قصد دانلود فایل های موسیقی در یک محیط P2P : مقدار مصرف، مد، و دیدگاه های تصمیم اخلاقی

Downloading unauthorized music file, being framed as a problem of crime, is deemed unethical, but the peer-to-peer systems have boosted its popularity and have become the killer application for the music industry. Two factors, cost savings from CD purchase and the low moral reasoning ability of Internet users, have been frequently attributed as rationales for this behavior. Music download, however, can also be interpreted as a value maximizing behavior that chooses between the values from consuming illicit and legitimate music, wherein the consumption value is partly dependent on one’s degree of fashion involvement since music is fashionable. This paper presents a conceptual model of music download by looking at and integrating these seldom noticed perspectives with traditional explanations. An analysis of 834 samples drew from a survey of P2P users in Taiwan reveals that: people are maximizing value while downloading music; and that fashion involvement influences the perception of consumption value from music download. This study also found that moral reasoning moderate the relationships among fashion involvement, consumption value, and behavioral intention to download music.

Digitalized music files, retaining almost the same quality as the original, can be reproduced, stored, and transferred at almost zero-cost. The technology of peer-to-peer (P2P) architecture has brought great convenience to and fostered the popularity of illegal downloading of “free” music. P2P architecture provides a platform for people to share resources with others. Many individuals, enabled by this technology, would rather download music from unknown members of P2P platform, than buying CD or music files from legitimate sellers. This is quite detrimental to the music industry [29]. Understanding why or how an intention to download develops becomes one of the critical issues for music companies. More empirical studies, therefore, are needed to investigate the antecedents of users’ behavioral intention to download music files in the P2P environment [1], [13] and [19]. User’s unauthorized downloading of music files is an invasion of intellectual property. Traditionally, consumers’ economic savings and moral judgment are two explanations, among others, for downloading illegal music files. Monetary or economic gains such as cost saving, low price, or low income of customers was frequently suggested as one possible antecedents of this illegal behavior [13], [26] and [44]. The proposition of saving money on music purchasing, however, is found not a primary antecedent of downloading free, so-called pirate music [32], and may be present only for “unknown” new songs wherein individuals with low income sample new music [2]. Some researchers assumed that music download is not only illegal, but also immoral. A decision to act, hence, partly depends on an individual’s ethical framework to judge the degree of morally rightness of this behavior [34], [31] and [13]. Kohlberg’s Model of Cognitive Moral Development (CMD) describes one’s developmental status in a continuum of moral reasoning ability to judge morally right or wrong regarding an act in a situation of moral conflict. Previous studies have consistently found a direct relationship between higher level of moral judgment and ethical behavior [43], [55], [23], [12], [35] and [39]. One possible explanation of the popularity of music download, hence, is the low level of moral development of Internet users [34]. But conflict results have also been found [23]; music download even may not be perceived as an unethical behavior at all [46]. Downloading of music files can be viewed as a kind of music consumption [19]. One of the primary purposes for music download is to enjoy the “free” pirate music. P2P in such context is an alternative channel for having music. Downloaders can be viewed as consumers of music who are maximizing value from the trade-offs between illegal and legal channels. Consumers are always rational to some certain extent when choosing among alternative channels. Though higher CD price would increase the pay-off from music piracy, hence encourage music download [13], consumption value is a multi-dimensional concept including but not limited to economic gains [62], [47] and [50]. Music is fashionable and always conveys features of social utility that satisfy interpersonal needs. The popularization of music presents a typical phenomenon of fashion [42] and [51]. Fashion is the process of adopting symbols primarily to provide the individual an identity relative to others [42]. People highly involved with fashion may perceive music with higher value from its social utility. The need of pursuing fashion may affect personal behavior greatly. People, especially the young generation in poor financial status, may thus be inclined to download music. Despite an extensive amount of research examining the influences of economic gains and cognitive moral development, researchers have not fully explored this issue in the context of music consumption. This paper fills in the gap by proposing an integrative model for interrelating various theories that views music download as an ethical issue, a mean to music consumption, and music is fashionable. Standing on the above assumptions, the objective of this study is to provide insight into the decision process of music downloaders by integrating traditional approaches with the new perspectives. More specifically, the objectives of this study are to compare the effects of consumption value, moral reasoning, and fashion involvement, and to explore their relationships.

