Technological and ethical antecedents of e-book piracy and price acceptance. Evidence from the Spanish case
| Pages | 542-566 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-11-2012-0149 |
| Date | 29 July 2014 |
| Published date | 29 July 2014 |
| Author | Carmen Camarero,Carmen Antón,Javier Rodríguez |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library technology |
Technological and ethical
antecedents of e-book piracy and
price acceptance
Evidence from the Spanish case
Carmen Camarero, Carmen Antón and Javier Rodríguez
Department of Business Administration and Marketing,
University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the driving factors of e-books’ illegal downloading
and price acceptance from a theoretical perspective that embraces ethical and technological aspects.
The diffusion of e-readers and tablets has led to a spate of pirated copies of books.
Design/methodology/approach – The proposed model holds that normative and value
consciousness, as well as the self-efcacy, the usefulness and the use of the new technology, are
determinants of the trend towards free downloads and the maximum acceptable price for e-books. Data
are collected from a sample of 227 users of e-book reader devices.
Findings – The results provide evidence that individuals are inclined towards piracy when they use
and control the technology, whereas value consciousness mitigates illegal downloading and is basic to
the individuals’ acceptance of a higher price.
Implications – Bearing in mind that the spread of electronic devices has led to an increase in
downloads, raising awareness of the norms among individuals is essential if piracy is to be curtailed. In
addition, actions aimed at endowing electronic books with value would encourage consumers to pay a
higher price for them.
Originality/value – Few attempts have been made to apply ethics theories and the technology
acceptance model to the context of e-books’ piracy, and even less effort has been devoted to analyse
consumers’ price acceptance in the e-book industry.
Keywords Piracy, Price acceptance, e-books, Technology acceptance
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Although somewhat later than in other industries such as the cinema, music or
videogame sectors, and somewhat more slowly than expected by some experts, digital
formats have also broken into the world of the book (Kumbhar, 2012;Vasileiou et al.,
2009). E-books and e-reader devices (e-readers and tablets) herald a major shift with
regards to how people traditionally read. E-books seek to provide easy formats for text,
which can also be readily accessed through the Internet, thereby substantially
increasing the choice of reading matter available as well as the opportunities to
download. For their part, e-readers and tablets are striving to offer a readability which
The authors gratefully acknowledge the nancial support for this study by the Consejería de
Educación de la Junta de Castilla y León (Spain), ref. VA181A11-1.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0264-0473.htm
EL
32,4
542
Received 21 November 2012
Revised 5 March 2013
Accepted 11 March 2013
The Electronic Library
Vol. 32 No. 4, 2014
pp. 542-566
© Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0264-0473
DOI 10.1108/EL-11-2012-0149
is similar to that afforded by paper, through an intuitive interface, great independence
and a wide range of reading matter available on a small light device.
Although at different moments and with differing objectives and strategies in mind
(many publishers in fact showing initial reluctance), many major international
publishers have adopted the e-book as a new channel of revenue, and the increased sales
in some cases are substantial. The Association of American Publishers (AAP) (2012)
reported that net revenue from e-book sales more than doubled in 2011 compared to
2010, with the e-book format now ranking number one for the rst time in the adult
ction segment. One industry leader, Amazon, has shown a similar trend. Amazon’s
e-book sales have surpassed their printed book sales, while its Kindle has become the
bestselling e-reader. The e-book reader population is growing, with the latest Pew
Internet survey indicating that in 2012, the number of those who read e-books had
increased from 16 per cent of all Americans aged 16 and older to 23 per cent, while the
number of those who read printed books fell ve points to 67 per cent (Rainie and
Duggan, 2012). In addition to the USA, Australia, India, and the UK are the leading
countries in the adoption of e-books according to Bowker’s (2012) Global e-book
Monitor.
However, this is not the case in Spain. According to the Association of Spanish
Publishers (Federación de Gremios de Editores de España, FGEE), although there was a
substantial increase in 2012, still only 11.7 per cent of people aged 14 or older read
e-books, a gure which in 2011 stood at a mere 6.8 per cent (FGEE, 2013). Furthermore,
according to a report presented at the International Digital Content Fair (Marketing
Directo, 2011), for each e-book sold in 2011, 1.5 e-reader devices had been bought.
Moreover, only 32 per cent of e-book users admit to paying for at least some of the
e-books they download, with the vast majority getting them for free (FGEE, 2013). In
this context, although Spanish publishing companies recognize the opportunities that
e-books offer for the industry, they fear piracy-related problems, a threat which other
digital industries have had to deal with and one which in Spain has proved particularly
virulent. This may to some extent explain why, according to the Spanish Watchdog for
Reading and Books (Observatorio de la Lectura y el Libro, 2012), Spanish publishers
have been more reluctant and slower than companies in other countries, especially
Anglo-American publishers, to introduce e-books into their catalogue. Prior to 2010, few
publishers produced e-books and less than 5 per cent of new releases were available in
the digital version. Only in the last couple of years has e-book production really taken off
in Spain. In 2011, over 14 per cent of Spanish publishing companies published e-books,
and in 2012, e-books accounted for 22 per cent of new book releases. The total number of
books digitized is now growing at a rate of over 200 per cent (Observatorio de la Lectura
y el Libro, 2012). However, sales gures have failed to match increased production and
availability. According to the Association of Spanish Publishers (FGEE, 2011), e-book
revenue remains extremely low (72.6 million euros, 2.6 per cent of total income) and as
yet is failing to repay the investment made to adapt to the digital business or to offset the
declining sales in paper books.
E-readers and tablets seem to have made the digital format more appealing and
boosted demand, yet they have also led to a spate of pirated copies of books. Hard data
on book piracy are scarce, but many analysts see evidence of an alarming increase in
piracy, due in part to the advent of the e-book reader (Castro et al., 2009;Zimerman,
2011). As Sudler (2013) points out, the arrival of digital media and the development of the
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E-book piracy
and price
acceptance
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