20.500.12556/RUL-185047 Digital piracy through the lens of moral intensity and risk perception a cross-cultural perspective This study examines the psychological mechanisms underlying digital piracy and proposes a framework that considers the perception of potential negative consequences for the individual (personal risk) and for society (moral intensity) as key factors associated with piracy behavior and rationalization. The conceptual model is tested using online survey data from two online panel samples of adults in the US (n = 625, age range = [18, 92], M = 42.44, SD = 16.43) and Slovenia (n = 514, age range = [18, 65], M = 43.51, SD = 13.14). The multi-group analysis indicates that perceived moral intensity is related to both lower participation in digital piracy and lower rationalization of this behavior in both countries. Furthermore, perceived personal risk is linked with lower likelihood of having ever engaged in piracy, but it is not significantly associated with either frequency of piracy behavior or rationalization for those who have engaged in digital piracy at least once in either country. This suggests that concern for individual consequences is not a deciding factor in determining frequency of piracy. The results also show that engaging in digital piracy is associated with cognitive rationalization strategies and with greater normalization of such behavior. These findings highlight the interplay between perceptions of potential negative consequences, digital piracy behavior, and rationalization and provide a basis for practical implications, particularly for marketers in the online entertainment industry. social networks social communication behavioural sciences ethics digital piracy personal risk moral intensity rationalization USA Slovenia družbena omrežja družbeno komuniciranje vedenjske znanosti etika true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-07-21 16:12:19 2026-07-21 16:16:25 2026-07-22 04:04:20 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 21 str. iss. 3, article no. 11 Vol. 20 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 159.98 1802-7962 10.5817/CP2026-3-11 282813699 40165-Full_article-85681-3-10-20260625.pdf 40165-Full_article-85681-3-10-20260625.pdf 1 48C36FA078C5E0090C5641A9748125F1 77d0ad60a0186da3306aba0ff90942a18caef3783ceb699312e65d3409684cfa 6f50c24d-850e-11f1-9b0d-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=243081 https://cyberpsychology.eu/article/view/40165 0 76119a64-850e-11f1-9b0d-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=243082 Ekonomska fakulteta 0 0 0