Cheng, Sims and Teegen (1997)
Contents
Source Details
Cheng, Sims and Teegen (1997) | |
Title: | To purchase or to pirate software: An empirical study |
Author(s): | Cheng, H. K., Sims, R. R., Teegen, H. |
Year: | 1997 |
Citation: | Cheng, H. K., Sims, R. R., & Teegen, H. (1997). To purchase or to pirate software: An empirical study. Journal of Management Information Systems, 13(4), 49-60. |
Link(s): | Definitive |
Key Related Studies: | |
Discipline: | |
Linked by: | Banerjee, Khalid and Sturm (2005), Holm (2001), Kwan (2007), Moores (2003) |
About the Data | |
Data Description: | The sample group consisted of a total of 340 business students; of which 73 were resident M.B.A. students, 27 were executive M.B.A. students, and 240 were undergraduate business students. |
Data Type: | Primary data |
Secondary Data Sources: | |
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Data Analysis Methods: | |
Industry(ies): | |
Country(ies): | |
Cross Country Study?: | No |
Comparative Study?: | No |
Literature review?: | No |
Government or policy study?: | No |
Time Period(s) of Collection: |
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Abstract
Illegal copying of computer software, usually called software piracy, is a prevalent and serious problem. Some researchers attribute the widespread incidence of software piracy to people's attitudes toward piracy behavior and peer norms. However, current literature leaves unanswered a fundamental question of why individuals pirate software. The objective of this paper is to identify the underlying reasons why individuals pirate software. We also identify what motivates individuals to purchase software as opposed to pirating it. Understanding why individuals purchase and pirate software has clear value for policymakers to develop effective measures to curb the software piracy problem.
Main Results of the Study
- This research found that the three most important reasons for respondents to purchase software were "required for school work or workplace," "use the software all the time," and "availability of manual."* The three most important reasons for pirating software included "software too expensive," "want to try out software," and "can't afford the software." These reasons, with the affordability of software as the common thread, are used by software pirates to justify their piracy.* Software piracy is often used by software vendors as grounds for pricing the software higher in order to recoup the potential piracy losses.* The findings in this study suggest that a higher software price makes piracy more desirable and a lower software price may in fact be called for.
Policy Implications as Stated By Author
Besides lowering the software price, another way for software vendors to combat the software-piracy problem is to raise both consumers' reservation price and perhaps their "moral" cost of piracy.
Coverage of Study
Datasets
Sample size: | 340 |
Level of aggregation: | Individuals |
Period of material under study: | 1997 |