Testing an Ethical Decision-Making Theory: The Case of Softlifting

Abstract

There is a lack of both theoretical and empirical research on the process of ethical decision making in the domain of information Systems (IS). As a step in this direction, we describe and test a general ethical decision-making theory developed in the marketing discipline. We conducted a study on the ethical decision-making process of 243 entry-level IS Professionals with regard to softlifting — that is, illegal copying of software for personal use. The results show support for the applicability of the tested ethical decision-making theory to the domain of IS, specifically in the context of softlifting. Entry-level IS Professionals were found to use both deontological and teleological evaluations to arrive at an ethical judgment of a moral issue. Subsequently, moral intention to pursue softlifting behavior is primarily determined by the ethical judgment. These findings have implications for both research and practice.

Keywords: software piracy, softlifting, ethical decision making, computer ethics