Counterfeiting and piracy in supply chain management: theoretical studies

Purpose This paper aims to generate novel insights in supply chain management by reviewing studies related to counterfeiting and piracy issues with a particular emphasis on theoretical works. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review of more than 100 peer-reviewed academic papers is conducted. The authors first introduce the social acceptance of counterfeiting and piracy to explain the existence of these illegal products. After that, they focus on the negative effect of counterfeiting and piracy on supply chain management and society while mentioning their positive and normative effects carefully under certain circumstances. Findings People have been attempting to reveal the impacts of counterfeiting and piracy on customers, licit firms, industry sectors, governments and the society as a whole. The negative impacts of counterfeiting and piracy on legal firms and licit supply chains is examined thoroughly in the literature; however, benefits from counterfeiting and piracy are also pointed out. Additionally, researchers are interested in firms’ reactions toward this phenomenon. Based on heuristics from the above analysis, it is fruitful to conduct this research in a theme of supply chain management. Originality/value Most studies on counterfeiting and piracy are not from a supply chain management perspective and mainly focus on their effect on consumers or a single firm. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is one of few studies that incorporate the key aspects of counterfeiting and piracy into supply chain management and also highlight several important directions for future research in the sense of supply chain.