Kini, Ramakrishna and Vijayaraman (2003)

Source Details

Kini, Ramakrishna and Vijayaraman (2003)
Title:	An exploratory study of moral intensity regarding software piracy of students in Thailand
Author(s):	Kini, R. B., Ramakrishna, H., Vijayaraman, B.
Year:	2003
Citation:	Kini, R. B., Ramakrishna, H. V., & Vijayaraman, B. S. (2003). An exploratory study of moral intensity regarding software piracy of students in Thailand. Behaviour & Information Technology, 22(1), 63-70.
Link(s):	Definitive
Key Related Studies:	Kohlberg (1969) Rest (1986) Athey (1993) Ballantine (2000) Logsdon, Thompson and Reid (1996)
Discipline:	O33: Technological Change: Choices and Consequences • Diffusion Processes O34: Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital Z11: Economics of the Arts and Literature Z13: Economic Sociology • Economic Anthropology • Social and Economic Stratification
Linked by:	Acilar and Aydemir (2010), Konstantakis, Palaigeorgiou, Siozos and Tsoukalas (2010), Limayem, Khalifa and Chin (2004)

About the Data
Data Description:	Dataset consists of 669 students of a private Thai University, who competed questionnaires which were based on the moral development work done by Kohlberg (1969) and Rest (1986). The students were asked to rate the question items on a Likert type scale of 1 to 5, 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree.
Data Type:	Primary data
Secondary Data Sources:
Data Collection Methods:	Survey Research (quantitative; e.g. sales/income reporting)
Data Analysis Methods:	Regression Analysis
Industry(ies):	Software publishing (including video games)
Country(ies):	Thailand
Cross Country Study?:	No
Comparative Study?:	No
Literature review?:	No
Government or policy study?:	No
Time Period(s) of Collection:	Not stated
Funder(s):	Rotary International District 6540

Abstract

In the business environment that is becoming increasingly global and digital, the need for proper safeguards for protecting digital assets is increasingly becoming critical. Specifically, software piracy is becoming economically devastating to companies that develop and market software. Some researchers have argued that the level of moral intensity regarding software piracy of individuals may be related to the extent of actual software piracy behaviour. In order to empirically study this relationship, it is important to understand the concept of moral intensity towards software piracy. In this research, we study the concept in an international setting, a university in Thailand. We report the relationship between moral intensity and some important demographic variables and also explore the relationship between moral intensity of individuals and the perceived moral intensity of their community, the students, employees, and faculty. The results have implications for developing and implementing appropriate policies to reduce software piracy.

Main Results of the Study

This article examines the relationships between moral intensity and some important demographic variables and the impact of the perception of individuals regarding moral intensity of their immediate community on their own moral intensity. More specifically, it shows that:

• Male students, on average, appear to have a significantly higher moral intensity score than female students.

• Graduate students tend to have a significantly higher moral intensity score, on average, as compared with undergraduate students.

• Students with advanced experience with computers appear to have, on average, a higher level of moral intensity.

• The perceived level of moral intensity of faculty does not seem to be related to the level of moral intensity of individual students.

Policy Implications as Stated By Author

In order for policy to increase the levels of moral intensity, it should target:

• The age groups that are under 30 years of age.

• The female population more than the male population.

• Undergraduate student.

• People who are not advanced users of computers.

It should also increase the perceived level of moral intensity of other students and university employees.

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)

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)
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)

Datasets

Sample size:	669
Level of aggregation:	Individual
Period of material under study:	Not stated