{"id":12149,"date":"2025-11-17T14:15:49","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T13:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/?p=12149"},"modified":"2025-11-17T14:21:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T13:21:58","slug":"why-consumers-buy-fake-luxury-goods-even-when-they-think-its-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/resource-center\/marketing-sales\/why-consumers-buy-fake-luxury-goods-even-when-they-think-its-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do consumers buy fake luxury goods even when they think it\u2019s wrong?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In this video, Professor&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/resource-center\/expert\/zi-wang\/\">Zi&nbsp;WANG<\/a> focuses on an intriguing paradox that was the topic of her recent coauthored research* : why do consumers who condemn counterfeiting still buy fake luxury goods?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"60 Seconds: Inside Research | Why do consumers buy fake luxury goods even when they think it\u2019s wrong\" width=\"1778\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SZZQGBQaFhM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In France, nearly 40% of people admit to having purchased a counterfeit item, according to the expert,&nbsp;even though almost half also believe counterfeiting is harmful to the economy and to creativity. This gap between moral values and actual behavior reveals something fundamental about human decision-making in luxury contexts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>The role of status &amp; visibility<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>She explains that the driver of this behavior lies in status and visibility. &#8220;Luxury goods are not only products; they are social signals. A Louis Vuitton bag or a Chanel logo, displayed in public, communicates prestige, belonging, and social recognition.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;Under these conditions, the psychological reward of fitting in or looking successful can outweigh the discomfort of breaking moral principles. &#8220;In other words, the quest for social validation often silences consumers\u2019 ethical hesitation.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Luxury goods: behavioral neuroscience illustrates conflicts consumers face<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Using behavioral neuroscience, the researchers illustrated this inner conflict . &#8220;When people evaluate counterfeit luxury goods, the brain\u2019s reward circuits light up strongly, while moral judgment areas remain relatively quiet. In other words, temptation wins. However, when consumers are reminded of the ethical and hidden costs of fake goods, such as intellectual property theft, reduced innovation, poor labor conditions, or even long-term damage to self-image, their intention to buy counterfeit luxury products actually decreases sharply.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For luxury brands, the expert argues that they must go beyond legal or financial arguments to fight against counterfeits. They need to address the moral and identity forces that drive consumer behavior. By reframing authenticity as a mark of confidence, dignity, and self-respect, brands can shift consumer choices from imitation to integrity. &#8220;The message is simple: authenticity must replace imitation as the ultimate status symbol.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>*The full study:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Morality is for Social Being: The Role of Morality in Social-Adjustive Functional Attitudes Toward Counterfeit Luxury Consumption.<a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s10551-025-06027-4\">&nbsp;<em>J Bus Ethics<\/em><\/a>&nbsp;(2025). Lyu, D. (&nbsp;Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai, China), Wang, Z. (I\u00c9SEG), Kumar, A. (EMLYON Business School,)&nbsp;<em>&amp; Jia Jin (Shanghai International Studies University).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this video, Professor&nbsp;Zi&nbsp;WANG focuses on an intriguing paradox that was the topic of her recent coauthored research* : why do consumers who condemn counterfeiting still buy fake luxury goods? In France, nearly 40% of people admit to having purchased a counterfeit item, according to the expert,&nbsp;even though almost half also believe counterfeiting is harmful <a href=\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/resource-center\/marketing-sales\/why-consumers-buy-fake-luxury-goods-even-when-they-think-its-wrong\/\" class=\"more-link\">&#8230;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Why do consumers buy fake luxury goods even when they think it\u2019s wrong?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12156,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[488,489],"tags":[907,286,363,874],"article-type":[13],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.5.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why do consumers buy fake luxury goods even when they think it\u2019s wrong?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Professor Zi WANG focuses on an intriguing paradox : why do consumers who condemn counterfeiting still buy fake luxury goods?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/resource-center\/marketing-sales\/why-consumers-buy-fake-luxury-goods-even-when-they-think-its-wrong\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why do consumers buy fake luxury goods even when they think it\u2019s wrong?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Professor Zi WANG focuses on an intriguing paradox : why do consumers who condemn counterfeiting still buy fake luxury goods?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/resource-center\/marketing-sales\/why-consumers-buy-fake-luxury-goods-even-when-they-think-its-wrong\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"I\u00c9SEG Insights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-17T13:15:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-17T13:21:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/iuliia-pilipeichenko-6ZgtlGd4RQE-unsplash.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1282\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andrew MILLER\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andrew MILLER\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/resource-center\/marketing-sales\/why-consumers-buy-fake-luxury-goods-even-when-they-think-its-wrong\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/resource-center\/marketing-sales\/why-consumers-buy-fake-luxury-goods-even-when-they-think-its-wrong\/\",\"name\":\"Why do consumers buy fake luxury goods even when they think it\u2019s wrong?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-17T13:15:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-17T13:21:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/#\/schema\/person\/3d9d5305d4471a7c4bf3fa7bda0d004f\"},\"description\":\"Professor Zi WANG focuses on an intriguing paradox : why do consumers who condemn counterfeiting still buy fake luxury goods?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/resource-center\/marketing-sales\/why-consumers-buy-fake-luxury-goods-even-when-they-think-its-wrong\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/resource-center\/marketing-sales\/why-consumers-buy-fake-luxury-goods-even-when-they-think-its-wrong\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/resource-center\/marketing-sales\/why-consumers-buy-fake-luxury-goods-even-when-they-think-its-wrong\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"I\u00c9SEG Insights\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Marketing &amp; 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