A Comparative Study of Factors Influencing Software Piracy : Focused on Different Software User Groups

Abstract

Software piracy is widespread throughout the world. It has negative effects on the software industry and the intellectual property market. Despite various deterrent policies, the phenomenon has been getting severe. The current study investigated the antecedents of software piracy attitudes and intention. In order to identify factors and their relationship, a research model for illegal piracy behavior was developed and empirically examined through a path analysis using structural equation model. Also, this study employed a multiple group structural equation model to investigate differences in structural weights across PC software user group and smartphone application user group. It was revealed that perceived benefit, habit, social factor, self-efficacy had positive effect on attitude toward software piracy, whereas perceived risk had a decreasing influence on attitude. Relationships between piracy attitudes and intentions were significant as well. Furthermore, the cross validation between two groups showed the path coefficients of habit to attitude and attitude to intention were significantly different. Implications for research and practice are discussed.