دانلود رایگان مقاله بررسی ادبیات تجربی سرقت نرم افزار

Abstract

As software is central in today’s world, the problem of software piracy is of increasing importance. It reduces the revenues of firms that develop new software and, therefore, it may hinder innovation and growth. To understand better the causes of this phenomenon this paper presents a survey of the empirical literature regarding software piracy and discusses if the findings are coherent with the theoretical literature. Overall we are able to identify eight stylized facts in five dimensions: the Economic, Cultural, Educational, Technological and Legal. Moreover we argue that most of these findings are coherent with that which the theoretical models imply.

3. Conclusions

From the previous survey it can be concluded that the factors that affect piracy software are multidimensional. Overall these factors, classified into eight stylized facts, are coherent with the theoretical literature. However, while some are straightforward and simple: education and GDP per capita are related with lower levels of software piracy, whereas an increase in HDI increases software piracy; others, such as the cultural dimensions, are more complex, as these depend on the perception that individuals have in relation to society. Finally, the impact of inequality is negative which is, at first glance, at odds with simple theoretical models. Regarding the technological and the legal dimension although an increase on the protection of software copyrights decreases piracy, only with a better understanding of the whole picture can companies and/or governments put in place efficient technological mechanisms or legal frameworks to prevent it. However, although these findings are consistent across a variety of empirical studies, we should also be aware of the limitations of empirical strategies used, whether they be surveys, panels or cross-country regressions as well as the data source. In this regard we should note that most cross-country studies rely on data from BSA, which is not an independent actor in this market, but represents companies and is itself a pressure group. It is our opinion that not only should the researchers try to get access to different data sources, but also that they must take into account several problems with the used methodologies, moving away from single ad-hoc equation regressions and build structural models with simultaneous equations grounded in the theory, as software piracy is not only driven by demand characteristics but, as we discussed in Section 2, can also be a strategic behavior of suppliers.