Impact of Consumers’ Personal Factors on Their Attitude on Purchasing Counterfeits of Branded Apparel Products: A Study onConsumers in Kurunegala District, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Counterfeit goods have entered the market all over the world, making it hard to recognizethe difference between genuine and imitated products. Having boosted by globalization and lifted trade barriers, counterfeit products have become a significant issue around the world that destroys economic exercises. Further, it represents a different aspect of social life. Even though such products are widely available in the Sri Lankan market, the grounds relating to the purchase of counterfeits still remain largely undiscovered. Thus the present study aims to identify the impact of consumers’ personal factors, i.e., value consciousness, personal gratification, integrity, status consumption, and novelty seeking on their attitude on purchasing counterfeits of branded apparel products while examiningthe relationship between the variables. The study was based on a sample of 222 consumers who live in Kurunegala district, Sri Lanka. A survey was conducted using a self- administered questionnaire designed on established scales to collect primary data. In thisresearch, an explanatory research design was used and this is a basic research. Furthermore, this research falls under the quantitative research approach, and unit of analysis of this study was consumers in the Kurunegala District. To analyze the data, a variety ofstatistical techniques including, descriptive analysis, correlation, and regression tests were used. It was discovered that status consumption and novelty-seeking of the consumers are significantly correlated with their attitude of purchasing counterfeits of branded apparel products whereas factors of value consciousness, personal gratification,and integrity did not reflect a significant relationship with attitude on purchasing counterfeits. Furthermore, it was found that there is a positive and significant effect frompersonal factors of the consumers for attitude on purchasing counterfeits of branded apparel products. The research provides an in-depth understanding of Sri Lankan consumers’ attitudes towards counterfeits of branded products. By having a better understanding of the consumers’ behavioural intentions of purchasing counterfeits of branded products, the owner of the genuine brand products can produce better products and make better sales and marketing strategies to encourage customers to purchase their original products. Keywords: Attitude, counterfeiting, integrity, personal gratification, value consciousness