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Neither an Authentic Product nor a Counterfeit: The Growing Popularity of Shanzhai Products in Global Markets
Author(s) -
Qin Yao,
Shi Linda Hui,
Stöttinger Barbara,
Cavusgil Erin
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
canadian journal of administrative sciences / revue canadienne des sciences de l'administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.347
H-Index - 48
eISSN - 1936-4490
pISSN - 0825-0383
DOI - 10.1002/cjas.1501
Subject(s) - counterfeit , copycat , popularity , product (mathematics) , business , value (mathematics) , advertising , marketing , consumption (sociology) , clothing , psychology , computer science , aesthetics , social psychology , philosophy , geometry , mathematics , machine learning , political science , law , cognitive science , archaeology , history
Counterfeits have been a longstanding concern to global brand manufactures. However, recently, a new product category that partly imitates and partly innovates under the term shanzhai has entered into market. Shanzhai products mimic original leading brands through visual or functional similarities and may also provide additional features. Given this new copycat phenomenon, our study for the first time conceptually distinguishes shanzhai products from counterfeits, theoretically compares the values of consumers choosing shanzhai products versus counterfeits, and empirically tests such differences in one integrative model. Specifically, shanzhai buyers value product functional benefits more than counterfeit buyers, while counterfeit buyers value status consumption, yet experience less self‐clarity than shanzhai buyers. Our findings offer important implications for imitative innovation literature as well as for practitioners .