(A Case Study) Factors That Motivate Kenyans into Using Pirated Software

Abstract

Software piracy is a serious problem in the Kenyan context amongst software development companies. Kenyan software development companies lose revenues when pirated software rather than when legally purchased software is used. Intellectual property watchdogs and policy developers are forced to invest time and money into restricting software piracy   theft.   Much   of   the   published   research literature focuses on software piracy by end-users. However, end-users are only able to copy software once the copy protection has been removed by a ‘cracker’. This paper focuses on the motivational factors that propel Kenyans to pirate and use pirated software. This paper adopts a behavioral model supported by framework that tests the hypothesis on the Kenyan Context based on past research.  The study first applies this model in a number of software development companies in  Kenya.  The  study  then conducts questionnaires in 30 software development companies to further validate the findings. The study finds the lack of a central online market that can be termed as for Kenyans by Kenyans that will enhance interactivity amongst developers, buyers and the Kenyan policy makers as the strongest motivation for the actions of crackers.

Keywords

Information technology, Business Software Alliance (BSA), Kenya Copyrights Board (KeCoBo) Business, IS Innovations, Software As A Service (SAAS), Cloud Computing, Diffusion, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), ICT Adoption