Attitudes to and factors affecting unauthorized copying of computer software in Finland

Abstract

Several quantitative studies have sought to determine the factors affecting the unauthorized copying of software, particularly in North America. However, we find no statistically reliable studies on the situation in Europe. In order to address this gap in the literature, we explored the attitudes to and factors affecting the unauthorized copying of computer software of 249 Finnish university students: nine hypotheses derived from the existing research on unauthorized copying of computer software or theories of ethics were tested. A quantitative questionnaire was used as the research instrument. The results shed new light on the characteristics of users and factors affecting the unauthorized copying of software.

Acknowledgements

We thank the editor and referees for their valuable comments and insights on the earlier version of this article. We would also like to thank Mr. Turunen and Mr. Kajava for making available to us the collection of data from their courses.