Who's to Blame? The Role of Supply Chain Origination and Attribution Theory in Shaping Consumer Responses to Counterfeit Incidents.
Category: Research Poster
Author(s): NicK Manire
Presenter(s): NicK Manire
Mentors(s): Rowan Hilend
Focal firms operating extended supply chains increasingly expose their consumers to the risk of counterfeit incidents originating beyond their direct operational control. Although the locus of a counterfeit incident within the supply chain — whether internal to the focal firm or attributable to a tier-1 supplier — may meaningfully shape how consumers respond, its impact on consumer perceptions and behavior remains poorly understood. Drawing on the concept of chain liability (Hartmann & Moeller, 2014) and attribution theory (Kelley, 1967; Weiner, 1985), we develop a scenario-based experiment to examine how supply chain origination influences consumer blame attribution and subsequent repurchase intentions. Specifically, we investigate whether consumers apportion greater blame to focal firms when a counterfeit incident originates internally rather than upstream and explore the extent to which chain liability leads consumers to hold focal firms accountable even when wrongdoing originates at the tier-1 supplier level. We further examine blame as a mediating mechanism linking supply chain origination to repurchase intentions, exploring the potential demand-side consequences of upstream misconduct. These findings contribute to the supply chain ethics, brand management, and consumer behavior literatures, and offer practitioners guidance on the reputational risks of insufficient supply chain oversight.