Constrained risk rationalization: how economically vulnerable consumers justify counterfeit purchases in Colombia’s informal markets

Purpose This study explores how economically constrained mothers rationalize risky purchases of counterfeit household goods in informal markets, extending attention beyond luxury counterfeits and treating caregiving responsibility as a central analytic concern. Design/methodology/approach Using grounded theory, the study analyzes 45 intercept interviews with low-income mothers shopping in two San Andresito markets in Bogotá, Colombia. Analysis used open coding, constant comparison and selective coding, with saturation tracked through a code-emergence log. Findings Mothers rationalize counterfeit purchases through Constrained Risk Rationalization (CRR): economic necessity, social normalization, trust-based mitigation and psychological trade-offs. Together, these mechanisms may help make counterfeit buying a practical, morally defensible response to household need. Research limitations/implications This first-stage qualitative study is bounded to brief interviews with one participant group in one market system. Future research should test CRR through ethnographic and mixed-method designs. Practical implications Risk warnings may be less effective when consumers already know the risks but perceive few alternatives. Responses may be more effective if they focus on affordability, community trust and safer local options. Social implications Counterfeit purchasing in informal markets is tied to poverty, exclusion and provisioning pressures; reducing it may require addressing these conditions, not enforcement or deterrence alone. Originality/value The paper extends counterfeit consumption research beyond luxury goods, offering a process-based account of how necessity, norms, trust and coping may operate together, and brings gendered caregiving responsibility into counterfeit consumption research in emerging markets.