argue that moral disgust toward counterfeiting can degrade both the efficacy of products perceived to be counterfeits and that of genuine products resembling them. Five studies support our propositions and highlight the infectious nature of counterfeiting: Perceiving a product as a counterfeit made disgust more mentally accessible, and led participants to disinfect the item more and reduce how long they remained in physical contact with it (Study 1). Participants who perceived a mouse as a counterfeit, performed less well in a computer game using the mouse and expressed greater moral disgust, which mediated lowered performance (Study 2). Exposure to a supposedly counterfeit fountain pen in an unrelated prior task infected participants' performance using a genuine ballpoint pen resembling the "counterfeit;" individual differences in moral attitudes moderated the effect (Study 3). Exposure to a supposedly counterfeit mouse infected performance with a genuine mouse of the same brand; moral disgust mediated this effect (Study 4). Finally, moral disgust mediated lowered efficacy of a supposed counterfeit and that of a genuine item resembling the "counterfeit" (Study 5).

Factors affecting consumers’ purchase intention for counterfeit luxury goods in Bangladesh

“…Moreover, value-based offerings can be the capitalized by the marketers to capture the low-income group (Qin et al, 2018). Besides, manufactures can evoke moral and ethical issues among the customers through engaging them in different social activities and programs to attract them toward the original products (Amar et al, 2018;Chen et al, 2018). Manufacturers of authentic luxury items can also introduce an extension of the existing brands to reduce the purchase intention for counterfeit items among the consumers (Butcher et al, 2018).…”

Understanding the effects of counterfeit quality on consumer attitudes toward genuine brands: An associative judgment model

“…A recent paper by Amar et al (2018) found that feelings of moral disgust can be associated with counterfeit products and undermine the actual performance of both the counterfeit and the genuine product. A series of studies showed that trying a product labelled as counterfeit (such as a counterfeit Parker Pen) versus the genuine product (a genuine Parker Pen) led to feelings of disgust, which lowered performance when using either a counterfeit or genuine product.…”

A Framework for the Consumer Psychology of Morality in the Marketplace

“…A second paper in this issue (Amar, Ariely, Carmon, & Yang, ) examines consumers’ response to the immoral action of market entities producing counterfeits, finding that consumers experience moral disgust in response to counterfeits. The rejection response associated with disgust interferes with consumers’ use of the product, reducing product efficacy.…”

“…More generally, recognizing the various marketplace relationships that may elicit moral concerns, it is important for research on marketplace morality to consider the full range of consumers’ possible psychological responses. Some moral emotions such as disgust have been considered in marketplace morality (e.g., in this issue Amar et al., ; Winterich, Mittal, & Morales, ), but the role of other moral emotions such as shame and guilt could be better understood. One question of interest is the extent to which moral emotions help regulate moral behavior.…”