Work

Digital piracy and the perception of price fairness: evidence from a field experiment

Year: 2020

Type: article

Abstract: We study a relationship between perceived price fairness and digital piracy. In a large-scale field experiment on customers of a leading ebook store, we employ the Bayesian truth serum to elicit the information on acquiring books from unauthorized sources (often referred to as digital piracy). We provide empirical evidence in support of the conjecture that willingness to “pirate” is associated with having experienced subjective overpricing. We propose and verify the relevance of two mechanisms behind this link: reactance theory and moral cleansing/licensing. The results indicate that pricing policy perceived as fair may reduce the scope for digital piracy.

Source: Journal of Cultural Economics

DOI: 10.1007/s10824-020-09390-4

Authors: Anna Kukla-Gryz, Joanna Tyrowicz, Michał Krawczyk

Institutions: University of Warsaw, IZA - Institute of Labor Economics

Language: English

Topic: Copyright and Intellectual Property

Subfield: Marketing

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,750