Merchandising/Marketing/Retailing: Management

Social Media Influencer and Copycat Crisis: Focus on the Trademark Law Infringement

Authors: Seong Eun Kim (University of Missouri) , Song-yi Youn (University of Missouri) , Joohye Hwang (University of Missouri)

Abstract

This study aims to explore how consumers react to IPR-related crises by examining the Social Media Influencer (SMI) 's trademark infringement advertisement case with two experimental conditions: (a) intentionally copied advertisement (ICA) and (b) unintentionally copied advertisement (UCA) using attribution theory and expectancy violation theory. For the main study, we recruited 133 female respondents aged in their 20s to 40s who had previously subscribed to SMI advertisements. As a result, the findings showed that consumers do significantly more blame the collaborating brand in the case of UCA. However, consumers also feel their expectancy is more violated when the SMI is unintentionally involved in trademark infringement. If SMIs frame this crisis as having occurred by negligence and ignorance, consumers may have cognitive dissonance between the previous authentic reviews and the ignorance. The findings can contribute to figuring out overall consumer responses to the IPR infringement legal crisis. 

Keywords: Social Media Influencer, Trademark Infringement, Attribution, Expectancy Violence

How to Cite: Kim, S. , Youn, S. & Hwang, J. (2022) “Social Media Influencer and Copycat Crisis: Focus on the Trademark Law Infringement”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings. 79(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.15994