Antecedents and Anti-Counterfeiting Tactics That Influence Consumer Complicity

A web-based survey of 2,004 consumers near-equally sampled from Brazil, Russia, India, China (BRIC), and the U.S. explored the consumers’ sense of an hedonic shopping experience and attitudes toward counterfeits (ethical concern and perceived quality) regarding two counterfeit products (movies and pharmaceuticals), four anti-counterfeiting actions, and respondents’ complicity in each BRIC marketplace. Consumer complicity – a consumer’s willingness to obtain, share, or use counterfeit products – was predicted by the consumers’ hedonic shopping experience and preconceived attitudes toward counterfeits (lack of ethical concern and perceived high product quality) across all country markets. A complicity index encompassing multiple measures of willingness to engage in counterfeit trade was used to identify significant country effects for four types of anti-counterfeiting actions.