Evaluation of Impact of Personality Factors and product attributes on willingly to Purchase Counterfeit Brands based on Theory of planned Behavior (TPB)

The main purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of personality factors and product attributes on consumers‟ attitudes toward counterfeits and their willingness to knowingly purchase counterfeits. This research is based on theory of planned behavior. Our purpose detects most factors in knowingly purchase counterfeit luxury brands. A self-administered questionnaire is designed using established scales. Data are collected using a proportional stratified sampling method from two accredited universities in Iran. We used explanatory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for test and confirm mine model. Integrity is found to be the only factor influencing attitudes toward lawfulness. Subjective norms directly influence on consumers‟ willingness to purchase counterfeit brands. The product performance of a counterfeit brand showed significant influence on consumers‟ willingness to purchase. Attitude toward lawfulness factor negatively influence on consumers‟ willingness to purchase counterfeit brands. The findings are limited to a small population in Iran. The paper has only examined a brand with high involvement. Other product categories or low involvement products can be further investigated. It is recommended for government to implement educational programs. Brand`s owners are also encouraged to distinguish their products through emphasis on product attributes, such as their product‟s characters which can be evaluated before purchase. They can focus on consumer attitude toward lawfulness purchase counterfeit through advertisements targeting high-spending consumers between ages of 25 and 34. The main difference of this study is the fact that both personality factors and product attributes based on theory of planned behavior was examined precisely. Moreover this paper gives a very good insight about Iranian context.