Less Corruption Doesn’t Always Mean Less Software Piracy

March 28, 2011, 6:21 pm

When Bruce A. Reinig lived in Hong Kong in the late 90s, he was surprised by the amount of pirated software he saw in the streets each day.

Conventional wisdom says that developing countries are havens for the most pirated software, but Hong Kong is anything but a poor nation.

“It didn’t seem like it should be there,” says Mr. Reinig, chair of the department of information and decision systems at San Diego State University’s College of Business Administration.

Mr. Reinig was intrigued enough by his finding to start investigating what made some countries more hospitable to pirated software than others. It’s a valuable question: A joint 2010 report by the Business Software Alliance, an information-technology trade group, and International Data Corporation suggests that the rate of piracy is on the rise and that the value of all pirated software in 2009 exceeded $50-billion.

Working with Robert K. Plice, a colleague at San Diego State, Mr. Reinig looked at three factors to determine their relationship to software piracy rates: personal income, corruption, and the relative size of a country’s information-technology industry.

Their study, whose results are presented in the most recent issue of the International Journal of Social and Organizational Dynamics in IT, found, not surprisingly, that personal income is the biggest factor in piracy rates. But it goes only so far. A $1,000 increase to an income below $10,000, for example, yields a far greater reduction in the software-piracy rate than a $1,000 increase to an income above $20,000.

The study, which examined 62 countries, found the importance of the two other factors differed based on whether a country already had a large IT industry. In countries with a relatively small IT industry, a decrease in corruption had a bigger impact on reducing piracy. But in countries with a strong IT industry, further increasing the size of the IT industry had a bigger impact on the practice than did reducing corruption. Corruption was measured by Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, a survey that tracks the perceived level of abuses of power by public officials in many countries.

Mr. Reinig wasn’t sure exactly why that might be the case but speculated that earlier investments in the IT industry could suggest less corruption in the first place or that the industry had figured out how to take care of the problem.

But their study didn’t explain the country that led Mr. Reinig to the topic in the first place. Hong Kong was one of a handful of countries that didn’t fit the model, with a higher piracy rate—47 percent in 2009, according to the Business Software Alliance study—than the other factors would suggest it should have. The San Diego State professor says he’s now studying those outliers to try to understand what sets them apart and hopes to present his findings soon.

The 15 Nations With the Highest Piracy Rates in 2009
(BSA/IDC 2009 Piracy Study)

Georgia – 95%
Zimbabwe – 92%
Bangladesh – 91%
Moldova – 91%
Armenia – 90%
Yemen – 90%
Sri Lanka – 89%
Azerbaijan – 88%
Libya – 88%
Belarus – 87%
Venezuela – 87%
Indonesia – 86%
Iraq – 85%
Ukraine – 85%
Vietnam – 85%

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http://derekbruff.com Derek Bruff

Thanks for the great post. I’ve sometimes wanted to share tweets from some event on my blog, and while cutting and pasting selected tweets works, Storify looks like a slicker option. Going beyond just tweets takes things to another level. Hmm…
jabberwocky12

I’m surprised not to see Pakistan on that list. Most Pakistanis I speak to are amazed that people actually pay for ‘uncracked’ software, and are astounded when they hear the prices of legal software. Not surprising, when they can pick up the entire ‘cracked’ CS5 for less than the equivalent of $5.00.

Those I spoke to say that the purchasing of ‘cracked’ software is so wide-spread, that they believe the software companies intentionally encourage the distribution of the ‘cracked’ software; the logic is that, once people learn how to use it, they won’t want to change to anything else. Then the companies hope that those people will buy the real thing somewhere down the line.

As far as the people are concerned, the best evidence for this is that it is so wide-spread that it simply could not exist without those companies knowing about it, and condoning it.
chuckkle

“Having spent some time around the college grads at the Occupy Wall Street movement, I’m inclined to think my high school classmates come to the nation’s economic crisis with a much deeper and more nuanced understanding. They were better schooled, by life, I guess.”

