Consumers’ de-ownership as a predictor of dark-side digital acquisition behavior: Moderating role of moral intensity and collectivism

Abstract An important trend that has emerged within the past decade is a tendency towards a sharing economy, where consumers share with, lend to or rent from other consumers rather than buy and own. While research interest in the topic abounds, no studies have empirically examined the effects of consumers’ orientation towards lending or renting (i.e., de-ownership orientation) on their compulsive and impulsive digital acquisition tendencies. To fill in these gaps, the authors explicate how consumers’ de-ownership orientation influences digital piracy as a dark-side digital acquisition behavior through their compulsive and impulsive digital acquisition tendencies. Findings from a U.S. panel survey indicate that consumers’ de-ownership orientation leads to higher compulsive and impulsive digital acquisition tendencies, and consequently, stimulates digital piracy. This research also demonstrates that consumers’ moral intensity attenuates the identified positive relationships, while collectivistic feelings strengthen the effects of de-ownership orientation on compulsive and impulsive digital acquisition tendencies.