International Journal of Information Management 33 (2013) 199–208

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International Journal of Information Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijinfomgt

What drives purchase intention in the context of online content services? The
moderating role of ethical self-efficacy for online piracy
Yi-Shun Wang a,∗ , Ching-Hsuan Yeh a , Yi-Wen Liao b
a
Department of Information Management, National Changhua University of Education, No. 2, Shi-Da Road, Changhua City 500, Taiwan
b
Department of Information Management, Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, No. 60, Sec. 1, Erren Road, Rende District, Tainan City 71710, Taiwan

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: With the proliferation of online content service industry, understanding the factors affecting consumer
Available online 2 November 2012 intention to purchase online content services has become an important issue for academics and prac-
titioners. While previous research has suggested that consumers’ perceived value and moral judgment
Keywords: are two main factors influencing behavioral intention to purchase online content services, few stud-
Online content services ies have explored what drives perceived value and if customers’ ethical self-efficacy will moderate the
Perceived value
effect of perceived value on purchase intention. Thus, based on the value-based adoption model and
Value-based adoption model
previous literature, this study explores the antecedents of perceived value and the moderating effect of
Purchase intention
Ethical self-efficacy for online piracy
ethical self-efficacy for online piracy (ESEOP) on the relationship between perceived value and purchase
intention in the context of online content services. Data collected from 124 respondents in Taiwan are
tested against the research model using the partial least squares (PLS) approach. The results indicate
that perceived enjoyment, perceived usefulness, perceived fee, and ESEOP have a significant influence on
perceived value and that ESEOP can enhance the positive effect of perceived value on purchase intention.
The findings of this study provide several important theoretical and practical implications for consumer
online content purchase behaviors.
© 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
With the development of the Internet, online content service
industries have recently grown rapidly in the form of online game,
e-book, e-learning, e-music, Internet broadcasting, and video on
demand (VOD) (Joo & Sohn, 2008). However, when compared with
the rapid growth of the online content services markets, especially
online music services in the USA and Western Europe, no such suc-
cess has emerged in Asia (Chu & Lu, 2007). Previous studies have
suggested that Asians are reluctant to pay for the download of
online contents, particularly in Great China Region (i.e., Mainland
China, and Hong Kong) (Chen, Shang, & Lin, 2008; Chu & Lu, 2007;
Joo & Sohn, 2008; Lu & Hsiao, 2010). Thus, in order for the online
content industry to succeed, it is essential to understand why con-
sumers are willing to pay for online/digital content services or not.
That is, investigating the factors affecting consumer intention to
purchase online content services has been an important issue for
academics and practitioners.
Several previous studies have explored the factors affecting
online consumers’ behavior (e.g., Doong, Wang, & Foxall, 2011;
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +886 4 7232105x7331.
E-mail addresses: yswang@cc.ncue.edu.tw (Y.-S. Wang), chyeh17@gmail.com
(C.-H. Yeh), pinkwen923@mail2000.com.tw (Y.-W. Liao).
Hong & Cho, 2011; Kuo & Wu, 2012; Liu, Guo, & Lee, 2011; Song,
Baker, Lee, & Wetherbe, 2012; Udo, Bagchi, & Kirs, 2010). Some
studies have also suggested that customer-perceived value is a crit-
ical factor affecting behavioral intention to purchase or repurchase
online services in the context of electronic/mobile commerce (Chen
et al., 2008; Chu & Lu, 2007; Kim, Chan, & Gupta, 2007; Lin & Wang,
2006; Lu & Hsiao, 2010; Wang, 2008). Perceived value is frequently
conceptualized as involving a consumer’s assessment of the ratio
of perceived benefits to perceived costs (Monroe, 1990; Zeithaml,
1988). However, few studies have investigated the antecedents of
perceived value from the perspective of perceived benefits and
perceived costs in the context of online content services (e.g., Chen
et al., 2008; Chu & Lu, 2007; Lu & Hsiao, 2010). Thus, there is a need
for research to explore what factors drive consumers’ perceived
value of online content services in the cost–benefit framework.
