Softlifting and piracy: Behavior across cultures

As the use of information technology spreads throughout the world, as software becomes more complex and its cost increases, and as the ease with which software can be copied increases, ethical and financial risks also increase. Software ethics have received considerable attention in the literature, but most studies focus on a few variables or are ethnocentric. Some studies focus on several countries, but little of this research uses primary data, nor does it compare softlifting and piracy, and it makes no attempt to uncover why these activities take place. This study focuses on the attitudes of students in four countries: the United States, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Pakistan. Respondents were asked to evaluate nine ethical scenarios of increasing consequence. An analysis of the data produced three significant findings: software ethics are country-dependent; softlifting and piracy are distinct ethical problems; and Hofstede's cultural dimensions suggest a relationship between one of the four dimensions and softlifting, and between three of the four dimensions and piracy.