Downloading free music files from members of P2P platform is quite detrimental to the music industry. Music companies should understand that why and how consumers, confronting potential law suits, would download music files rather than buying CD albums or music files from legitimate sellers. Three primary findings may contribute to our knowledge regarding the behavioral intention to download music. First of all, consistent with the argument of Conner and Rumelt [7], consumers are essentially value maximizers when choosing between buying and downloading music. A positive value from downloading music will facilitate music download (H1 is supported), and a comparison of the consumption value, specifically the social value and epistemic value, between the two ways for getting music positively influence users’ behavioral intention (H2 is supported). Secondly, music download may not be perceived as a problem of ethics. The moral reasoning ability is not related with the behavioral intention to download music files (H3 is rejected). Music download has been framed by some researches as a problem of ethics. However, findings of this study, coincided with Logsdon et al. [34], indicate that music download may be perceived not so unethical. Even individuals with higher moral reasoning ability download music for purpose of fashion. Some potential rationales for this result are proposed. First of all, resources in the P2P environment are deemed by many people as public goods to bring more welfare to the whole society [52] and [44]. Downloading music files, though illegal, therefore is probably deemed not so unethical under the ideology of freeware. This result may also be attributable to the low degree of moral reasoning ability. Only 112 individuals (13.43%) in our sample are in post-conventional level of moral development. Most of the sample are at the conventional level of moral development, wherein one’s peers and social circles significantly shaping his/her ethical belief [57]. Since ideology of freeware is so prevailing, therefore, many people, influenced by their peers who believe music files is freeware, may perceive music download as not so unethical. Individual with ideology of consumer right, a belief in the basic requirements of consumers being satisfied in a fair transaction, might argue that invasion of intellectual property rights is a conclusion derived from extant market economy systems. Consumers should have the right to buy just the music they like, instead of buying a CD with unfavorable and/or ill produced songs. The big music companies today may have earned rent from their control of the distribution channel of music. Buying CD albums, under current market economy, actually deprives an individual of consumer’s right. The ideology of anti-big company may induce an individual to pirate music [31]. Asian countries, confucian nations in particular, emphasize on social harmony and cooperation; ethical norms of these countries stresses sharing with others what they create; people, hence, do not accept claims to intellectual property right by business firms [22]. P2P community, therefore, may be formed as an opposition to the music industry [44]. People downloading music files, therefore, is perhaps not unethical and/or lacking knowledge of law, rather, they may only hold a premise different with that of teleological theories of moral philosophy to chase a better value that cannot be offered in current market economy. Thirdly, fashion involvement plays an important role in shaping an individual’s intention to download. People who highly involve with fashion will download music files because this behavior is viewed as a symbol of new life style (H4). Human beings, while they actively and crazily follow the latest fashion, may be induced to download music to keep in the trends and be recognized by peers. The evaluation of the consumption value and value difference is influenced by one’s need to pursue an image of fashion (H5). This result indicates that most of the respondents in this study, though paying a small amount of monthly fee to be allowed to download unlimited music songs, are actually selective in choosing music to be downloaded. In addition, people highly involved with fashion might perceive higher epistemic value from music download (H6b). These people are very likely hoping to be current and knowledgeable in their beloved trends. The abundant resources provided by P2P platform may help them in achieving this objective. Surprisingly, H6a was rejected. This result may due to that people satisfy their desire for associating with peer groups via many mechanisms, and that P2P platform provides only limited socialization utility. The results of this study have implications for practitioners. Consumers probably neutralize their behavior by norms not approved by the current market economy. Simply proclaiming intellectual property rights and the norm of anti-piracy may be ineffective for diminishing unauthorized music download. To attract customers, companies should try their best to apply and realize the benefits of the new technology to increase their consumers’ value and satisfy their needs for fashion. The design of the content and meaning of CD albums should coincide with the metaphors of the latest trend and emotional needs for a sense of belonging to that trend. Music companies can also try their best to improve the value of CDs, or reduce the value from download. This can be done through adjusting components of consumption value: utility or costs for these two alternatives. For example, companies can provide multiple and free choices in reasonable prices to their customers [13] and [2]. The success of iTune and other on-line music selling companies may firmly support the above idea. To improve the perceived epistemic value, valuable resources such as information related to fashion trends, rarely found music, and/or famous singers can be circulated among CD buyers and then go public at a later time. Pricing strategy is important in inhibiting music download. Higher price of CD will increase consumer surplus from download music, hence encourage music pirate [13]. In context of higher price, group pressure is more effective, hence forces one to download to be in accordance with peers. Inexpensive price, on the contrary, may prevent massive music download [56]. Chen and Png [5] also indicate that the effect of price cut is better than that of the act to enforce copyright. Another way to increase cost of music download may be taxation. Taxation of copying equipment and media will reduce consumer surplus from consuming illegal music, but has no effect on CD price, and may reduce expenses on law enforcement [5]. Finally, increasing acts of law clampdown, though may be the least effective among various instruments to prevent illegal download of music [5], and may not be effective in the short term, will raise the cost of pirating on both customer and P2P players’ side, which could decrease the value of music downloading and enforce P2P players turning into a legal business model. Fashion is empirically supported to influence behavioral intention to download music files. Most of the subjects were light users of P2P systems. Based on findings of this study, it is argued that those users may highly involve with fashion; hence, they download only music files coincide with their beloved trends. But the explanatory power of this argument still need be further investigated. Theoretically, piracy may raise demand of legitimate software through positive demand side externalities [7]. Since P2P architecture is a system with positive network externality, the same effect should also present in the context of music download. The effect of network externality should further be examined since empirical evidence conflicts with the above assertion [20]. The research model does not include any antecedent of perceived value or perceived value difference. What causes the high value or value difference between P2P and music CD deserves further investigation because practitioners in the music industry might be interested in how to overcome the threats posed by music download.2 The findings of this study suggest that moral reasoning may play a role, other than antecedents predicted by previous researches, of moderator in shaping an individual’s intention to download music. The role of moral reasoning could be reexamined in future research. The value of Chi-square/df of the current research model meets with the threshold of 5.0 suggested by some liberal researchers [60]. A better fitting model, however, should have a Chi-square/df value less than 3.0. A further refinement of the current model based on theory of consumption value and fashion is needed in the future. Readers of this paper should be cautious that the quality of the measurement scales of this study is not satisfactorily good enough. A refinement of the measurement scales may improve the model fitting to a great extent. This study assumed that CDs and music files are substitutes for each other; the natures of software and music files, however, are not exactly the same. Sandulli [44] also indicated that “when studying the relationships between P2P music and CD music, not all the P2P users follow the same behavior. Some P2P users could consider P2P music as a substitute for CD music; while some other users would consider P2P music as a supplementary good for CD music (p. 332).” This premise, hence, may need to be re-examined in the future. Finally, readers should be cautious in interpreting the results of this study since the sampling procedure is not random.