In addition to perceived value, previous studies have also sug-
gested that moral judgment or ethical self-efficacy is another
influential factor of digital material piracy (Chen et al., 2008; Gopal,
Sanders, Bhattacharjee, Agrawal, & Wager, 2004; Kuo & Hsu, 2001;
Moores & Chang, 2006). Many researchers have found that more
strongly held beliefs that piracy is wrong, unethical, or immoral
lead to a lower likelihood of intended piracy behavior (Miyazaki,
Rodriguez, & Langenderfer, 2009). While perceived value is a crit-
ical influential factor of consumer intention to purchase online
contents, considering that illegal online music and video file

0268-4012/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2012.09.004
200 Y.-S. Wang et al. / International Journal of Information Management 33 (2013) 199–208
download are still rampant in most of the Asian region, a question
remains; that is, are consumers willing to purchase high perceived
value online contents. Furthermore, although some researchers
found a direct relationship between moral judgment and ethical
behavior (Cronan & Al-Rafee, 2008; Pan & Sparks, 2012; Yoon,
2011a), Chen et al. (2008) found that the degree of morality has not
a significant influence on behavioral intention to download unau-
thorized music files, but that perceived value of downloading free
music files influences behavioral intention to download unautho-
rized music files more strongly for the low morality group than for
the high morality group. These results imply that consumers’ moral
beliefs or self-efficacy toward online piracy may play a moderating
role in the effect of perceived value on online content purchase
intentions. Thus, the relationship between perceived value, pur-
chase intention, and piracy ethics still needs to be further addressed
in the context of online content services.
Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to (1) investi-
gate the antecedents of perceived value from the cost–benefit
framework, and (2) explore the moderating effect of consumers’
ethical self-efficacy for online piracy on the relationship between
perceived value and purchase intention in the context of online
content services. This paper is structured as follows. First, this study
reviews the conceptualization and antecedents of perceived value
and discusses the concept of online piracy ethics. Second, based on
previous literature, a research model and a comprehensive set of
hypotheses are proposed. Next, the methods, measures, and results
of this study are then presented. Finally, the results are discussed
in terms of their implications for research and managerial activity.
2. Theoretical background
2.1. Conceptualization and antecedents of perceived value
As noted earlier, several previous studies have suggested that
perceived value is a crucial factor that influences user intention
to use/purchase online service in the context of electronic/mobile
commerce (e.g., Chen et al., 2008; Chu & Lu, 2007; Kim et al., 2007;
Lin & Wang, 2006; Lu & Hsiao, 2010; Wang, 2008). Perceived value
is frequently conceptualized as involving a consumer’s assess-
ment of the ratio of perceived quality and perceived sacrifice
(Monroe, 1990; Zeithaml, 1988). Bolton and Drew (1991) sug-
gested that perceived value is a richer measure of customers’ overall
evaluation of a service than perceived service quality. Accord-
ing to Zeithaml (1988), perceived sacrifice are influenced by both
perceived monetary price and perceived nonmonetary price. Sim-
ilarly, Parasuraman and Grewal (2000) contend that perceived
value is a function of a ‘get’ component – i.e., the benefits a buyer
derives from a seller’s offering – and a ‘give’ component – i.e., the
buyer’s monetary and nonmonetary costs of acquiring the offering
(Zeithaml, 1988).
Traditionally, technology acceptance model (TAM) is one of the
most influential models in the research area of user acceptance of
information systems (IS) (Davis, 1989; Davis, Bagozzi, & Warshaw,
1989), which posits that user acceptance can be explained by
two beliefs: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. IS
researchers have investigated and replicated the TAM, and agreed
that it is valid in predicting an individual’s acceptance of various
corporate IT (Adams, Nelson, & Todd, 1992; Chin & Todd, 1995;
Segars & Grover, 1993). However, as Wang (2008) noted, in the
context of electronic/mobile commerce, many users may aban-
don or be reluctant to use a for-fee information service even if
it is useful for them. This phenomenon may decrease the power
of TAM in explaining and predicting user acceptance of for-fee
information and content services, which have become very pop-
ular in the context of electronic/mobile commerce, because TAM’s
perceived usefulness only taps the perceived benefit component,
but it omits the perceived monetary cost component in user accep-
tance of information services (Wang, 2008). Consequently, Wang
(2008) proposed a revised TAM (i.e., a value-based TAM), which
replaces perceived usefulness with perceived value, and suggested
that perceived value is more dominant than perceived usefulness
in explaining the behavioral intention to use for-fee information
and content services. This also implies that for-fee online content
services appear to be accepted less because of their perceived use-
fulness than because of their perceived value.
