"The theory of planned behaviour and how it relates to software piracy".
Date
2009-03-04T07:44:48Z
Authors
Van der Schyff, Derek
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Owing to the ever increasing prevalence of software piracy and the alarming rise in costs to
global economies, this research evaluated the Theory of Planned Behaviour and looked to
determine if there are any relationships between the constructs under the model and
intentions to carry out a specific behaviour, namely the copying of unauthorised computer
software. The theory suggests that should attitudes and social norms favour the pirating of
software and should the individual have the necessary perceived behavioural control and selfefficacy
then they will be more likely to have intention to commit a certain act.
A quantitative study looking at 225 individuals from organisations in the fields of
manufacturing, finance and information technology was carried out to evaluate the theory’s
claims. Correlations and linear regressions were run to analyse the data and it emerged that
attitudes were the major predictor of intentions to pirate software accounting for up to 55% of
the variance. Despite the perceived behavioural control variable there was significant support
for the predictive value of the different constructs under the Theory of Planned Behaviour as
well as the construct of self-efficacy.
Description
Keywords
Software piracy, Planned behaviour