Dark Tetrad Personality Traits and Willingness to Purchase Counterfeit Luxury Brands: The Mediating Role of Moral Disengagement and Status Consumption
Öz
This study aims to examine the mediating roles of moral disengagement and status consumption in the relationship between Dark Tetrad personality traits and consumers' willingness to purchase counterfeit luxury brands (CLB). The Dark Tetrad is conceptualized as comprising narcissism, machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism. Moral Disengagement Theory provides the theoretical framework of the study. A descriptive quantitative research design was adopted. Data were collected through an online survey from 464 consumers aged 18 years and older in Türkiye using convenience and snowball sampling techniques. The data were analyzed using SPSS and PROCESS Macro. The findings indicate that Dark Tetrad personality traits positively influence both moral disengagement and status consumption but do not directly affect consumers' willingness to purchase CLB. Moral disengagement positively influences willingness to purchase CLB and mediates the relationship between Dark Tetrad personality traits and willingness to purchase CLB. In contrast, although status consumption negatively influences willingness to purchase CLB, it does not mediate the relationship between Dark Tetrad personality traits and willingness to purchase CLB. This study contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive explanation of how Dark Tetrad personality traits are associated with unethical consumption through the psychological mechanisms of moral disengagement and status consumption. By incorporating sadism into the dark personality traits and examining both mediating mechanisms, the study extends the limited empirical literature on the relationship between dark personality traits and counterfeit luxury consumption while offering theoretical and practical implications for promoting ethical consumer behavior.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Moral Disengagement, Dark Tetrad Personality Traits, Status Consumption, Willingness To Purchase Luxury Counterfeit Brands, Luxury Consumption
Kaynakça
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