Search results

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the underlying causes, scale and scope as well as the effects of piracy as a form of the shadow economy throughout Poland, drawing on the findings of secondary studies and author’s questionnaire survey conducted in summer 2013.

An online questionnaire survey was accomplished using the computer-assisted Web interview method and real-time sampling technique, in June 2013. The survey involved 1,000 persons aged 15 years and older.

Polish consumers use pirated content, products and services primarily for financial reasons: 73 per cent of respondents point out to high prices of original products, while more than half (56 per cent) points at low incomes of Polish consumers. A significant percentage of respondents (over one-third) indicates the easiness of access to pirated goods and services. The most common activity among Polish internet users is to copy pirated music files (almost 40 per cent of internet users admit to that) and films (including watching the series in the network to which approximately 35 per cent of respondents confess to). These two kinds of files are also copied the most often – about 20 per cent of the respondents copy them once a month or more often. One-fourth of the respondents admit to copying pirated computer programs. The findings from the survey reveal that young Polish internet users demonstrate a rather permissive attitude towards online piracy that involves downloading music files or video and sharing them with other network users.

The questionnaire survey did not cover all aspects of online purchasing behaviour of Polish internet users. The findings of the survey should be approached with some caution, given the intricate and sensitive nature of the research problématique.

Regulations regarding online purchases of goods and services are not attuned to the digital reality, which is exploited by online intermediaries. The research findings highlighted the motivational and behavioural aspects of Poles’ online consumer behaviour, thus providing useful tips to curb online piracy.

The implementation of relevant regulations to ensure respect and protection for intellectual property rights on the internet in Polish as well as EU legislation has acquired a rare immediacy and may reduce the scope of online piracy and other manifestations of shadow economy in the cyberspace.

An empirical insight into the online piracy among Polish internet users providing first-hand knowledge regarding their motivation and behavioural patterns.

The purpose of this paper is to study factors that influence consumers' intention to purchase and use of pirated software.

This study tests the impact of five factors (procedural fairness, reciprocal fairness, distributive fairness, subjective norm, and attitude) on intention towards software piracy by 289 consumers' in Malaysia. Survey questions from prior studies were adopted and customized, and the model was analyzed using partial least squares and structural equation modeling tool (Smart‐PLS 2.0 M3).

The results indicated that a significant and positive relationship exists between reciprocal fairness, procedural fairness, subjective norm, attitude, and consumers' intention towards software piracy.

This study was restricted to consumers within one country (Malaysia). Additional studies across other countries are encouraged. This research can help businesses better improve the ways to reduce software piracy rates. They get to understand more about the exact problem and cause behind software piracy and can target better strategies to curb this problem.

This study is useful for researchers, managers, and software vendors willing to highlight the factors that contribute to software piracy.

The study highlights factors that influence consumers' intention towards software piracy, which has not been widely studied especially in Malaysia.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents of consumers’ attitude towards, and intention to commit, digital piracy in Indonesia, a country with the world’s fourth largest population and one of the highest digital piracy rates. This study explored the effects of six variables derived from the theory of planned behaviour, ethics theory, and deterrence theory on young consumers in Indonesia.

Using a convenience sampling approach, researchers hand delivered 400 questionnaires to undergraduate students at one large private university and one major public university in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

The results showed that consumers’ intention to pirate digital products was strongly influenced by consumers’ attitude towards digital piracy. Interestingly, fear of legal consequences and perceived likelihood of punishment were not significant predictors of consumers’ attitude towards digital piracy. This suggests that the principles of deterrence theory have a limited impact on consumers’ attitudes in Indonesia.

The results of this study will provide some insights to government and digital industries on how to reduce the prevalence of digital piracy.

One of the main aims of information systems security (ISS) is to prevent unauthorized access to and tampering with information systems resources. In April 1993 the first ever computer crime legislation came into existence in Hong Kong. Issues relating to computer fraud, hacking, and other types of threats to ISS are addressed by the legislation. As a legislative tool used in the control of computer crime, the Hong Kong experience is worth examining because it is the first major effort of this kind in the important and fast growing Far East region. In critically examining this legislation and its implications on ISS management, contributes towards a better understanding of the regulatory control of computer crime and its policy implications. Makes comparisons with countries which have a longer history of computer crime control.

The purpose of this study was to explore human factors as the possible facilitator of cyber-dependent (hacking and malware infection) and cyber-enabled (phishing) crimes victimisation and to test the applicability of lifestyle routine activities theory (LRAT) to cybercrime victimisation.

A mixed methods research paradigm was applied to address the research questions and aims. The data set of Crime Survey of England and Wales (CSEW) 2014/2015 and 42 semi-structured interviews conducted with victims of cybercrime and non-victim control group participants were analysed via binary logistic regression and content analyses methods.

This research illustrated that Internet users facilitated their victimisation through their online activities. Additionally, using insecure Internet connections and public access computers emerged as risk factors for both cyber-enabled and cyber-dependent crime victimisation. Voluntary and involuntary personal information disclosure through social networking sites and online advertisement websites increased the likelihood of being a target of phishing. Deviant online activities such as free streaming or peer-to-peer sharing emerged to increase the risk of cyber-dependent crime victimisation.

