In marketing, the concept of authenticity has been linked to branding (Beverland 2005; Brown et al. 2003) and consumption behavior (Belk and Costa 1998; Holt 1997; Kozinets 2002). It has been used to legitimize and/ or add value to products and services, to categorize consumers (Grayson and Martinec 2004), and most recently to understand consumer motivation (Beverland and Farrelly 2010). Evidence suggests that both researchers and consumers have varying ideas of what authenticity actually means. While most studies of authenticity describe historical legitimacy or a direct connection to a famous person, place, or event (see Grayson and Martinec 2004), these studies do not explain the authenticity ascribed to modern branded items, or representations that have been described as "authentic reproductions." Authenticity is not solely derived from history and instead it is also created or manifested in the market though association with consummate experience.
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