Prior research has mostly examined the antecedents and impacts of purchasing counterfeits. However, there is little understanding of how marketers can mitigate this potential issue. The current research examines how gain versus loss message framing in an anti-counterfeit ad can be effective in persuading consumers with different political ideology (conservative vs. liberal). Results from two experiments show gain frames are more persuasive for liberals, whereas loss frames are more persuasive for conservatives in promoting an anti-counterfeit ad. Importantly, these effects are explained by different emotional reactions associated with message framing. Specifically, fear mediates the effects among conservatives, while hope mediates the effects among liberals. Findings from the current research joins four important research areas, including (1) anti-counterfeit, (2) political ideology, (3) message framing, and (4) discrete emotions, by theorizing that emotion reactions associated with message framing influence the effectiveness of an anti-counterfeit ad among consumers with different political ideology.

Introduction

The global luxury market has been increasing rapidly over the past decade. While recent research (Bain & Company, 2017) estimates the value of the global luxury market at almost $1.5 trillion, such growth and size means the market is open to forces that may try to share the spoils. One such threat is that of counterfeit luxury goods. This is particularly the case in recent times, given the costs to produce counterfeits are constantly being lowered (Hennigs, Wiedmann, Behrens, & Klarmann, 2013). Because of this, market information (International Chamber of Commerce, 2017) suggests that by 2022 counterfeiting and piracy will lead to $4.2 trillion in losses from the global economy, jeopardizing over 5 million legitimate jobs. Given the high stakes, research is required that provides better understanding of the factors that influence counterfeiting in order to mitigate risk and develop interventions that affect supply and demand of counterfeit luxury goods. Although the counterfeiting industry is fueled by different factors, such as technological innovation and globalization, the primary driver for the production of counterfeits is consumer demand (Chaudhrya, Cordellb, & Zimmermanc, 2005).