News Flash! Boomers in their late 50s have more life experience than 20-somethings!
http://nathaniel-campbell.blogspot.com/ Nathaniel M. Campbell

This is a corollary perspective to my own recurrent thoughts on the relationship between the Ivory Tower and the rest of the world. I’ve frequently noted (usually after being hit over the head and woken from dreamy academic fantasies) that we shut ourselves up in the tower to our own great peril. In my own work, it’s the non-academics who get to know a medieval figure like Hildegard of Bingen through folk medicine or new age music that actually give that figure a renewed life within our own age. The people outside the tower do far more to validate our efforts than we ever do; we ought always to remember that we should be working for the betterment of all humanity, not just those of us stuck complacently within the tusky walls.
ellis06

I often find myself retreating to the lives lived by those who have not been ‘college educated.’ I listen carefully as they describe the world as they continue to experience it. It is during those ‘listening posts’ that I seem to gain the most valuable information. I cherish the thought of a day when the world of college education is not only considered the generator and informant of thought and ideas, but also as
co-learners with the many communities. There is so much to learn from those who have learned from life.

Gloria Willingham-Toure’
bookbinder

“…those of us stuck complacently within the tusky walls.” Us? I thought you were an “independent scholar” — exactly which tusky walls are you complacently within?
http://nathaniel-campbell.blogspot.com/ Nathaniel M. Campbell

A good point, at least on the surface. I suppose I am referring more to a particular mindset common to academics, whether within the actual confines of a university or, like myself, within the confines of the scholarly apparatus in which we were trained. An “independent scholar” is no less than a tenured professor susceptible to the narrow-minded frumpery of the academic lost in his or her own work, oblivious to the real world around them. And I mean not to be accusatory, except of self: I am probably guiltier of this sin than most academics. Prof. Wood’s meditation here serves as one of those knocks to the head I am frequently in need of.
bookbinder

“An ‘independent scholar’ is no less than a tenured professor susceptible to the narrow-minded frumpery of the academic…”

Well, you certainly have the academic pomposity down pat.
chuckkle

Funny that someone who hides behind anonymity thinks they have some position from which to criticize anything on the basis of their research area. Come on, marka: if you want to play, put some money on the table.
klkl932

Wall Street is too much of the performance of the education-OWS, in fact, many of these people know, but how many people can do? !

klkl932
kohs1971

Peter,very good read.I too am a Keystone Oaks Grad and attended Manilla Ave School with you as well.I only wished that I could have attended our reunion.
900484393

I always enjoy your columns and this is exceptionally sound advice. After 20 years in management, I continue to be amazed by the number of people who are shocked to learn they’re being terminated. I’ve never seen a situation where the warning signs weren’t there for inclined observers to see. There are no guarantees in life; your advice – to always take the high road and have backup plans – is the only way to exit such situations with dignity.
joejoe1

“Unfortunately, I suspect my former student was too inexperienced to see what a more seasoned person would recognize as obvious signs that his days were numbered.”

I’d like to know what the advance signs of being fired are. Thanks.
joejoe1

Shocked? Really?

Sometimes people think they’re doing a good job and they get along with everyone. Then suddenly, boom.
queeracademic

I’ll second what elie_s_dad said in their comment and just add:
Unprofessional behavior is a no-no for sure. Also, this extends to social media/networking sites. Posting on Facebook about how awful your department and colleagues are is not exactly the best way to express your feelings about the situation. Word gets out, no matter how much you think it won’t, and this could impact getting a reference from a close colleague later.
lexalexander

Considering what passes for “feedback” and “evaluation” in most workplaces, I’m not shocked at all. Termination for chronic performance problems should *never* come as a surprise; it should be along the lines of “that stuff you’ve been nagging me about for six months.” (One-time events like an egregious act of sexual harassment, say, are another story entirely — but that shouldn’t be a surprise, either.)
echinoderms

Early in my career I quit a nonprofit job after seven months when it became clear that my verbally abusive boss had put me on her s##t list and that there was no way to get off it without losing my dignity as a human. Putting myself on the job market again in a tight economy terrified me, but now, a decade later, I am very glad that I did. Quit/fired…the subtleties of a mutually recognized bad match fade over time, but how you handle yourself in the separation is the critical bit for being able to move on well.

