Non-Deceptive Counterfeiting, Islamic Values and Customers’ Purchase Intentions

Abstract

Counterfeiting is a serious phenomenon threatening the global economy. It is also one of the practices deemed objectionable in Islam. This study focuses on the demand side of the counterfeiting by looking at factors underlying the consumer's intention toward counterfeit fashion products. The study proposes a model to illustrate how Islamic values, attitudes and subjective norms impact customer’s intention towards counterfeit luxury fashion products in Saudi Arabia. Correlations, factor analysis and linear regression analysis on a sample of 408 counterfeits buyer and non-buyer customers have been used. The findings report significant and positive relationship between attitudes and intentions, as well as between subjective norms and intentions. Islamic values were hypothesized to negatively affect intentions, but the hypothesis was rejected.  However, further studies with greater sample size and broader geographical scope are needed to clarify this finding.