Methodology Sample and data collection A convenience sample of 518 individuals was identified among Italian consumers to understand their attitude toward online piracy, with a focus on the music industry, and their interest and willingness to try SBMS. Consumers were chosen through a snowballsamplingtechnique,checkingonlyforage:participating individuals,infact,hadtobeagedbetween15and64years.This range was chosen since it represents the active population, and individualswithinthisrangehavethehighestInternetusagerates (from 38.1 per cent for the 55-64 class to 87.5 per cent for the 15-24 class)[2]. We employed a self-administered questionnaire delivered through an online platform[3]. Of all the questionnaires collected, 13 were not usable, leaving 505 complete responses which were coded for data analysis.
The survey instrument and tested SBMS We used scales that have already been validated in previous research. Each was adapted to better suit the context under examination. All items employed a seven-point Likert-type scales ranging between “Strongly Disagree” (1) and “Strongly Agree” (7). The sections regarding economic [e.g. “I use pirated content online if I cannot afford to buy original content”] and hedonic [“Using pirated content online demonstrates that I am a wise shopper”] benefits were taken from Yoo and Lee (2009). Tan’s (2002) scale was used to measure moral judgment [“One should always consider the moral implications before accessing pirated music online”]. Attitude toward online piracy was measured using Liao and Hsieh (2013) scale [“I have a positive perception towards online piracy”]. Interest and exposure to music was measured adapting Lee and Downie (2004) scale [“I am musically passionate”]. Involvement and interest with SBMS was measured adapting Lastovicka and Gardner (1978) involvement model [“This service (Napster/Spotify) interests me”]. Finally, willingness to try SBMS was adapted from Wangetal.(2005)[“IwilltrySBMS(Napster/Spotify)”].The new Napster (a Rhapsody brand) and Spotify (the Swedish company founded in 2008) were used as the tested SBMS since they have similar offerings in terms of price, geographic coverage, number of tracks available, and are amongst the top five companies in the sector across Europe. Table I summarizes the scale measures, acronyms, sources and number of items per scale.