Similarly, as Kim et al. (2007) contend, in an organizational con-
text, the cost of mandatory adoption and usage is borne by the
organization; in contrast, in an online service context, the cost of
voluntary adoption and usage is borne by the individuals. Thus, the
adopters of online services play the dual roles of IT user and service
consumer, and they would concern about the cost and benefit of
using the online services when deciding whether or not to adopt the
services. Using the theory of consumer choice and decision mak-
ing from the field of economics and marketing research, Kim et al.
(2007) proposed a value-based adoption model (VAM) to explain
customers’ mobile Internet service adoption from the value max-
imization perspective. Their empirical findings also indicate that
perceived value of mobile Internet service is a principal determi-
nant of adoption intention, and that two cost beliefs (i.e., perceived
fee and technicality) and two benefit beliefs (i.e., usefulness and
enjoyment) affect adoption intention through the mediation of
perceived value. Meanwhile, Chu and Lu (2007) also empirically
investigated the factors influencing online music purchase inten-
tion based on the value–intention framework. Similarly, they found
that perceived value of online music has a positive influence on pur-
chaser intention to buy online music and that two beneficial factors
(i.e., perceived usefulness and perceived playfulness) and one sac-
rificing factor (i.e., perceived price) are determinants of perceived
value. Thus, VAM’s benefit-sacrifice framework proposed by previ-
ous researchers (Chu & Lu, 2007; Kim et al., 2007; Wang, 2008) can
be used to explain and predict consumer behaviors of purchasing
online content services.
While several typologies of value are proposed (e.g., Holbrook,
1999; Sheth, Newman, & Gross, 1991), they are comprehensive in
explaining the benefits customers get from consumption but they
fail to take into account the costs associated with consumption (Kim
et al., 2007). Thus, this study adopts Zeithaml’s (1988) definition
of perceived value which is the most widely accepted by previ-
ous consumer behavior research. According to Zeithaml (1988),
perceived value of online content services in this study is defined as
a consumer’s overall perception of online content service based on
the considerations of its benefits and sacrifices needed to acquire
and/or use it. Thus, perceived value in the VAM is equivalent to
the framework of cost–benefit analysis. Further, the VAM could not
only capture the utilitarian and hedonic benefit components (i.e.,
perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment), but it also could
take into account the monetary and nonmonetary sacrifice com-
ponents (i.e., perceived fee and perceived technicality). Thus, this
study uses the VAM to develop a comprehensive model for explain-
ing and predicting consumer intention to purchase online content
services by integrating the concepts of perceived value and online
piracy ethics. The following section elaborates the conceptualiza-
tion of online piracy ethics and its potential role in moderating the
effect of perceived value on online content purchase intention.
2.2. Online piracy ethics
To achieve a profitable online content service, both perceived
value and consumers’ piracy behavior should be seriously con-
templated since the former contributes to consumers’ purchase
intention and the latter results in firms’ earnings downturn. Based
 Y.-S. Wang et al. / International Journal of Information Management 33 (2013) 199–208 201

on the work of Prasad and Mahajan (2003), piracy refers to the behavioral intention to download illegal music files more strongly
duplication, purchase, and distribution of unauthorized products for the low morality group than for the high morality group, imply-
including functional software and digital entertainment contents. ing that moral judgment or belief may play a moderating effect on
A multitude of studies have claimed that piracy is a pervasive phe- the relationship between perceived value of using online content
nomenon in Internet society on account of the ease of access, low and behavioral intention to purchase online content. Considering
reproduction cost, and the dearth of vigilance and empathy result- that ethical judgment or concern has been suggested as a critical
ing from the human-to-machine interface (Peitz & Waelbroeck, factor affecting behavioral intention to pirate digital material (soft-
2006; Shanahan & Hyman, 2010). Compared with other online mis- ware, music, etc.) (Cronan & Al-Rafee, 2008; Jung, 2009; Levin et al.,
conducts such as defamation or virus dissemination, piracy is a 2004) and that mix results regarding the effect of ethical judgment
typical form which strongly relates to consumption (Huang, 2005; on ethical behavior have been found in previous research on digital
Kuo & Hsu, 2001). content usage behavior, this study continues to investigate the role
The negative effect of piracy on consumption is intuitively rec- that individual ethical judgment concerning online piracy plays in
ognized, and has been empirically verified and observed in practice the VAM.
