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This paper aims to theorize counterfeit luxury consumption among millennials from a generational identity perspective.

The paper proposes and tests a model of counterfeit buying behavior using an online survey of 467 millennial respondents. The study uses multi-item measures from the extant literature and uses the structural equation modeling technique to test the proposed hypotheses.

The findings reveal when millennials have a self-defining relationship with their generation, they tend to internalize the generational norm pertaining to counterfeit luxury consumption. Millennials’ counterfeit related values: market mavenism, postmodernism, schadenfreude and public self-consciousness contribute to their generational identity. Moreover, market mavenism, cool consumption and public self-consciousness establish counterfeit luxury consumption as a generational norm.

The findings of this paper suggest that the expertise and influence of market mavens can be used to deter counterfeit consumption. Moreover, luxury brands must communicate a cool image to offset the rebellious image of counterfeits. Further, from a standardization versus adaption standpoint, the generational perspective allows for the standardization of anti-counterfeiting campaigns.

The paper makes a novel contribution to the counterfeiting literature by demonstrating that millennials pursue counterfeit luxury brands when they pledge cognitive allegiance to their generation. The paper, thus, extends the identity perspective of counterfeit luxury consumption to group contexts. The authors also test and validate the role of descriptive norms in group contexts by introducing the construct generational norm to counterfeiting literature.

This paper aims to theorize that millennials' counterfeit buying behavior is partly driven by perceived peer counterfeit consumption – the perception that counterfeit luxury consumption is a norm within members of their own generation.

The research is based on two survey-based studies: Study 1 investigates the phenomenon on young millennials (n = 438) and Gen X (n = 374) using moderation analyses in PROCESS Macro; and Study 2 is based on young millennials (n = 643) and runs a partial least squares structural equation modeling model.

The findings reveal that perceived counterfeit consumption within own (vs other) generation leads to greater counterfeit purchase intention and this effect is stronger for young millennials (vs Gen X). Counterfeiting values (materialism, counterconformity and morality) strengthen the impact of perceived peer counterfeit consumption on the counterfeit purchase intention of young millennials, thereby establishing counterfeit luxury consumption as a salient norm.

To modify perceptions about peer counterfeiting norms, normative messages must communicate counterfeit avoidance among millennials through social media influencers. Luxury brand managers must focus on the experiential value of luxury and pursue unconventional luxury inspired by a sense of rebelliousness and independence.

This work demonstrates that millennials engage in counterfeit luxury consumption when they perceive it as a salient consumption norm among members of their own generation. It adds a novel construct of perceived counterfeit consumption and demonstrates the role of generation as a normative referent. The article provides a values-based motivational account of conformity to peer counterfeiting norms.

This study aims to examine whether counterfeit luxury buyers’ tendency to impress others overrides their anticipation of embarrassment or whether the anticipation of embarrassment delimits their self-presentational goals.

This paper is based on three studies – a survey and two experiments that test the predictions. This study adopts a mix of moderation and mediation analyses to test the proposed hypotheses.

The findings reveal a greater counterfeit purchase likelihood and embarrassment aversion among publicly (vs privately) self-conscious consumers. Furthermore, a higher (vs a lower) audience class and a conspicuous (vs an inconspicuous) brand lead to lower counterfeit purchase intention, and anticipated embarrassment mediates both these effects. To mitigate the threat of embarrassment, publicly self-conscious consumers are more likely to buy counterfeits among a higher-class audience when the brand is inconspicuous (vs conspicuous). They, however, are indifferent to brand conspicuousness among a lower-class audience.

To deter counterfeit consumption, anti-counterfeiting campaigns must invoke consumers’ tendency to overestimate the degree of public attention. Ad appeals must accentuate the anticipation of embarrassment by enhancing self-consciousness through a higher-class audience involving a conspicuous brand.

This paper makes a novel contribution to counterfeiting literature by demonstrating that counterfeit luxury consumption is driven by countervailing motives of gaining approval and avoiding disapproval. The paper departs from mainstream theorizing by demonstrating that counterfeit luxury buyers engage in a protective self-presentation style by choosing inconspicuous counterfeits.