Consumer digital piracy behaviour among youths: insights from Indonesia

The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents of consumers’ attitude towards, and intention to commit, digital piracy in Indonesia, a country with the world’s fourth largest population and one of the highest digital piracy rates. This study explored the effects of six variables derived from the theory of planned behaviour, ethics theory, and deterrence theory on young consumers in Indonesia.

Using a convenience sampling approach, researchers hand delivered 400 questionnaires to undergraduate students at one large private university and one major public university in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

The results showed that consumers’ intention to pirate digital products was strongly influenced by consumers’ attitude towards digital piracy. Interestingly, fear of legal consequences and perceived likelihood of punishment were not significant predictors of consumers’ attitude towards digital piracy. This suggests that the principles of deterrence theory have a limited impact on consumers’ attitudes in Indonesia.

The results of this study will provide some insights to government and digital industries on how to reduce the prevalence of digital piracy.