Mediating Effect of Consumer Knowledge on the Relationship between Consumer Attitude and Purchase Intention of Mobile Phone Counterfeits in Kenya

To understand the increasing demand for counterfeits, this study sought to investigate consumer attitude towards purchase intention for counterfeit mobile phones in Kenya and the mediating effect of consumer knowledge on the relation between attitude and purchase intention. Specifically the study sought to investigate the effect of consumer attitude on purchase intention and determine the impact of consumer knowledge on the relationship between consumer attitude towards counterfeits and purchase intentions of mobile phone counterfeits. The study applied descriptive research design and examined how consumer attitude affects consumer purchase intentions and how consumer product knowledge mediates this relationship in the context of counterfeit mobile phones. The target population was drawn from young and middle generations within Nairobi County with a sample size of 500 persons. The study used a well-structured questionnaire with a 5 point Likert scale to collect data and used Cronbach’s alpha to test for its validity and liability. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (correlation and regression) analysis in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to determine the relationship between the independent variables and dependant variable. The results showed that consumer attitude significantly influenced purchase intention (r² = 0.210, p<0.05) and the consumer knowledge positively and significantly mediates the relationship between consumer attitude and consumer purchase intention of mobile phone counterfeits (r² = 0.217, p<0.05). This therefore implies that consumer attitude and consumer knowledge are key to influencing the purchase intention of mobile phone counterfeits among the young and middle aged generations in Nairobi County.