Software Piracy Among Employees in Australian University

Transcription

1 Software Piracy Among Employees in Australian University N. Almazmomi, Department of Management, La Trobe University, S. Zyngier, Department of Management, La Trobe University, J. Spoor, Department of Management, La Trobe University and I. Alharbi, Department of Management, La Trobe University. Abstract Software piracy is a global problem that has resulted in huge economic losses worldwide. A report by the Business Software Alliance [1] noted that for the past five years worldwide, software piracy has hovered between 35% to 38%, and losses amounted to billions of dollars. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the demographic variables of Australian university employees and their actual behavior in relation to software piracy. Data were obtained from a survey of 278 staff in a public university in Australia. The study found that overall, the actual behavior of university staff in relation to software piracy is affected by demographic variables and computer variables. Also, females were less likely to pirate software than males. Age and level of education negatively related to software piracy, whereas there was no identifiable relationship between either computer experience or Internet experience with software piracy. Also, income does not appear to be related to the level of software piracy. The findings of this paper are preliminary results of a larger research project. Keywords Software Piracy, Piracy, Australia, Survey, high education I. INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW High-speed Internet connections and the increased power of computing technologies have resulted in a growing trend towards software piracy. The prevalence and significant growth of software piracy has both attracted and warranted attention from researchers, educators, software developers, intellectual property advocators and software producers. Despite the use of deterrent and preventive measures to combat software piracy [2], this problem is unabated. Software piracy, defined as the unauthorized utilization, replication, and distribution of commercially available or copyrighted software [3], has been increasing years [1]. Additional definitions include the unauthorized use or copying of intellectual property (IP) and software, which are protected [4], [5]. As a result, global software piracy is a serious problem for consumers, policymakers, and businesses because of the loss of commercial profit [1] and consequently is also of interest to Academics. In this paper, employees acts of software piracy are examined in relation to demographic variables (e.g., gender, age, and education), and computer-related variables (e.g., computer experience, Internet experience and computer ownership). Demographic Factors in Software Piracy: In the extant literature, numbers of studies have attempted to interpret software piracy by developing a profile of individuals who would most likely engage in pirating software, focusing on such characteristics as age, gender, socioeconomic class, level of education, and level of computer experience [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11]. Many previous studies have shown that people of different gender, ages, levels of income, and levels of educational attainment tend to vary in their willingness to buy pirated software [12], [13], [14]. However, previous studies have reported inconsistent findings about the effects of age, income, and level of education on actual pirating behaviors. Tom et al. [15] found that customers who use pirated software tend to be younger, to earn less income, and to have received less education. Studies show that the propensity to pirate software does not depend on the age, [17], [18]., However, Oz [19], Shim and Taylor [20], found that no significant differences exist in software piracy in relation to different age groups. Some studies demonstrate that the younger generation shows more inclination towards software piracy as compared to the older generation [21], [22]. Moreover, Sims, Cheng and Teegan [25] hypothesized whether younger students pirate software more often than older students. Van Der Merwe found [23] that among distance education students, younger students pirated software more than older students. Similarly Gan and Koh, [24] found age is negatively related to software piracy. That older students overwhelmingly showed support to pirate more than younger students when asked to indicate the number of times in the past year older student copied software without buy it. Further, Sims et al., [25] found that older students pirated software more frequently than younger students. On the other hand, [6] did not find significant differences between older and younger students in pirating behavior. Gender is another important demographic factor that has been linked to software piracy. Contrary to the research findings of Oz [19], Davis and Welton [26] and Tsalikis and Ortiz- Buonafina [27] suggest that there were no differences between the genders and software piracy, and research by Pereira and Kanekar [28] suggests that females evidenced greater ethical sensitivity than did males. Sims et al, [25] extended their research by focusing on demographic factors and unethical behaviour in general, and software piracy in particular. Sims' study found a significant difference between males and females in terms of the extent to which they pirate software.

