Software Piracy and Ethical Decision Making Behavior of Chinese Consumers

Authors

  • Fang Wang Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada
  • Hongxia Zhang Peking University, P.R. China
  • Ming Ouyang University of New Brunswick, Canada

Abstract

China has one of the highest software piracy rate in the world. It is important to understand consumers' ethical response to software piracy in the Chinese markets and design effective preventive strategies. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for an understanding of consumer ethical decision making. In the proposed framework, the transformation from legal problem recognition to ethical problem recognition is added to the traditional research framework and viewed as the first and most important step in consumer ethical decision making in regards to software piracy. The effects of two culture-related constructs— assumption of responsibility and attitude towards copyright laws on consumer ethical decision making— are examined and two propositions are made. The influence of Chinese culture and history on consumer ethical decision making is discussed. This paper contributes to our understanding of consumer ethical decision making in software piracy and provides new and constructive interpretations of the cultural influence.

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Published

2005-12-01

How to Cite

Wang, F., Zhang, H., & Ouyang, M. (2005). Software Piracy and Ethical Decision Making Behavior of Chinese Consumers. Journal of Comparative International Management, 8(2). Retrieved from https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/JCIM/article/view/642

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 2 (2005)

Section

RESEARCH ARTICLES

License

Papers accepted become the copyright of the journal, unless otherwise specifically agreed.