The binary logistic regression analysis results suggested LRAT as a more suitable theoretical framework for cyber-dependent crime victimisation. Future research may test this result with models including more macro variables.

Policymakers may consider implementing regulations regarding limiting the type of information required to login to free Wi-Fi connections. Checking trust signs and green padlocks may be effective safeguarding measures to lessen the adverse impacts of impulsive buying.

This study empirically illustrated that, besides individual-level factors, macro-level factors such as electronic devices being utilised to access the Internet and data breaches of large companies also increased the likelihood of becoming the victim of cyber-enabled and cyber-dependent crime.

The costs of software piracy are enormous. According to Business Software Alliance, it was estimated that the software industry lost $34 billion globally due to software piracy in 2005. The present study was an exploratory attempt to analyze software piracy at individual level, using a qualitative approach.

A qualitative research study with few, if any, theoretical preconceptions would seem to be justified in the Asian context. An internet online survey and a content analysis of internet newsgroups were conducted. Data were transcribed, coded and interpreted so as to generate main predictors of the reported leniency toward software piracy.

Using extensive qualitative data from two studies, marketing, individual and situational variables are examined as a set of predictors of respondents' reported leniency towards software piracy. The results of the content analysis suggested that the cost of original software was extremely important in software piracy. Respondents commented that excessive price of original software was the key factor pushing them to commit piracy.

This is the first piece of qualitative research to study software piracy. The results of the content analysis suggested that the cost of original software was extremely important in software piracy. It provides new insights to software companies and government officials who are developing programs to promote the concept of anti‐piracy.

This article reports the results of a survey in Brunei Darussalam concerning the use of pirated software among academics. Though, the suspicion of academics using pirated software has long been circulating around in East and South East Asia, no “hard data” has ever been collected. This article confirms the suspicion, and provides new information on the use of pirated software outside the USA. Also reveals the type of tasks accomplished by academics with pirated software, and identifies the reasons for using such software. Moreover, relates academics’ use of pirated software with nine factors related to demographics, computer exposure, and job profile of academics. The findings are discussed, and are compared with some related findings reported elsewhere. Finally, concludes with some suggestions to curb piracy, and identifies areas of further research.

Software piracy is an ongoing problem for software producers. At the same time, mobile devices such as personal digital assistants and smart phones are increasing in popularity. This paper seeks to examine the supply of pirate software for mobile devices, against a backdrop of conventional desktop piracy theory.

Using a novel data set of pirate software releases, the paper reviews 18,000 entries from a pirate software database to examine the type and origin of this software.

The paper finds that more popular platforms are not necessarily subject to greater levels of software piracy. For mobile devices, productivity software was more popular than game software. Many piracy groups were involved, but only four groups were responsible for over half of all releases. Some popular devices, such as the Blackberry and Apple iPhone, showed little to no piracy levels.

As with empirical research into any criminal or deviant behaviour, there may be intention to deceive. The findings regarding device popularity and availability of pirate software have implications for demand‐side research.

The findings provide insights for business managers and information security professionals in the telecommunications and mobile applications industries.

Prior research work has focused on software for desktop computers. This study contributes by being some of the first published work on piracy for mobile devices. The work is also original in that most prior research has focused on the demand for pirate software. This paper provides insight into the supply of this software.

Digital piracy continues to be a problem for firms, industry lobby groups and regulators. The purpose of this paper is to report initial findings of a review of the digital piracy literature. To reduce conceptual overlap and duplicated effort, the author aims to identify gaps in understanding for future research.

The paper reviews prior literature on digital piracy across disciplinary areas.

Six gaps are identified, being the supply of pirate digital materials, piracy for non‐desktop environments, alternative distribution methods, the quality of pirate materials, the behaviour of piracy groups, and the benefits of digital piracy. These gaps constitute important undiscovered areas of knowledge.

The paper excludes working papers and practitioner articles, which may contain different insight. The paper reports initial findings only, and the ongoing analysis may shed new light on these findings.

The paper contributes by providing a multidisciplinary view of gaps in the literature. No prior study has yet reviewed prior literature with a view to identifying these opportunities for future work.

The purpose of this paper is to summarise and evaluate the literature on digital consumer behaviour and attitudes towards digital piracy.

The paper presents a review and synthesis of the academic literature on the subject, using the authors' unique “pro‐forma” approach to the evaluation of individual papers.

A major limitation in the studies reported became apparent. They are almost exclusively concerned with the behaviours and attitudes of young people. There is a dearth of studies looking at demographic differences, and also a lack of longitudinal work. Given these constraints, the literature strongly suggests that social and situational factors impact on the likelihood of illegally obtaining digital content more than ethical considerations. Anonymity is a strong indicator, “de‐individualising” people and releasing them from traditional societal constraints and making the digital world far different from the physical one. The literature is ambiguous on whether punishment acts as a deterrent.

The main point that comes out of these studies is that the digital world is not the same as the physical world. It is changing basic assumptions about the idea of ownership, sharing, and copying content. Laws prohibiting all unauthorised downloading potentially criminalise millions of people, so new and creative business models are needed to resolve the problem.

The authors believe this to be the first systematic review of current literature in this area since the issue became topical with the Pirate Bay trial and the Government's Digital Britain report.