Modeling the unethical intention of software piracy: a qualitative integration of network externalities and information cascades

Information cascades and network externalities have been increasingly influential in explaining the many market outcomes of information technology (IT), but their application to ethical issues of IT has been limited. This study proposes a conceptual model of unethical intention of software piracy by integrating information cascades and network externalities in terms of a theoretical perspective from the literature of economics. In the conceptual model, unethical intention of software piracy is proposed to be influenced by the network benefits of using pirated software, while the network benefits are proposed to be affected by the overall adopter base of pirated software directly and indirectly through the availability of pirated complementary software. Accordingly, whereas the perception of others’ piracy is proposed to be influenced by the overall adopter base of pirated software, the unethical intention of software piracy is proposed to be influenced indirectly by the perception of others’ piracy through the perceived signal that piracy seems a good idea. Finally, this study also provides the conclusion and limitation.