Ludovica Cesareo

Information dissemination via electronic word-of-mouth

People disseminate more negative than positive information.People disseminate negative information to more recipients and longer time.Negative online information is more elaborated and detailed.There are more negative reactions to positive information.There are less positive reactions to negative information. The purpose of this research is to investigate negativity bias in secondary electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). Two experiments, one laboratory and one field, were conducted to study actual dissemination behavior. The results demonstrate a strong tendency toward the negative in the dissemination of secondary commercial information. In line with Dynamic Social Impact Theory, our findings show that consumers disseminate online negative content to more recipients, for a longer period of time and in more elaborated and assimilated manner than they do positive information. The research is important from both a theoretical and managerial perspective. In the former, it enriches existing literature on eWOM by providing insight into theoretical dimensions of the negativity theory not examined before (duration, role of valence, elaboration, and assimilation). Findings provide managerial insights into designing more effective WOM and publicity campaigns.

Consumers’ attitude and behavior towards online music piracy and subscription-based services

Purpose – This paper analyzes consumers’ attitudes and behaviors towards online piracy and their willingness to try subscription-based music services. The objective is to develop and test an attitude-intention model which includes ethical considerations in consumers’ decision making process regarding music consumption. Design/methodology/approach – The study analyzes 505 consumer questionnaires using a structural equations model. Findings – Attitude toward online piracy is positively determined by economic and hedonic benefits and negatively by moral judgment. A favorable attitude toward online piracy, in turn, negatively influences consumers’ willingness to try subscription-based music services, which is also directly determined by their interest and involvement with the services themselves. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of the paper are linked mainly to the adapted scales, to the analysis of just two subscription-based music services (Napster and Spotify) and to the fact that all r...

Antecedents and Anti-Counterfeiting Tactics That Influence Consumer Complicity

A web-based survey of 2,004 consumers near-equally sampled from Brazil, Russia, India, China (BRIC), and the U.S. explored the consumers’ sense of an hedonic shopping experience and attitudes toward counterfeits (ethical concern and perceived quality) regarding two counterfeit products (movies and pharmaceuticals), four anti-counterfeiting actions, and respondents’ complicity in each BRIC marketplace. Consumer complicity – a consumer’s willingness to obtain, share, or use counterfeit products – was predicted by the consumers’ hedonic shopping experience and preconceived attitudes toward counterfeits (lack of ethical concern and perceived high product quality) across all country markets. A complicity index encompassing multiple measures of willingness to engage in counterfeit trade was used to identify significant country effects for four types of anti-counterfeiting actions.

Connections to Brands That Help Others versus Help the Self: The Impact of Incidental Awe and Pride on Consumer Relationships with Social-Benefit and Luxury Brands

We propose that incidental emotions have the power to impact consumer self-brand connections. Specifically, we argue that divergent views of self, triggered by incidental awe versus pride, differentially impact consumer self-brand connections (SBC) to social-benefit versus luxury brands. Feelings of awe create a diminished self and an awareness of entities bigger than oneself. Pride, in contrast, enhances one’s sense of self. In two studies, we find that incidental feelings of awe heighten (lessen) SBC toward social-benefit (luxury) brands, while incidental feelings of pride heighten SBC toward luxury brands. We show that these effects of awe on social-benefit brands are mediated by perceived self-diminishment, while the effects of pride on luxury brands are mediated by self-superiority. Finally, we find that luxury brands that position themselves as offering social benefits can mitigate awe’s dampening effect on SBC while maintaining their enhanced appeal to consumers experiencing pride.

Counterfeiting luxury goods

Counterfeiting is one of the oldest crimes in history. In ancient Rome, wine traders counterfeited wine trademarks on amphorae, selling inexpensive local wine as fine Roman wine. By the 13th century, counterfeiting had become so common that, in some European countries, copying a trademark was punished with torture and death. Today, counterfeiting hits almost every sector, from pharmaceuticals to toys, from auto-parts to content goods (movies, music, software, video games, etc.), but luxury and fashion goods are often the preferred targets of counterfeiters. These products are the most illegally reproduced worldwide for a multitude of reasons, linked to both demand and supply. On the demand side, counterfeiters exploit the heritage of meanings associated with the original goods, enticing status-seeking consumers who cannot afford the authentic goods into buying false versions in order to project the same prestige, high brand image and social status as the authentic goods. Some consumers of counterfeits may think they are “smart shoppers†, getting a great deal on a product that resembles an original. Still others may hold “anti-big-business†sentiments towards luxury brands, perceiving them as distant corporations charging unreasonably high prices for their products. On the supply side, counterfeiters are very interested in reproducing luxury goods since they are part of a very lucrative market with significant margins yet require relatively simple, mass-production technologies. Thus, counterfeiting may imply large profits with small investments and limited risks, given that the probability of being caught is rather small, and even if caught, the conviction rates are low and penalty rates often light. For these reasons, counterfeiting is especially flourishing in emerging economies, where Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) enforcement is still in its infancy and local governments are oftentimes permissive with local “entrepreneurs†, particularly when these countries may be more focused on more immediate needs, such as hunger, employment, safety, and transportation. As a result, complying with international policy and enforcing the IPRs of global, luxury companies is certainly not a priority. The consequences of these instances are dramatic for legitimate brands, as “loxury†products, meaning counterfeit luxury goods, not only reduce revenues and profits, but also tarnish the brand’s image, equity, and reputation, which are the essence of what a luxury brand really is.

