Shanahan and Hyman (2010)

From Copyright EVIDENCE

Advertising Architectural Publishing of books, periodicals and other publishing Programming and broadcasting Computer programming Computer consultancy Creative, arts and entertainment Cultural education Libraries, archives, museums and other cultural activities

Film and motion pictures Sound recording and music publishing Photographic activities PR and communication Software publishing Video game publishing Specialised design Television programmes Translation and interpretation

1. Relationship between protection (subject matter/term/scope) and supply/economic development/growth/welfare 2. Relationship between creative process and protection - what motivates creators (e.g. attribution; control; remuneration; time allocation)? 3. Harmony of interest assumption between authors and publishers (creators and producers/investors) 4. Effects of protection on industry structure (e.g. oligopolies; competition; economics of superstars; business models; technology adoption) 5. Understanding consumption/use (e.g. determinants of unlawful behaviour; user-generated content; social media)

A. Nature and Scope of exclusive rights (hyperlinking/browsing; reproduction right) B. Exceptions (distinguish innovation and public policy purposes; open-ended/closed list; commercial/non-commercial distinction) C. Mass digitisation/orphan works (non-use; extended collective licensing) D. Licensing and Business models (collecting societies; meta data; exchanges/hubs; windowing; crossborder availability) E. Fair remuneration (levies; copyright contracts) F. Enforcement (quantifying infringement; criminal sanctions; intermediary liability; graduated response; litigation and court data; commercial/non-commercial distinction; education and awareness)

Source Details

Shanahan and Hyman (2010)
Title: Motivators and enablers of SCOURing: A study of online piracy in the US and UK
Author(s): Shanahan, K. J., Hyman, M. R.
Year: 2010
Citation: Shanahan, K. J., & Hyman, M. R. (2010). Motivators and enablers of SCOURing: A study of online piracy in the US and UK. Journal of Business Research, 63(9), 1095-1102.
Link(s): Definitive , Open Access
Key Related Studies:
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About the Data
Data Description: This study seeks to explore the behaviour of people engaged in SCOURing (Sharing Copyrighted or Unauthorized Replications).
  • The study employs a survey of P2P users in UK and USA as the data collection method.
  • The survey sample totalled 574. This total comprised 299 from UK and 275 from USA. Prior to the main survey the questions and format were tested on 126 college students.
  • The survey used a Likert-scale questionnaire with questions relating to the studies' theoretical model of motivations for ' SCOURing activity. These were in 2 categories: Ability (tech-saviness) and Motivation (Justification, Economic, Peer, Experiential, Believed Risklessness).
Data Type: Primary data
Secondary Data Sources:
Data Collection Methods:
Data Analysis Methods:
Industry(ies):
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Cross Country Study?: Yes
Comparative Study?: Yes
Literature review?: No
Government or policy study?: No
Time Period(s) of Collection:
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Abstract

Sharing Copyrighted or Unauthorized Replications (SCOURing) is a common activity among some 80 million online file-swappers. Unfortunately, SCOURing is also an illegal activity. A better understanding of SCOURing could help to mitigate its practice. To that end, results from an empirical study of US and UK consumers suggest SCOURing is explained by motivations (justification, believed pervasiveness by peers, believed risklessness, and experiential reasons) and ability (tech-savviness). If true, then companies' efforts to reduce SCOURing by legal action or trying to educate consumers about the victims of SCOURing may be ineffective.

Main Results of the Study

The main results of this study are:

  • Copy-protection schemes are as ineffective as legal sanctions. Network-and-software-savvy consumers eventually subvert barriers to SCOURing like encryption. Further, shuttering file-sharing networks merely shifted SCOURing to alternative networks.
  • Many consumers believe SCOURing is justified by past pricing abuses of impersonal corporations. Consumers are unwilling to pay more than a trivial amount to download music. Therefore, current pricing schemes for online access are unlikely to reduce SCOURing.
  • SCOURing is an entrenched consumer behavior. The most prolific—college-age consumers—grew up sharing files via accessibleP2P networks. As a result, they never or rarely paid for digitised intellectual property; for them, payment would be aberrant.
  • The decision to engage in SCOURing is based, at least partly, on beliefs about the behaviours of important others. Consistent with social learning theory, this research suggests peer influence relates positively to SCOURing.
  • Motivation (justification, peer influence, and believed risklessness) and ability (tech-savviness) as antecedents to SCOURing suggest why anti-SCOURing legal remedies were impotent and customer alienating.
  • If people act in a difficult-to-monitor way believed acceptable to other people, then efforts to coerce anyone to act otherwise is futile.

Policy Implications as Stated By Author

The authors state that if the findings of the study are correct, "companies' efforts to reduce SCOURing by legal action or trying to educate consumers about the victims of SCOURing may be ineffective."


Coverage of Study

Coverage of Fundamental Issues
Issue Included within Study
Relationship between protection (subject matter/term/scope) and supply/economic development/growth/welfare
Relationship between creative process and protection - what motivates creators (e.g. attribution; control; remuneration; time allocation)?
Harmony of interest assumption between authors and publishers (creators and producers/investors)
Effects of protection on industry structure (e.g. oligopolies; competition; economics of superstars; business models; technology adoption)
Understanding consumption/use (e.g. determinants of unlawful behaviour; user-generated content; social media)
Green-tick.png
Coverage of Evidence Based Policies
Issue Included within Study
Nature and Scope of exclusive rights (hyperlinking/browsing; reproduction right)
Exceptions (distinguish innovation and public policy purposes; open-ended/closed list; commercial/non-commercial distinction)
Mass digitisation/orphan works (non-use; extended collective licensing)
Licensing and Business models (collecting societies; meta data; exchanges/hubs; windowing; crossborder availability)
Green-tick.png
Fair remuneration (levies; copyright contracts)
Enforcement (quantifying infringement; criminal sanctions; intermediary liability; graduated response; litigation and court data; commercial/non-commercial distinction; education and awareness)
Green-tick.png

Datasets

Sample size: 574
Level of aggregation: P2P users
Period of material under study: Not stated