Same Coin, Different Sides: Differential Impact of Social Learning on Two Facets of Music Piracy

Differential effects of social influence sources on self-reported music piracy

“…The music industry was also actively suing individuals who engaged in music piracy. When a lawsuit was in action, the music industry publicized it, and used it as an intervention to warn other people who were engaging in similar behavior [81]. Publicizing these lawsuits and promoting anti-piracy messages may help correct the misconception about the nature of piracy, and consequently change the attitudes toward piracy and alter the piracy behavior.…”

“…For example, Wang et al [81] showed that both unauthorized obtaining and unauthorized sharing are shaped by the social learning environment, and different consumer groups present distinct patterns of social learning influences. Morris and Higgins [54] examined how demographic variables (i.e., region, age, gender, and race) affect individuals' degree of social learning, which in turn, influences their digital piracy behavior.…”

“…Piracy by nature is a learned behavior [51,54,81]. Once are learned, such attitudes can be internalized and serve as a driving factor for piracy.…”

“…Drawing from social learning theory [2][3][4] in criminology, a few studies [51,54,81] have explored how social learning occurs in the context of digital piracy. For example, Wang et al [81] showed that both unauthorized obtaining and unauthorized sharing are shaped by the social learning environment, and different consumer groups present distinct patterns of social learning influences.…”

“…According to Pew Internet & American Life [64], more than two-thirds of all individuals engaging in music piracy over the Internet have attended university at some point in their lives. About 87% of students currently in college conduct some form of illegal copying [81]. On average, each college student has over 800 illegally downloaded songs on his/her digital music player [70].…”