An introduction to the special issue on the past, present and future research on deliberate lookalikes
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-07-2019-2464 |
| Date | 16 September 2019 |
| Pages | 701-706 |
| Published date | 16 September 2019 |
| Author | Nebojsa S. Davcik,Piyush Sharma,Ricky Chan,Rajat Roy |
| Subject Matter | Marketing |
An introduction to the special issue
on the past, present and future research
on deliberate lookalikes
Nebojsa S. Davcik
Business Research Unit (BRU/UNIDE-IUL), Instituto Universitario de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), Lisbon, Portugal
Piyush Sharma
Curtin Business School, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
Ricky Chan
Department of Management and Marketing, Faculty of Business, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, and
Rajat Roy
Bond Business School, Bond University, Sydney, Australia
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to present the contemporary thinking on deliberate lookalikes and to provide a better understanding of its
key forms (counterfeits, copycats and no-name imitations) and markets (deceptive and non-deceptive).
Design/methodology/approach –This editorial contains a review of current and past literature on deliberate lookalikes along with summaries of
all the articles accepted for publication in the special issue on deliberate lookalikes. The guest editors used academic databases such as Web of
Science to find the most representative scholarly work on deliberate lookalikes literature.
Findings –This editorial identifies pertinent research gaps in the literature on deliberate lookalikes. The five selected articles address some of these
research gaps and provide useful insights on the purchase and usage of deliberate lookalikes along with directions for future research and ways to
apply different research methods that could have important implications for scholars and managers.
Originality/value –The editorial and special issue extends the knowledge about the deliberate lookalikes and their effects on firms, brands and
consumers. This work opens new avenues for the research about different forms and markets in the context of lookalikes.
Keywords Deliberate lookalikes, Counterfeits, Copycats
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
One of the “prices”that successful brands have to pay is that
they are imitated often via lookalikes. Lookalikes have strong
similarities with authentic branded offers and might take
various forms, including counterfeits, copycats and no-name
imitations. Firms are facing various marketing and legal
problems, including loss of sales and profits, consumer
dissatisfaction, legal liability and safety issues (Evans et al.,
2019). In addition, these fraudulent activities may negatively
affect the performance outcomes of brands (Davcik et al.,
2015) and brand equity (Wilson et al., 2016).
Counterfeits and pirated goods are growing at an alarming
rate, accounting for up to 10 per cent of world trade (about
$650bn per annum) (Chen et al.,2015;Liu et al.,2015). A
recent report by the World Customs Organization shows that
counterfeit and pirated goods worth $1.47bn were caught by
customs authorities in 58 member countries in 2012 (WCO,
2013). Not surprisingly, as the world’s largest consumer
market, the USA leads the list with 7615 (34 per cent) cases,
followed by Saudi Arabia, Italy and Spain, with top 15
countries contributing to 92 per cent of all reported cases.
China and Hong Kong are the major contributors with two-
thirds (67 per cent) of total reported cases. In volume terms,
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on
Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
28/6 (2019) 701–706
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/JPBM-07-2019-2464]
The authors are grateful to the global reviewers panel for the immense help
and support in developing this special issue (in alphabetic order): Anahit
Armenakyan (Nipissing University), Sahver Omeraki Cekirdekci (Dogus
Universitesi), Ludovica Cesareo (University of Pennsylvania), Rita Coelho
do Vale (Catholic University of Portugal), Bernard Cova (Kedge Business
School), Cid Gonçalves Filho (Universidade Fumec), Nicholas Grigoriou
(Monash University), Bianca Grohmann (Concordia University),
Kalyanaram Gurumurthy (International University of Japan), Pramod Iyer
(University of Texas Rio Grande Valley), Colin Jevons (Monash
University), Ling Jiang (Universite du Quebec a Montreal), Nicola Kleyn
(University of Pretoria), Daniela Langaro (ISCTE-IUL), Rasha Mostafa
(Ain Shams University), Abhishek Pathak (University of Dundee), Vikas
Singla (Punjabi University), Lucas Souza (Universidade Estadual do
Ceara), Anna Torres (Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Uchila Umesh
(Washington State University), Jeremy Wilson (Michigan State
University).
Received 17 July 2019
Revised 17 July 2019
Accepted 17 July 2019
701
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