دراسات اقتصادية
Volume 9, Numéro 1, Pages 404-424
2022-06-02

Could Indignation Toward Social Segregation Practiced By The Branded Companies, Explain Purchasing Counterfeits?: An Empirical Study Of The Apparel Market In The City Of Constantine, Algeria.

Authors : Ferroudj Mohamed Amine .

Abstract

Purpose: this paper is an attempt to analyzing whether or not we could consider "Indignation" toward "Social Segregation" practiced by branded companies through commercial campaigns, that thought to be unethical, could answer the question: "why non deceptive consumers keep purchasing counterfeits of branded cloths?. Design/Methodology/Approach: as a first step we tried to clarify the concept of purchasing behavior towards counterfeits. Secondly we have tried to uncover the mystery surrounding "indignation" and "social segregation" through a series of interviews with family members, coworkers and colleagues, acquaintances, and neighbors. Thirdly, we have tried to verify empirically if these concepts could explain the purchasing behavior towards counterfeits. A questionnaire was created and administered to 200 persons in the city of Constantine -Algeria, chosen according to convenience sampling method. Findings: The results show a significantly positive impact of indignation on both purchasing couterfeits and Social Segregation, whereas no effect of mediation was found as Social Segregation has no impact on purchasing couterfeits. Originality/value: the authenticity of this paper resides, on one hand, in the approach's originality that we have chosen to explain the purchasing behavior towards counterfeits, as we started from the hypothesis that counterfeits were not considered as harmful to consumers (as far as the apparel market is concerned, where counterfeiters merely assure good quality), and therefore the low price is no more a decisive factor in explaining the purchasing behavior. On the other hand, testing if "indignation" and "social segregation" could be the drives behind purchasing counterfeits, as literature provides meager studies on the subject, if none.

Keywords

indignation ; social segregation ; counterfeiting ; purchasing behavior