Mitigating counterfeit risk in the supply chain : an empirical study

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to adopt a contingency theory from a quality perspective to develop a model for assessing the impact of counterfeit prevention efforts on supply chain (SC) performance. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the participation of 140 managers across ten industry sectors, a theoretical model is proposed and structural equation modeling is used to examine the relationships among SC risk management integration, SC counterfeit risk orientation (CRO), SC counterfeit risk mitigation (CRM), SC metric consistency (MC) and SC performance (service and cost benefits). Findings: Findings suggest that firms with greater SC risk management integration have a stronger orientation toward counterfeit risk, greater maturity in CRM, more consistent SC metrics and better SC performance outcomes. CRO alone was not found to significantly improve SC MC. Research limitations/implications: Results are based on managerial perceptions of SC counterfeit risk and performance metrics. Survey respondents were predominantly from the same country (the USA). Practical implications: The paper represents a potential quality management framework for SC risk management, in the context of counterfeiting that includes a contingency perspective. Originality/value: The study advances knowledge of how firms may address the challenging issue of counterfeiting in the SC. Empirical findings offer a firm-level quality management framework for managerial decision making in the context of counterfeiting.