Understanding consumer intention with respect to purchase and use of pirated software

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study factors that influence consumers' intention to purchase and use of pirated software.Design/methodology/approachThis study tests the impact of five factors (procedural fairness, reciprocal fairness, distributive fairness, subjective norm, and attitude) on intention towards software piracy by 289 consumers' in Malaysia. Survey questions from prior studies were adopted and customized, and the model was analyzed using partial least squares and structural equation modeling tool (Smart‐PLS 2.0 M3).FindingsThe results indicated that a significant and positive relationship exists between reciprocal fairness, procedural fairness, subjective norm, attitude, and consumers' intention towards software piracy.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was restricted to consumers within one country (Malaysia). Additional studies across other countries are encouraged. This research can help businesses better improve the ways to reduce software piracy rates. They get to understand more about the exact problem and cause behind software piracy and can target better strategies to curb this problem.Practical implicationsThis study is useful for researchers, managers, and software vendors willing to highlight the factors that contribute to software piracy.Originality/valueThe study highlights factors that influence consumers' intention towards software piracy, which has not been widely studied especially in Malaysia.