2.05. Hardcore Fans or soccer and their motivation and beliefs for buying counterfeit sports products: Empirical evidence from Brasil

Autores: A. Rodriguez Veloso, G. Lacreta Saraiva, M. Cortez Campomar.

RESUMEN

Purpose
Counterfeiting is a major part of worldwide trade since the 80’s. Convincing customers not to buy counterfeits is one strategy to overcome this problem. Therefore, The purpose of this paper is to understand the motivations and beliefs of soccer fans for buying sporting goods, both originals and counterfeits.

Methodology
Literature and in-depth interviews with soccer fans generated a questionnaire focused on the consumption of sports products that was applied with sports fans during ticket selling for the finals of Sao Paulo State Soccer Championship in 2009. Of the 200 questionnaires collected, 192 proved to be useful for a factor analysis.
Findings
The factor analysis explained 69.73% of variance and generated 4 factor: Counterfeit Lovers (reasons for buying counterfeits) – 39.27%; Pro-Official Products (reasons for not buying counterfeits and buying official products) – 12.87%; Individually Focused (focus on how counterfeits and official products can impact customer) – 10.05%; and Team focused (focus on aiding the team through product buying) – 7.53%. Analysis of results generated a series of proposition that can be used in order to develop strategies that can convince costumers that they should not buy counterfeits.
Originality/ value of the manuscript
This study sheds light on why sports fans buy counterfeits. It also brings information on what are the main reasons for not buying counterfeits. These results can generate effective marketing strategies for companies involved with sports products.

Key words: sports marketing, sporting goods, factor analysis, hardcore fans, soccer.