Fake and pirated: do consumers care?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the efficacy of messages in anti-counterfeiting campaigns that use a fear of legal prosecution, role models, peer pressure, linkages to organized crime and education. Design/methodology/approach A web survey of consumer perceptions regarding the effectiveness of different anti-counterfeiting campaigns on complicity was administered to 1,786 consumers in Brazil, China, India, Russia and the USA. Findings The effectiveness of the different anti-counterfeiting campaigns varies by country. Some can be used more successfully than others to limit complicity with the goal to transform consumers from accomplices of infringers to advocates of authenticity. Research limitations/implications An unexpected finding of this study was that several of the anti-counterfeiting campaigns were perceived as effective by consumers who reside in countries, such as China, that are well known for flourishing domestic counterfeit markets. Thus, these exploratory results provide a starting point for future researchers and practitioners to create and evaluate the efficacy of messages in anti-counterfeiting campaigns in markets where counterfeits and pirated goods are readily accessible in both physical and virtual markets. Originality/value Prior research establishes why consumers accept counterfeit and pirated products and also suggests a number of strategies to decrease its occurrence, mostly from a managerial perspective. This is the first multi-country study to assess whether consumers believe anti-counterfeiting campaigns will curb product counterfeiting.

The Role of Gender in Co-branding Strategies of Hi-Tech Brands and Luxury

The aim of this study is to analyze the different components of consumers’ attitude (cognitive and affective components) towards co-branded products. We compare the consumer behavior from gender differences. Several marketing studies have discussed how gender differentiates and influences consumers’ attitudes and behaviors. Our attention to HLCPs is mainly due to the fact that they represent an interesting case of brands that are characterized by both functional attributes in which cognitive aspects are predominant, and symbolic attributes where affective aspects are key. Provided that men and women seem to assign different importance to both aspects, HLCPs represent a perfect setting to explore the differences in consumer behavior between men and women.

It Is Counterfeits that Consumers Love!? Exploring the Phenomenon in the Digital Environment

The Internet has revolutionized the way consumers shop, also for buying counterfeits (MarkMonitor 2013). Accessing these products with a simple mouse click has dramatically aggravated already rampant offline purchases of fakes (Guarnieri and Przyswa 2013; Radon 2012). Purchasing fakes online has attracted only scant research attention, thus, we aim to shed light on the purchase behavior of counterfeits online (e.g., awareness and knowledge; drivers and obstacles of purchasing fakes online); this allows us to evaluate potential communalities and differences between offline and online purchase and to develop avenues for future research. To get rich insights, we interviewed 15 Italian and 15 Austrian consumers (similar in access to counterfeits, different in terms of sophistication of the fashion industry) with past experiences in buying fakes either offline and/or online (a detailed sample description can be provided upon request). The interviews covered five main areas: online shopping in general; perceptions of counterfeiting on the internet; attitudes, motivations and previous experiences with counterfeits (offline/online); risks associated with online purchases and pertinent coping strategies.

Fashion Firms and Counterfeiting: Causes and Actions

The counterfeiting phenomenon, i.e., all those instances when a violation of intellectual property rights (IPRs), either trademarks, copyrights or patents occurs, has reached truly remarkable dimensions. The 2011 BASCAP report (ICC, 2011)1 indicated that by 2015 the value of counterfeiting would reach

The Unexpected Consequences of Beautiful Products: Sacredness, Awe and Forgiveness

1.7 trillion dollars globally, inclusive of internationally traded, internally produced and consumed counterfeits as well as digitally pirated products. As Loredana Gulino, General Director for the fight against Counterfeiting of the Italian Patent and Trademark Office argues: “There is no way to fully contrast the counterfeiting phenomenon if it isn’t deeply understood, both quantitatively and qualitatively.” Europe is very much affected by the phenomenon, since it is a privileged destination market for counterfeits. As a European Commission Report (2014)2 highlights, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and France are the European countries most hit by the phenomenon in terms of numbers of cases and number of articles intercepted. The fake products crossing Europe are coming mainly from China (that alone accounts for 66.12 percent of the total), Hong Kong, Greece, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. In addition, in 2013 the EU customs agencies opened almost 87,000 cases for a total of almost 36 million illicit goods whose domestic retail value (i.e., the price at which they would have been sold on the national market if they had been genuine) was worth almost 768 million euros. The most affected industries (in terms of lost equivalent domestic retail value) were the fashion and luxury goods industries that between accessories (watches, sunglasses, bags, wallet, purses) and clothing comprised 53.05 percent of the total (Figure 5.1).