Investigating the Determinants of Business Software Piracy: A Longitudinal Study of European Countries

This paper investigates the causes of variations in software piracy rates using panel data of 16 European countries for the years 1994, 1997 and 2000. Prior empirical research argued that much of piracy occurs due to a lack of economic development, education, weak enforcement, institutional quality and social culture. This paper, in addition to validating prior research, proves that ‘Information and Communication Technology (ICT) patent applications’ also play a significant role in explaining the variations in business software piracy. This new finding addresses the need for new explanations of piracy and provides insights for policy makers and business practitioners as well as for the research community.