IP Outreach Research > IP Crime
Reference
| Title: | To Pirate or Not to Pirate: A Comparative Study of the Ethical Versus Other Influences on the Consumer's Software Acquisition-Mode Decision |
| Author: | Pola B Gupta [Wright State University], Stephen J Gould [Baruch College], Bharath Pola [Keesler Medicine Center] |
| Source: | Journal of Business Ethics 55, no. 3: 255-274 |
| Year: | 2004 |
Details
| Subject/Type: | Piracy |
| Focus: | Software |
| Country/Territory: | United States of America |
| Objective: | To assess the influence of ethics versus other factors on the consumer's software acquisition-mode decision (purchase or pirate). |
| Sample: | 689 US-based software consumers |
| Methodology: | Online survey |
Main Findings
Considering the consumer's software acquisition-mode decision (decision to pirate or not to pirate software) from various perspectives, the study suggests that there is a number of explanatory concepts: economic (those aware of or more sensitive to economic losses due to piracy are more inclined to purchase software rather than copying it; those spending more money on software also report pirating more), legal-ethical (finding piracy illegal and unethical has a negative effect on pirating) as well as consumer related (younger people are more likely to pirate than older people; those in an environment of support for piracy are more likely to pirate).
The authors recommend that solutions to software piracy should be based on the idea of informing consumers about the pitfalls of piracy and channelling their behaviour into appropriate outcomes, which can be achieved for example by educational programs (especially for younger consumers), advertising campaigns, emphasis on product diffusion and trial, and ethical appeals.
[Date Added: Aug 12, 2008 ]