Technological and ethical antecedents of e-book piracy and price acceptance

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the driving factors of e-books’ illegal downloading and price acceptance from a theoretical perspective that embraces ethical and technological aspects. The diffusion of e-readers and tablets has led to a spate of pirated copies of books. Design/methodology/approach – The proposed model holds that normative and value consciousness, as well as the self-efficacy, the usefulness and the use of the new technology, are determinants of the trend towards free downloads and the maximum acceptable price for e-books. Data are collected from a sample of 227 users of e-book reader devices. Findings – The results provide evidence that individuals are inclined towards piracy when they use and control the technology, whereas value consciousness mitigates illegal downloading and is basic to the individuals’ acceptance of a higher price. Implications – Bearing in mind that the spread of electronic devices has led to an increase in downloads, raising awareness of the norms among individuals is essential if piracy is to be curtailed. In addition, actions aimed at endowing electronic books with value would encourage consumers to pay a higher price for them. Originality/value – Few attempts have been made to apply ethics theories and the technology acceptance model to the context of e-books’ piracy, and even less effort has been devoted to analyse consumers’ price acceptance in the e-book industry.