Influence of Moral Affect, Judgment, and Intensity on Decision Making Concerning Counterfeit, Gray-Market, and Imitation Products

Abstract

We examined the direct effects of moral judgment, moral intensity, and moral affect, specifically shame and guilt, on undergraduates' purchase intent concerning counterfeits, gray-market products, and imitations. The indirect effects of moral intensity, shame, and guilt on moral judgment were also investigated. A between subjects experiment was designed and participants ( n = 313) responded to a scenario. For both the counterfeit and imitation products, moral judgment had a significant negative effect on purchase intent. Moral intensity had no significant effect on purchase intent for all product types but it had significant positive influence on moral judgment for all product types. Guilt had a significant negative influence on purchase intent for gray-market products and a positive influence on moral judgment for all product types. In addition, moral judgment mediated the impact of guilt on intent to purchase gray-market products.