Copyright Warning Use of this thesis/dissertation/project is for the purpose of private study or scholarly research only. Users must comply with the Copyright Ordinance. Anyone who consults this thesis/dissertation/project is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and that no part of it may be reproduced without the author’s prior written consent. CITY UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG 香港城市大學 Internet Piracy – A User Behavioral Perspective 互聯網盜版 - 解構網絡用戶行為模式 Submitted to Department of English and Communication 英文與傳播系 in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 哲學博士學位 by Lai Hiu Man Debby 黎曉雯 August 2007 二零零七年八月 ii Abstract With increased bandwidth and transmission speed, the Internet allows digital copyrighted works to be distributed and transmitted with high efficiency, thus providing vast opportunities for the growth of pirating activities. Internet piracy – the unauthorized copying or sharing of digital copyrighted works online – is a growing concern in the information age as it is inflicting a significant impact on the well-being of businesses and individuals. Hong Kong has a high rate of Internet piracy despite its status as an economic and technological hub in Asia. However, the existing law and technologies cannot effectively curb the proliferation of pirating activities. The HKSAR government is a pioneer in criminalizing infringers who upload files for sharing, but enforcement actions seemed to have backfired and the government is now calling for public views to address the problem. This dissertation looks at some root causes of piracy by exploring psycho-behavioral factors that influence individuals’ pirating activities despite their knowledge of the illegality of such activities. It develops a conceptual model of Internet pirating behavior of Hong Kong Internet users based on psycho-behavioral theories (i.e. the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior), communication theory (i.e. uses and gratifications), literature on piracy (especially software piracy), and peer discussions that map out motivating factors influencing Internet pirating behavior. The final data was collected in May 2006 using computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) technology. A two-step Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique was used to validate the measurement model and test the model fit. Findings indicate that perceived personal advantages and subjective norms have a statistically significant influence on individuals’ attitude towards Internet piracy, and the relationship found between perceived normative beliefs and subjective norms is also significant. The hypothesized relations between the intention to pirate and the four constructs - attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and perceived needs for Internet piracy - are all supported. Finally, both intention and past offline piracy behavior are found to have a significant role in explaining the actual piracy behavior. Identifying reasons why people pirate on the Internet from the user behavior perspective not only enhances the scholarly understanding of the problem but also offers valuable insights to government or regulatory bodies and the entertainment and software industry about the pirating scene (and the piraters’ mentality) to help them plan or implement relevant and reasonable policies. iii Table of Contents Chapter One Introduction ................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction........................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 Research problem....................................................................................... 2 1.1.2 Organization of the dissertation................................................................. 2 1.2 Piracy and Internet Piracy..................................................................................... 4 1.3 The Impact of Global Internet Piracy on the Entertainment and Software Industry ....................................................................................................................... 7 1.3.1 Negative impact of Internet piracy ............................................................ 8 1.3.2 Positive impact of Internet piracy............................................................ 11 1.4 Two Major Responses to Internet Piracy – Law and Technologies ................... 14 1.4.1 Copyright law........................................................................................... 14 1.4.2 A three-pronged approach to curb Internet piracy - Lobbying, Legislation, Litigation........................................................................................................... 15 1.4.3 Use of advanced technology to prevent Internet piracy........................... 17 1.5 Problems with the Law and Technologies.......................................................... 19 1.5.1 Problems with the law as the sole regulator............................................. 19 1.5.2 Problems of technological control ........................................................... 24 1.6 Purpose of Research............................................................................................ 27 1.6.1 The importance of studying Internet piracy............................................. 27 1.6.2 Objectives of the study............................................................................. 30 Chapter Two Literature Review........................................................................................ 31 2.1 Descriptive Research .......................................................................................... 31 2.2 Ethical Consideration of Piracy .......................................................................... 33 2.3 Piracy from a Cultural Perspective ..................................................................... 34 2.4 Motivating Factors of Piracy .............................................................................. 35 2.5 Piracy Studies with Specific Models .................................................................. 39 2.6 Drawbacks........................................................................................................... 42 Chapter Three Theoretical Development.......................................................................... 45 3.1 Uses and Gratifications....................................................................................... 45 3.1.1 Internet use............................................................................................... 45 3.1.2 “Expectancy-value” & “problem-solving” theory................................... 46 3.1.3 Internet piracy .......................................................................................... 47 3.2 TRA & TPB ........................................................................................................ 49 3.3 Theoretical Framework....................................................................................... 52 3.3.1 The importance of Attitude...................................................................... 53 3.3.2 Determinants of Intention ........................................................................ 59 3.3.3 Perceived Normative Beliefs – the single determinant of Subjective Norms................................................................................................................ 63 3.3.4 Determinants of Behavior........................................................................ 64 3.3.5 Control Variables..................................................................................... 66 3.3.6 Research Model ....................................................................................... 67 3.4 Research Hypotheses .......................................................................................... 68 3.4.1 Cognitive Beliefs (COGBE) .................................................................... 68 3.4.2 Ethical Belief (ETHIC)............................................................................ 68 iv 3.4.3 Computer Deindividuation (DEIN) ......................................................... 69 3.4.4 Perceived Unfairness of the Industry (UNIN) ......................................... 70 3.4.5 Subjective Norms (SN)............................................................................ 70 3.4.6 Perceived Normative Beliefs (NORMB)................................................. 71 3.4.7 Attitude (ATT)......................................................................................... 72 3.4.8 Perceived Behavioral Control (PBC)....................................................... 72 3.4.9 Perceived Needs for Internet Piracy (PNIP) ............................................ 73 3.4.10 Intention to Internet Piracy (INT).......................................................... 73 3.4.11 Past Offline Piracy Experience (PAST)................................................. 74 3.4.12 Summary of Research Hypotheses ........................................................ 74 Chapter Four Research Design and Methodology............................................................ 76 4.1 Research Design.................................................................................................. 76 4.2 Questionnaire Design and Measurements........................................................... 77 4.2.1 Part One - Elicitation Study ....................................................................