(Sandulli, 2007). The rampant of piracy will lead to a tremendous
decrease in product sales, and erode the rewards of producers
2.3. Ethical self-efficacy for online piracy
and their corresponding affiliations (Hennig-Thurau, Henning, &
Sattler, 2007). Although piracy is likely to contribute to faster prod-
Individual difference variables, such as locus of control (internal
uct diffusion, greater brand/artist familiarity, more opportunity for
vs. external) and the Big Five personality traits have been exam-
product trial, and the habitualization of consumer’s usage, which
ined to see if individuals with different traits will present distinct
may in turn foster the product sales, this ‘potential’ benefit is uncer-
reactions to ethical issues (Karim, Zamzuri, & Nor, 2009; Pan &
tain and lacks of empirical evidence (Coyle, Gould, Gupta, & Gupta,
Sparks, 2012). Self-efficacy is also an important individual differ-
2009). For example, in the music industry, the digitalization of
ence variable which has received increasing attention in the recent
music really impacts consumers’ music consumption behavior and
research of software piracy ethics (Kuo & Hsu, 2001). Bandura
invokes the prevalence of music piracy (Peitz & Waelbroeck, 2006;
(1986) defined self-efficacy beliefs as “people’s judgments of their
Warr & Goode, 2011). It is believed that piracy is detrimental to the
capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to
development of online content industry from a long term perspec-
attain designated types of performances” (p. 391). According to the
tive. Thus, there is a need for research to better understand the role
social cognitive theory (SCT), individuals with high self-efficacy –
that piracy ethics plays in consumers’ purchasing of online content.
that is, those who believe they can perform well – are more likely
Researchers have paid much effort to identify the factors
to view difficult tasks as something to be mastered rather than
influencing consumers’ digital material piracy and to draw effec-
something to be avoided. Self-efficacy has also been widely used
tive deterrent strategies (Chen et al., 2008; Gopal et al., 2004;
to predict behavioral intentions in the Internet context (e.g., Hong,
Huang, 2005; Levin, Dato-On, & Rhee, 2004; Moores & Chang,
Thong, Wong, & Tam, 2001; Luarn & Lin, 2005; Wang, Lin, & Luarn,
2006; Plowman & Goode, 2009). Of these influential factors,
2006). However, SCT and self-efficacy have rarely been applied to
ethics/morality has been widely explored and suggested to be neg-
investigate information ethics decisions (Kuo & Hsu, 2001). Thus,
atively related to behavioral intention to pirate (e.g., Chen et al.,
based on the SCT, Kuo and Hsu (2001) developed a 3-dimension,
2008; Coyle et al., 2009). Marshall (1999) defines ethics as guide-
12-item measure of ethical computer self-efficacy (ECSE) construct
lines to influence human social behaviors in a manner intended to
concerning software piracy and suggested that this construct can
protect and fulfill the rights of individuals in a society. Previous
be used to investigate people’s ethical conduct related to com-
research has suggested that stronger ethical concerns regarding
puter use. Consistent with the computer self-efficacy measures
piracy are associated with less pirating behaviors (Coyle et al., 2009;
(Compeau & Higgins, 1995), the ECSE measures considered three
Cronan & Al-Rafee, 2008; Levin et al., 2004; Pan & Sparks, 2012;
relevant dimensions of self-efficacy judgments: magnitude (i.e.,
Yoon, 2011b). Unlike mandatory legal system, ethics is the unwrit-
task difficulty), strength, and generalizability. Self-efficacy can be
ten consensus which is shared by the same group, and steers its
seen as perceived behavioral control (PBC) in the theory of planned
members’ acts to conform to the expectation of the group (Green,
behavior (TPB) (Kok, deVries, Muddle, & Strecher, 1991; Kuo & Hsu,
1994).
2001), which can serve as a determinant of behavioral intention
Previous research has explored the ethical decision making
and can be affected by demographics, personality traits, beliefs
models, which parsimoniously illustrate consumers’ cognitive
concerning objects, attitude toward objects, task characteristics,
activities to deal with ethical dilemma (e.g., Goolsby & Hunt, 1992;
and situational variables (Ajzen, 1989). Kuo and Hsu (2001) also
Hunt & Vitell, 1986; Rest, 1986; Tan, 2002; Yoon, 2011a). While
argued that “the stronger the perceived self-regulatory efficacy, the
encountering a situation/issue which is likely to raise an ethical
more perseverant people are in their self-controlling efforts and
concern, individuals will attempt to identify whether it is ethics-
the greater is their success in resisting social pressures to behave
involved; once an individual recognizes an event/action to be
in ways that violate their standards” (p. 301). Therefore, based on
ethically involved, his/her behavioral intention will be guided and
the aforementioned literature and the ECSE construct presented by
not violate the common moral requirements (Pan & Sparks, 2012).