I remain deeply grateful that a colleague, who had watched the abuse I was absorbing and who knew that the boss had made an appointment to talk to me, took me aside, handed me a scrap of paper with a phone number, and told me to call her mentor for advice asap. That phone call was a sanity saver. After I described the situation, the borrowed mentor said, “Wow. Um, yes, I think you will get fired tomorrow, though it’s likely, given that organization, that she’ll offer a behavior modification plan first to prolong the process. You need to focus on maintaining your dignity. Stay calm. Tell yourself you are there to listen; let her talk. Wiggle your toes in your shoes as stress relief. Seek to understand thoroughly her perspective so that if there is anything you can learn from her critique, you can. If/when she outlines a plan for behavior change, say that you would like time to absorb all the information before responding and agree with her on what day you will get back to her. Above all, stay calm and breathe, and do not cry. After the meeting consider your options and whether you are likely to suffer more by prolonging the job or by moving on. I know this is awful but someday it will be a distant memory. My mentee says you are a great colleague, so keep that in mind. Given what you’ve described, this crisis may be a good thing in the long run. Don’t let this job experience or this one boss define you. Good luck.” I have never had further contact with this elder professional, other than the thank you card I sent the next morning, but I am indebted to his compassion and spontaneous coaching to a stranger in a tight spot.

That fateful Friday morning, I followed his advice, saw the boss and situation more clearly, and rather than accept further abuse, I quit the following Monday, in writing, very respectfully, giving the required amount of notice. Funny thing, the boss was shocked and flipped out that I was abandoning her.

I know I did the right thing, despite the challenge of finding another job. Explaining the short duration of that position on my resume has been surprisingly easy, because it’s sandwiched between longer commitments, and most people recognize that sometimes getting out of a bad fit is a respectable action. I have never bad-mouthed the crazy boss (other than this post). I did once meet someone else who had worked for her in a different era, and when I said that I’d only worked for her only 7 months, she revealed her own horrible, prolonged experience and that it had taken a two years of therapy to get past the abusive mindset she’d contorted herself into in order to suck up to the boss’s craziness and keep her job.

Ultimately the lesson I learned by quitting when I was about to be fired was that I must be honest and clear with myself about what I am willing and not willing to do in order to get a paycheck. I’m the only person who can control my behavior; it’s always a choice to be employed or not.
wchristie

I always felt that the less I exercised my direct authority, the more real influence I had. As a CAO, I used to tell my faculty search committees that I reserved to myself the turkey veto. If they recommended a candidate whom I regarded as a real turkey, I reserved the right to exercise a veto. Otherwise, the choice of colleagues was theirs. The result of that posture was a real collaboration, as the committees consulted closely with me throughout the process. We exchanged views honestly, I never had to use the veto, and the faculty understood that they had real responsibility and control. Collaboration is always better.
stburnett

A wise administrator I worked for once described it in this way: ” Authority comes from above and power comes from below.”
watercat77

So by the logic of this article: at Castle Greyskull, it is Prince Adam possesses ”Authority” but it is HeMan who has the “Power” And all this despite only holding a Masters of the Universe.
theatheist

This is just a sloppy use of language. Power is power. Its use can be authorized or unauthorized, just or unjust, effective or ineffective.

If the point is that some administrators use power that they are not fully authorized to use, while others turn a blind eye and let them get away with it — well, yeah.

This is the world we live in, and renaming ordinary concepts doesn’t change that or help us to understand it any better.