Sardanelli, Vollero, Siano and Bottoni (2019)
Contents
Source Details
| Sardanelli, Vollero, Siano and Bottoni (2019) | |
| Title: | Lowering the pirate flag: a TPB study of the factors influencing the intention to pay for movie streaming services |
| Author(s): | Sardanelli, D., Vollero, A., Siano, A., Bottoni, G. |
| Year: | 2019 |
| Citation: | Sardanelli, D., Vollero, A., Siano, A. and Bottoni, G. (2019) Lowering the pirate flag: a TPB study of the factors influencing the intention to pay for movie streaming services. Electronic Commerce Research 19, 549-574 |
| Link(s): | Open Access |
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| About the Data | |
| Data Description: | Data were gathered using a survey which assessed, via a Likert scale, users’ attitudes, subjective norms, moral judgements, frequency of past behaviours and perceived risk to infer an intention to subscribe to movie streaming services. Thereafter data was analysed using structural equation modelling. The sample was drawn from Italian user communities, totalling 453 valid responses. |
| Data Type: | Primary data |
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| Cross Country Study?: | No |
| Comparative Study?: | No |
| Literature review?: | No |
| Government or policy study?: | No |
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Abstract
“The launch of several movie streaming services has raised new questions about how online consumers deal with both legal and illegal options to obtain their desired products. This paper investigates the factors influencing consumers’ intentions to subscribe to online movie streaming services. These services have challenged the dramatic growth in their illegal counterpart in recent years. Taking the theory of planned behavior as a starting point, we extended existing models in the literature by incorporating factors that are specific to consumer behavior in this particular field. A quantitative survey was conducted for the Italian market, and structural equation modeling was used for data analysis. Attitudes, involvement with products, moral judgement and frequency of past behavior were found to be the most important factors in explaining the intention to pay for movie streaming services. The paper provides insights for policy makers and industry managers on the marketing communication strategies needed to minimize the risk of digital piracy.”
Main Results of the Study
The study finds that users’ attitudes are most influential in determining the likelihood to subscribe to a streaming service
Where users have light media consumption, the movie category availability is most influential in determining their likelihood to subscribe to a particular service. Conversely, users with heavy media consumption are more likely to subscribe to a service based on their attitudes towards online shopping. As such, the study suggests that for users who consume less media, external motivations (such as the category of movie) are more influential, whereas this has less significance for the heavier user, who is more accustomed to the online environment and less discriminating. The latter’s frequency of past behaviour therefore erodes concerns of lighter users, such as privacy or safety of the subscription service.
Overall, subjective norms have little influence on intention. The study suggests this is because online purchasing is a primarily private affair, to which public compliance is largely irrelevant.
Policy Implications as Stated By Author
The study suggests that policy makers should give more emphasis to prevention of illegal downloading/streaming rather than through the threat of legal action. They suggest in particular to highlight the declining trend in digital piracy and the increasing frequency of people legally buying products.
In tandem with this, the study also suggests some industry initiatives that focus on offering better value for consumers, e.g. by offering micro-series or genres specific to a particular service. They suggest that superior quality of a product is more likely to increase the intention to buy rather than coercion.
Coverage of Study
Datasets
| Sample size: | 453 |
| Level of aggregation: | Users |
| Period of material under study: | May - October 2015 |
