This study intended to find out how the counterfeit craze of luxury brands in our society is
related to the propensity to consume, and to evaluate how each consumer propensity is
affecting the purchase intentions of counterfeit. Consumer's propensity to consume was
classified into conspicuous tendency, materialism, the impact of reference group, and
self-concept through literature research and basic research, and examined the effect of each
consumer propensity on purchase intention of counterfeit. Also, this study investigated how
the relationship between propensity to consume and purchase intention of counterfeit are
controlled according to the level of consumer's self-esteem.
According to the research results, it was confirmed that the younger generation had greater
influence of reference group for purchasing behavior, and people with lower academic
background showed higher purchase intention of counterfeit and strong conspicuous
consumption. For links between the purchase intention by the consumption type, influence of
the reference group appeared as a significant factor that makes influence on the purchase
intention of counterfeit among the 4 types of consumption type. Lastly, for moderating effect
of self-esteem, groups with lower self-esteem had relatively higher purchase intention of
counterfeit.