Finders, keepers, stealers, reapers: an experimental examination of three antecedents of software piracy behavior

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dc.contributor.advisorRao, V. Srinivasan (Chino)
dc.contributor.authorGergely, Marton
dc.contributor.committeeMemberKeating, Jerome
dc.contributor.committeeMemberLiu, Charles
dc.contributor.committeeMemberWalz, Diane
dc.date.accessioned2024-02-09T21:11:21Z
dc.date.available2024-02-09T21:11:21Z
dc.date.issued2015
dc.descriptionThis item is available only to currently enrolled UTSA students, faculty or staff. To download, navigate to Log In in the top right-hand corner of this screen, then select Log in with my UTSA ID.
dc.description.abstractSoftware piracy has been a problematic issue for several decades. While there is a significant body of research attempting to identify reasons why individuals pirate software, a complete understanding of the factors influencing software piracy has yet to emerge. Further, a concern with the results of software piracy studies reported by past researchers is the likelihood of social desirability bias. In the current research, two separate studies were conducted. In the first study, three antecedents (salience of ethicality, deterrence, and social influence) of software piracy behavior were examined in an experimental setting with actual money at stake. This allowed subject behavior to be observed rather than inferred from subject reports. In the second study, the behavior of subjects in one of the treatments of the first study was compared to subject self-report and peer-report responses to a hypothetical scenario that paralleled the experiment. For the self-report, the response was whether the subject would pirate. For the peer-report, the subject reported whether his/her peers would pirate. A comparison of behavior when money was at stake, to subject reports of likely behavior, helped examine the influence of social desirability bias in subject reports. Perceived salience of ethicality was significantly related to software piracy behavior in the experimental study, while perceived deterrence and perceived social influence were not. Self-report surveys exhibited high levels of social desirability bias. The peer-report survey method was found to exhibit far less social desirability bias, and provide a statistically equivalent piracy level as found in the experiment.
dc.description.departmentInformation Systems and Cyber Security
dc.format.extent244 pages
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.isbn9781339034256
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12588/3528
dc.languageen
dc.subjectDigital Media
dc.subjectInformation System Ethics
dc.subjectIntellectual Property Theft
dc.subjectSocial Desirability Bias
dc.subjectSoftware Piracy
dc.subject.classificationInformation technology
dc.subject.lcshSoftware piracy
dc.subject.lcshComputer software -- Moral and ethical aspects
dc.titleFinders, keepers, stealers, reapers: an experimental examination of three antecedents of software piracy behavior
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.dcmiText
dcterms.accessRightspq_closed
thesis.degree.departmentInformation Systems and Cyber Security
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Texas at San Antonio
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy

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