Situational determinants of software piracy: An equity theory perspective

Software piracy has become recognized as a major problem for the software industry and for business. One research approach that has provided a theoretical framework for studying software piracy has been to place the illegal copying of software within the domain of ethical decision making assumes tha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of business ethics
Authors: Glass, Richard S. (Author) ; Wood, Wallace A. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer Science + Business Media B. V 1996
In: Journal of business ethics
Further subjects:B Decision Making
B Research Approach
B Ethical Decision
B Substantial Evidence
B Economic Growth
Online Access: Volltext (JSTOR)
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Summary:Software piracy has become recognized as a major problem for the software industry and for business. One research approach that has provided a theoretical framework for studying software piracy has been to place the illegal copying of software within the domain of ethical decision making assumes that a person must be able to recognize software piracy as a moral issue. A person who fails to recognize a moral issue will fail to employ moral decision making schemata. There is substantial evidence that many individuals do not perceive software piracy to be an ethical problem. This paper applies social exchange theory, in particular equity theory, to predict the influence of situational factors on subjects' intentions to participate in software piracy. Consistent with the predictions of equity theory this study found that input and outcome situational variables significantly effect a person's intentions to commit software piracy.
ISSN:1573-0697
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of business ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/BF00412817