Brand Imitation - Consumer Attitude Toward Purchasing Imitated Brand C Thesis Proposal

Essays on Brand Imitation - Consumer Attitude Toward Purchasing Imitated Brand Clothing in Thailand Thesis Proposal The paper â€Å"Brand Imitation - Consumer Attitude Toward Purchasing Imitated Brand Clothing in Thailand† is an engrossing version of the thesis proposal on marketing. As imitated goods, a multi-dollar underground economy, flourish in almost all kinds of market, consumer tends to choose these kinds of good particularly in Thailand which according to most professionals is the â€Å"primary staging point† (Sheban, 2007) of imitated products coming from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong—the top producer of imitated products accounting to almost ninety percent of the said industry (Kay Ka-Yuk Lai, 1999, p. 179). This kind of patronage of consumers has been affected by many economic aspects both local and international settings. In fact, the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (2004) has been alarmed of its global impact and in 2004 the council drafted preventive measures in combating the growing brand imitation industry.Problem StatementIn viewing the problem of e xisting imitated goods and products in Thailand’s marketplace, people oftentimes only recognize its producers as the primarily liable for this illegal act. Hence, prior studies regarding imitation are mostly focused on understanding the producer side, However, the prospering of imitated products does not only depend on its producer aspect but most importantly on the consumers’ behavior who patronize these kinds of products. Without the patronage of consumers, producers of imitated products will not be able to exist. Furthermore, there are many factors involve why a consumer decides to buy imitated products. In line with this, the essential questions to pose the question: â€Å"What are the factors and its corresponding relationships to the consumer’s behavior in buying imitation products in the marketplace of Thailand?†Significance of the StudyIn view of the fact that this study will relate the aspect of consumer’s behavior towards the imitated pro ducts in Thailand’s marketplace, it is will be significant in the sense that it can provide a comprehensible understanding of how consumers behave towards imitated products. Consequently, this study will be considered valuable information in making social, political/legislative, and economic policies in Thailand. Furthermore, this study will also be of great assistance for making international trade policies by various international organization particularly the World Trade Organization since its policies have a great impact on almost all countries.The hypothesis of the ProblemThe hypothesis for this study is that there exist certain factors regarding consumer’s behavior towards imitated products in the marketplace of Thailand. Also, this study theorizes that the factors involved have a linear relationship to consumer’s preferences of buying imitated products.Purpose of the StudyThe general objective of the study is to investigate consumers’ attitudes tow ards purchasing brand imitation in Thailand and against a background of the increasing prevalence of brand imitation.The particular objectives of the study are:1. To find out what influence consumers’ attitude to purchase the imitated brand clothing.2. To analyze the factors that influence customers to purchase imitated brand clothing.3. To examine the influence of social, personality, and demographic factors on consumers’ attitudes towards purchasing the imitated brand clothing.In regards to preceding researches, there is no research that has been accomplished to examine consumers’ toward purchasing imitated brand clothing in Thailand. Nevertheless, this study will concentrate on other factors or variables which have an effect on consumers’ attitude towards the imitated products’ brand names following to studying in many past types of research. In the context of the dissertation, consumers’ attitude of imitated products’ brand name w ill be an important predictor of his/her intention to buy the imitated product. As well as what factors influence consumer evaluation of a purchasing imitated product becomes the focus of the investigation. The significant factors basing existing literature and pertinent to this the study of imitated product-buying behavior are the following: integrity in terms of lawfulness, attitudes towards the damaging effect of original brands, ethical perspective, and consumer's perceived risk, and price-quality correlation.