From purchase to regret: deterring counterfeit consumption through moral emotions and multicultural identity
研究多元文化消费者在购买假冒产品后，羞耻和内疚等道德情感如何影响后悔，进而减少未来购买意愿，并比较了多元文化与单一文化消费者的差异。
Purpose This research examines whether conflicting multicultural identities may influence counterfeit consumption behavior by examining how monocultural and multicultural consumers process shame and guilt differently depending on their cultural identities. It explores how consumers’ moral emotions after buying counterfeit goods can lead to regret and reduce their likelihood of buying such goods in the future. Design/methodology/approach This research employs a multimethod, multi-sample approach with 1,694 respondents across multiple cultures to test our hypotheses. Study 1 is survey research with overseas Chinese consumers and monocultural Chinese consumers, and Study 2 is a randomized block experiment with a European multicultural sample. This design allowed us to test both mediation and moderation hypotheses, validating the effects of shame and guilt on post-purchase regret across diverse multicultural settings. Findings Study 1 shows that cultural identity conflict (CIC) weakens the main effects of shame and guilt on counterfeit post-purchase regret. Study 2 shows that under artificially high levels of shame and guilt, CIC no longer weakens the effects of either shame or guilt on post-purchase regret, further confirming these main effects on counterfeit post-purchase regret. Furthermore, Study 2 demonstrates that, in a natural setting without manipulation, CIC weakens the main effects of shame and guilt on post-purchase regret, further supporting CIC’s moderating effect. Originality/value This study develops a model to examine counterfeit purchasing, going beyond the point of purchase to also consider post-purchase regret and repurchase intentions. It also explores moral emotions and cultural identity factors that can discourage future counterfeit purchases by increasing post-purchase regret. Finally, it investigates how this process may vary between multicultural and monocultural consumers, given their different cultural identities.