counterfeiting is regarded as one of the ‘oldest crimes in history’, contextualised treatments of Middle

East and North Africa (MENA

region) are rare despite growing interconnections with the global economy. Accordingly, this paper
explores consumer motivations to

purchase counterfeit products and identifies possible counter-influences. Data from a survey of 400
respondents drawn from Morocco

was tested with logistic regression models to determine the significant factors that trigger
responsiveness and deterrence to counterfeit

products. The tests were based on three product categories: clothing, cosmetics and mobile phones.
Additionally, consumer demographics

and selected social triggers were evaluated to build a profile of consumers typically likely to consider
buying (or avoiding) counterfeit goods.

Results show that concerns related to health, disappointment risk and integrity are the most significant
countervailing factors on behavioural

intentions towards purchasing counterfeits. On a socio-demographic level, it was found that low-
income consumers are more positively disposed

to buying counterfeits. Gender also seems to have an explanatory force.Women with higher
educational backgrounds are less likely thanmen to

consider buying counterfeit goods. For all the products evaluated, quality and price consistently
proved the most important factors driving the

intention to buy counterfeits. The implications are highlighted; combating counterfeiting is not an
exclusive preserve of any single entity

(governments, business or para-governmental agencies) but a shared responsibility. There is a lot at

stake for consumers, manufacturers and

the industrial nations if the menace is not effectively checked.

Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

INTRODUCTION

The spread of counterfeit products has become a global

phenomenon and, indeed, a major marketing challenge

(Wilcox et al., 2008; Chaudhry and Stumpf, 2011; Sharma

and Chan, 2011). It is estimated that the value of counterfeit

goods represent a sizeable and rising percentage of all world

trade (OECD, 2009). Statistics from the International Anti-

Counterfeiting Coalition (2012) estimates counterfeiting as a

USD600 billion a year problem that has grown over 10 000

per cent within the past two decades. Fuelled by consumer

demand, the counterfeit market is increasingly putting

severe burden on companies as they grapple with the intricate

challenge of safeguarding the integrity of their products,

protecting intellectual property rights and market positioning.

In all its ramifications, counterfeiting strikes a huge

blow to the most valuable asset of a company, at the product

level, which is its brand image (Nill and Shultz, 1996; Green

and Smith, 2002; Richards, 2009). The symbolism of a

strong brand image lies in how it underpins the strength of

the brand in the market and risk exposure to counterfeiting

(Cordell et al., 1996; Delener, 2000; Nia and Zaichkowsky,

2000). A strong brand is a ‘moving target’ for counterfeiters,

especially when it is seen to serve ‘social-adjustive’ rather than

‘value-expressive’ functions (Wilcox et al., 2008). This means

that there are fundamental social motivation imperatives in

understanding consumers’ responsiveness to counterfeits.

It is largely for this reason that the bulk of consumer-level

studies emphasise consumer complicity with counterfeits

(e.g. Chaudhry and Stumpf, 2011).

There are two types of transactions involved in counterfeiting,

namely, deceptive and non-deceptive (Hopkins et al.,

2003; Wilcox et al., 2008). Deceptive counterfeiting ‘occurs

when the consumer believes that s/he is buying a particular

brand of a product, produced by a particular manufacturer,

which in fact turns out to be product of some other marketer’

(Eisend and Schuchert-Güler, 2006, p.2). Non-deceptive

counterfeiting, the major focus of demand-side investigations,

identifies consumers as willing and active players in counterfeiting

transactions despite the unethical and illegal underpinnings.

Research at this level remains complex and continues

to evolve because of the sheer volume, sophistication and

increasing ‘globalisation’ of the counterfeit market.

Hitherto, contextualised studies have mainly focused on the

established global counterfeit hotspots such as China, North

Korea and Taiwan (Kearney, 2005; Cheung and Prendergast,

2006; Sharma and Chan, 2011). What is less known is the

shifting pattern in counterfeit trading especially in regions

and countries hitherto unfocused as a hub for distributing fake

brands. Paradoxically, many of such regions/countries are

becoming more vibrant in international trading activities and

concomitantly shifting large volumes of counterfeit products.

An example of such a region is the Middle East and North

Africa region (MENA), where contiguous and porous borders

with Europe are proving to be a major challenge to the

European Union (EU). Against this background and using

one of the MENA countries (Morocco) as a contextual base,

this paper aims to contribute to an understanding of counterfeit

purchase intentions, specifically the moderators of consumer

responsiveness to counterfeit brands and to suggest appropriate

countermeasures. A predictive logistic regression model is

applied to assess consumers