2 Several studies have suggested that male students are more likely to engage in software piracy than female students [25], [23], and male computer users may have more lenient attitudes toward pirated software than female users [29]. However, not all studies show this gender difference in software piracy. Based on a survey of students, faculty, and professionals, Peslak [30] found that females had a higher incidence of copying others software than males. Moores and Chang [31] found that male and female students interpret the act of software piracy similarly while van der Byl and van Belle [32] did not find a statistically significant relationship between gender and software piracy. Prior research has suggested that there is a significant relationship between an individual's level of education and software piracy. Wee et al. [14] found that the higher the education level of an individual, the higher the chance that he or she would to use pirated software. Also, it has been observed that countries that have literacy rates and that spend a large portion on national research and development tend to engage in less software piracy [41]. However, Ang et al. [12] clearly demonstrated that education is not related to one's intention to use pirated software. Sims et al, [25] identified two factors as significant to software piracy: software price and household income. While Rahim, Seyal and Rahman [33] found that the influence of family income did not appear to have an effect in relation to pirating software for personal gain, indicating that students who come from both higher and lower income groups tend to engage in software piracy. However, Marron and Steel [41] has been found that countries with high-income populations tend to engage in less software piracy [41]. Computer-Related Factors in Software Piracy: Personal computer (PC) experience is another potentially significant factor influencing on pirated. For instance, computer literate students may pirate software [33]. Van den Merwe [23] also found that the more personal computer experience distance-computing students had, the more likely they were to engage in more software piracy. Eining and Christensen [34] have also suggested that there is a relationship between software piracy and familiarity with computers. However, Rahim et al [33] found no significant relationship between PC ownership, PC experience and software piracy intention. Technical skill may be another essential factor in predicting software piracy. Two studies that tested the effect of technical skills found that it was a statistically insignificant predictor of computer crime [35], [36]. However, according to [37], both of these studies utilized measures of technical ability that did not capture the reality of what can be considered a high level of technological expertise linked with software piracy [38], [6], [37]. Hinduja and Ingram [39] tested Internet proficiency by asking respondents about their experience in conducting ten online activities, such as setting up mail server preferences and building a web page. These variables were merged into a scale representing Internet experience. Their results showed that a higher level of Internet experience is related with increased software piracy. Their study also indicated that faster Internet connectivity was linked with higher piracy rates [39]. It can be suggested that the Internet has enabled an increase in software piracy in recent years. Wall [40] argued that the Internet enables individuals to easily commit criminal activity for four reasons: it allows anonymous communication, it is relatively easy and it is transnational, it has created a shift in thinking from the ownership of physical property to the ownership of ideas. A rising proportion of individuals are using these dedicated connection from 5 million in 1999 to 12 million in 2000 equipped with cable modem, DSL, or ISDN (integrated services digital network a less prevalent and slower dedicated link) lines at home [38]. Thus, technological advances such as the improvement of media with bigger data storage capacity and a network infrastructure that allows for greater speeds in data transmission have redefined and broadened the pre-existing conception of software piracy. In addition to measuring Internet experience and variety of use, Hinduja and Ingram [39] found that users with high-speed Internet connections were more likely to engage in software piracy. Income and Internet connection variables were usually found to be significant [6], [37], [39], [41], [42]. II. RESEARCH METHOD This study used a quantitative method approach to investigate the relationships between the self-reported software piracy with demographic variables and computer use variables. In this study, a sequential mixed-mode survey has been selected as the data collection tool. A questionnaire was used to examine the factors that lead to software piracy. A total of 278 participants took part in this study from Australian university, 120 responding to the paper questionnaire and 156 responding to a web-based questionnaire.in the first step of the process, the researcher prepared a list of university employees, classified by faculty and department, and posted 800 paper questionnaires with the participant information sheet, consent form and a return envelope to the employees mailbox at the university. The researcher received about 120 completed questionnaires over the four months from 15 November 2012 to 15 March Due to the slow response to the paper questionnaire, the researcher started to send the URL link to the web-based questionnaire to the employees university address. The questionnaire was constructed on the basis of the extant literature, expert academic review prior research and similar empirical studies conducted in the past [21], [22] [36], [38], [41], [16], [45]. The questionnaire was used to obtain accurate, objective and context-specific information from university employees. The questionnaire consisted of two sections: the first section asked demographic questions, which will be discussed in this paper. Participants were asked to indicate whether they had ever pirated software. The second section of the survey investigates factors behind software piracy. Those factors will be further explored in future papers.

3 III. ANALYSIS AND RESULTS In this section, the analysis and the results of the study are presented in figures generated from SPSS V20 for each demographic variable and the degree of software piracy behaviors. The researchers used a split file technique to define the sample who pirated and those who did not pirate to obtain a deeper understanding of the staff s actual behavior in relation to software piracy. The objective of the analysis is to investigate the relationships between the demographic variables and computer use variables of respondents in relation to software piracy. The following figures provide data on the variables and the degree of software piracy of the participants. Fig. 1 shows that male respondents were more likely to say they had pirated software whereas female respondents were more likely to say they had not pirated software. This is consistent with Lau [29], who found that male computer users were more lenient in their attitudes toward pirated software than female users. Male Female % 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Fig. 1. Gender and piracy behavior A previous study conducted by Gan and Koh [24] found that age is negatively related to software piracy. Results of a study conducted by Peslak [30] also showed that older individuals more readily follow ethical norms regarding copying others software. In this study, figure 2 shows the younger age groups and tends to pirate software more as compared to the older age groups with age 40 and above. Thus, as shown in figure 2 a significant relationship was found between actual behaviors of university staff towards software piracy age group Marron and Steel [43] found a strong negative correlation between piracy and education. From figure 3 below, it is clearly evident that employees who have completed bachelor degree are in greatest number who use pirated software as compared to other categories mentioned in level of education. On the contrary, university staff acquiring masters or professional education tend to use software piracy less and non-pirated software more. Doctoral/Professional Completed high school Not completed high Fig. 3. Level of Education and piracy behavior As Figure 4 below indicate that, participants in the sample who own a personal computer, 100% stated that they had pirated software. Further, the participants who did not own a personal computer, 97.2% also indicated that they had not pirated software. Thus, own a personal computer was identifiable relationship with software piracy. Not own Pc Graduate Diploma Own Pc Master degree Bachelor degree Diploma Figure 4: Personal Computer Ownership and Piracy Behavior As seen in Figure. 5 below, Sample population with experience of using computer for less than 6 months up to experience of computer use 9 years shows little or no involvement in piracy. Whereas, staffs who had pirated software, 97% reported having more than 10 years of experience and the staffs who had not pirated software, 96.1 reported having more than 10 years of experience. Thus, experience of using computer was identifiable relationship with software piracy No Pirated Software Fig. 2. Age and Piracy Behavior.

