Exploring the Robin Hood effect: Moral profiteering motives for purchasing counterfeit products

Counterfeiting is one of the most serious problems facing luxury fashion brands. This study demonstrates that the impact of price differentials on counterfeit purchases varies according to the perceived corporate citizenship (PCC) image of the original brand. When consumers perceive the legitimate brand to be high in corporate citizenship (high PCC), the extent of the price differential does not affect consumers' purchase intentions toward the counterfeit. However, when the legitimate brand has a negative image (low PCC), higher price differentials trigger significantly greater intentions to purchase the counterfeit product. This moral profiteering effect indicates that consumers are more likely to purchase counterfeits when they have both economic and moral justifications for their unethical actions. Marketing efforts directed toward improving the PCC might reduce the purchase of counterfeit goods.