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Nancy D. Albers-Miller: Assistant Professor of Marketing, College of Business Administration, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, USA
Traffic in illegal goods is big business in the USA. Counterfeiting, shoplifting, illegal drug trade and other illicit consuming behavior costs Americans billions of dollars annually (Budden and Griffin, 1996; Bush et al., 1989; Kallis et al., 1986). Counterfeit production reportedly amounts to 4 percent to 8 percent of US GNP (Slater, 1985) and is increasing (Harvey, 1987).
Controlling source of contraband Although this problem might appear to be a topic more appropriately studied by criminologists and legal scholars, a closer look reveals that work in this area has been largely one-sided. The supply side has garnered most of the research. Clearly, legal scholars and law enforcement officials have addressed the issues of controlling the source and flow of contraband. Researchers of criminal psychiatry and sociology of deviant behavior have examined personal and social aspects leading to general criminal and deviant behavior. The behavior of interest to these scholars has also been supply-side oriented. For example, they have tried to develop an understanding of why people steal, not why people buy stolen goods. Even marketing researchers have focused on issues relating to control of supply (Bush et al., 1989; Globerman, 1988; Harvey, 1987, 1988; Harvey and Ronkainen, 1985; Olsen and Granzin, 1992). Yet, economic theory would suggest that if there is little or no demand for a product, supply will decrease as well.
The demand side of this problem is clearly an issue of consumer behavior, or perhaps more appropriately termed consumer misbehavior. Despite the fact that such behavior is potentially harmful to businesses (Globerman, 1988; Harvey and Ronkainen, 1985; Olsen and Granzin, 1992), the consumer (Dillon, 1989; Harvey, 1988; Pinkerton, 1990) and society as a whole (Stotland, 1977), little marketing academic interest has been generated until recently. In 1991, Hirschman called for further research into the "dark side of consumer behavior". Perhaps in response to this call, during the past few years, marketing scholars have begun to explore in greater depth issues of consumer misdeeds. Unfortunately, few pieces of research have been published in this entire topic area. Of that, only a small portion of this research has addressed determinants of illicit consumer behavior.
Illicit goods...