4 10 years and more 7-9 years 5-7 years 3-5 years 1-3 years 6-12 months Less than 6 months Fig. 5. Computer Use and Piracy Behavior As Fig. 6 shows that sample population with experience of using Internet for less than 6 months up to experience of 9 years shows little or no involvement in piracy. As Fig. 6 shows that sample population with experience of using Internet for less than 6 months up to experience of 9 years shows little or no involvement in piracy. Whereas, staffs who had pirated software, 88% reported having more than 10 years of experience and the staffs who had not pirated software, 86% reported having more than 10 years of experience. Experience of 10 years and 7 to 9 years are not that great but the result obtained is quite diverse so nothing can be concluded. Experience of 10 years and 7 to 9 years are not that great but the result obtained is quite diverse so nothing can be concluded. Dial up WiFi DSL Cable Fig. 7. Type of Internet Connection and Piracy Behavior Previous research also found that individuals with a low income were more likely to participate in software piracy. Income has also been used as a statistical control, however income and Internet connection variables were usually found to be significant [6], [37], [39], [41], [42]. The participants who earn income less than AU$ 2000 Per month are more involved in pirated software as compared to non-pirated software. People with income AU$ 2000 AU$ 2999 are more inclined towards using non-pirated software. People with income AU$ 3000 AU$ 3999 are more involved in pirated software as compared to non-pirated software. As figure 8 below shows, Income does not appear to be related to the level of software piracy. 10 years and more 7-9 years 5-7 years 3-5 years 1-3 years 6-12 months Less than 6 months More than AU $6,000 AU $ 4,000 AU $5,999 AU $ 4,000 AU $4,999 AU $ 3,000 AU $3,999 AU $ 2,000 AU$2,999 AU $ 1,000 AU $1,999 Less than AU $ Fig. 8. Personal Income and Piracy Behavior Fig. 6. Use of the Internet and Piracy Behavior The Fig. 7 below shows that the highest percentage of respondents who pirated software used a DSL and WiFi connection. This finding confirms previous research, for example, it has been found [39] that individuals with a highspeed Internet connection were more likely to participate in software piracy. In this study regarding the percentage of participants who use pirated software and use DSL were more than people who use Wi-Fi and cable as Internet connection. Therefore, the percentage of participant s uses DSL and WiFi have the greatest share in software piracy as compared to the ones who use slow Internet connections. IV. CONCLUSION Demographic characteristics and a technical factors such as familiarity with computers, experiences of internet use and high speed connection like those suggested by Highland [44] and those identified in this study are important in understanding factors associated with software piracy and allow software publishers and user organizations (e.g., universities and colleges) to enhance address the problem of software piracy. Software companies pass their loss of income from software piracy on to the users by charging higher prices to the users who actually purchase the software. Thus, the reduction of software piracy is significant for both developers and purchasers of software [34], [45]. The main aim of the present study, which is part of

5 ongoing research, was to explore the relationships between demographic characteristics of university staff and their actual behavior in relation to software piracy. The findings of this study show that the rate of software piracy of university staff was not affected by monthly income. Moreover, the result of this study found that the younger age groups, and 30-39, tend to pirate software more as compared to the older age group, age 40 and above. Also, the more personal computer experience and Internet experience the staff reported having similar result, that mean personal computer experience and Internet experience, is not associated with increased software piracy. In this research, level of education appears to be associated to the level of software piracy and it found that university staff acquiring masters or professional education tend to use software piracy less and non-pirated software more. Gender is another important demographic factor that has been linked to software piracy. Ford and Richardson [46] concluded that females are more ethical than males; therefore females will use pirated software less than males, as software piracy can be considered unethical. This research confirms that males are more likely to be software pirates. Thus, it can be said the female less pirate than male may because the female consider ethical issues and they are less risk takers than males. Universities need to ensure that their employees are required to explore, discuss and understand the issue of software piracy from several perspectives: managers who may have to set policies; software developers who may be asked to develop software; and software publishers who lose money from piracy and then pass the costs on to users to help them understand the full impact of software piracy. One step towards solving a software piracy problem among university staff, is the development and posting of a clearly stated software policy for students and staff. That these two groups be duly educated of the importance of adhering to the policies and the consequences for noncompliance. Students and staff should be requested to sign a consent form before being issued a computer account. An on-screen warning against software piracy might serve as a reminder when users log on or access any university software. In addition, universities can enhance monitoring of activities and work with software publishers while hiring internal auditors to conduct regular software inventory checks. The universities should continue to treat copyright infringement as a criminal offence and help deter or even prosecute offenders. For instance, universities should identify violators [3] and stop their computer account [47]. 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