Software copyright infringements: An exploratory study of the effects of individual and peer beliefs

Based on the reasoned action and the differential association theories, a model is derived to explore the effects of individual and peer beliefs on software copyright infringements in Saudi Arabia. This study presents empirical evidence about this developing country on the impact of beliefs on behavior regarding ethical issues that can arise as a result of ethical dilemmas, in a culture that is different from those existing in developed countries, Within this juxtaposition, emphasizing intellectual property right issues in Saudi Arabia provides the tension from which this study strives to stimulate interest in ethical issues where no previous empirical investigations have been found. The scenario method has been adopted to collect data from 278 respondents, The results show that individual and peer beliefs have significant effects on ethical intention to observe or infringe software copyright and, hence, on software piracy, The findings and their implications are discussed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.