Muia, Bernard Mulandi2025-02-262025-02-262024-10https://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/29662A Research Project Submitted to the School of Business, Economics and Tourism in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Award of the Degree of Master of Business Administration (Marketing Option), Kenyatta University, October 2024. Supervisor Mary RaguiThe persistent increase in the consumption of counterfeit goods, despite government efforts to curtail it, necessitates further research to identify factors influencing this trend that have not been conclusively studied. Over the years, consumer attitudes towards counterfeits have been shown to significantly contribute to the growth of this illicit trade, as these attitudes influence purchase intentions and, ultimately, actual purchases. Understanding the factors driving this growing trend is critical. This study aims to identify how individual attitudes towards counterfeit products, influenced by materialism, subjective norms, and moral intensity, affect the intention to purchase counterfeit mobile phones among Post graduate students in Kenya. The general objective of this study is to analyse consumer attitudes in relation to purchase intentions regarding counterfeit mobile phones among Post graduate students in Nairobi. The study is grounded in three theoretical frameworks: the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the Theory of Reasoned Action, and Functional Attitude Theory. A descriptive survey design was employed, utilizing purposive sampling to select four public university campuses from the ten licensed to operate in Nairobi's central business district. Subsequently, stratified random sampling was used to select target respondents from these campuses. Primary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires. Data from 380 respondents were organized and analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), with descriptive statistics presented in terms of percentages, frequencies, and standard deviations. Inferential statistics, including Pearson’s correlation and multiple regression analysis, were utilized to demonstrate the relationships between independent and dependent variables. The findings indicate that consumer attitude significantly influences the intention to purchase counterfeit mobile phones among Post graduate students in Kenya, with materialism, subjective norms, and moral intensity showing positive and significant effects on purchase intentions. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by highlighting the impact of these attitudes on consumer purchasing behaviour and provides insights for policymakers and government agencies to develop strategies to combat counterfeiting and illicit trade. Recommendations include encouraging manufacturers to adopt attitude-altering strategies in their marketing efforts and urging government bodies to implement stricter regulations against counterfeit trade. Future researchers are encouraged to replicate this study in different contexts using varied methodologies.enThesis