Consumers’ intention to purchase counterfeit sporting goods in Singapore and Taiwan

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare the purchase intention of counterfeit sporting goods between Singaporean and Taiwanese students using the Theory of Planned Behavior. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative approach was taken, collecting data from Singaporean and Taiwanese students studying in tertiary institutions. In total, 295 valid questionnaires were included in the data analysis. Findings – The results showed that consumers’ attitude, subjective norm, and brand consciousness were predictive of purchase intention for both countries, whereas perceived behavioral control had an effect only among Taiwanese students. Further analysis showed that Singapore students had significantly higher positive attitudes toward the purchase of counterfeit sporting goods and higher levels of acceptance from peers in purchasing counterfeits. Research limitations/implications – A limitation of this study was that respondents were selected from the undergraduate population and as such were relatively younger than the general population. Originality/value – The findings of this study provides a better understanding on how these factors affect purchase intention of counterfeit sporting goods across countries.