Kuo and Hsu (2001), this study attempts to investigate the main and
In this vein, ethical judgment or moral obligation has frequently
interaction effects of ethical self-efficacy and perceived value on
been proposed as a critical predictor of individual ethical intention
online content purchase intentions by adding the construct of ethi-
or behavior (Cronan & Al-Rafee, 2008; Jung, 2009; Moores & Chang,
cal self-efficacy for online piracy (ESEOP), defined as an individual’s
2006; Pan & Sparks, 2012; Thong & Yap, 1998; Yoon, 2011a, 2011b).
propensity of ethical usage of online content, into the VAM.
However, a review of prior studies shows controversial con-
clusions about the effect of ethical judgment concerning online
piracy on online content purchase behavior. For example, Coyle 3. Research model and hypotheses
et al. (2009) found that consumers who consider music piracy to
be unethical and illegal will be less likely to engage in music piracy. This study attempts to better understand why consumers are
However, Chen et al. (2008) found that the degree of morality has willing to purchase online content. To this end, this study uses the
an insignificant effect on unauthorized music download intention, VAM mentioned earlier to investigate consumers’ online content
but that perceived value of downloading free music files influences consumption behavior in the e-commerce context. However, the
202 Y.-S. Wang et al. / International Journal of Information Management 33 (2013) 199–208
Benefit
Perceived
Usefulness
Perceived
Enjoyment
Perceived
Sacrifice
Technicality
Perceived Fee
Fig. 1. Research model.
value–intention relationship in the VAM may not always sustain
and may have exceptions. It is still frequently observed in practice
that some consumers pirate music even though the value of online
music services is recognized. Therefore, this study incorporates the
construct of ESEOP into the VAM to concurrently examine the main
effect and interaction effect of perceived value and ESEOP on behav-
ioral intention to purchase online content services. The research
model used to guide this study is shown in Fig. 1, which suggests
that perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, technicality, and
perceived fee all have a relationship with perceived value, and
that ESEOP has a moderating effect on the relationship between
perceived value and purchase intention. Based on previous liter-
ature, this section conceptualizes the constructs and derives the
hypotheses for the research model.
3.1. Perceived benefits
In the contemporary consumer-oriented business environment,
delivering benefits to consumers is a necessity to trigger their
buying. Researchers in the marketing field have devoted much
effort to develop a better understanding of the concept of con-
sumer benefits. Previous research has suggested that the shopping
experience provides consumers with a combination of utilitarian
and hedonic benefits (e.g., Babin & Darden, 1995; Babin, Darden,
& Griffin, 1994; Carpenter & Moore, 2009; Chandon, Wansink, &
Laurent, 2000; Holbrook, 1994; Jones, Reynolds, & Arnold, 2006;
Klein & Ford, 2003). Thus, it is generally agreed to classify cus-
tomers’ perceived benefits into two fundamental types: utilitarian
and hedonic (Childers, Carr, Peck, & Carson, 2001; Diep & Sweeney,
2008; To, Liao, & Lin, 2007). Utilitarian benefit is task-related, cogni-
tive, and extrinsic. Consumers can derive utilitarian benefits from
the performance of the product/service which achieves the task
requirement. On the contrary, hedonic benefit such as appreciation
and entertainment is emotionally and intrinsically evaluated, and is
derived from the process of the product/service usage. These two
kinds of benefits are applicable not only at the brick-and-mortar
shopping context but also at the Internet shopping context (Kim,
2002; Rintamäki, Kanto, Kuusela, & Spence, 2006).
In line with the utilitarian–hedonic benefit framework, Kim
et al. (2007) suggested that perceived usefulness is an extrinsic
and cognitive factor while perceived enjoyment is an intrin-
sic and affective factor. Similarly, Chu and Lu (2007) also used
Ethical Self-efficacy for
Online Piracy
Purchase
Value Intention
perceived usefulness and perceived playfulness to represent func-
tional benefit and recreational benefit in the value–intention
framework. In this study, perceived usefulness is akin to the mar-
keting concept of product/service quality (Kim et al., 2007), which
is the consumer’s evaluation of the online content service per-
formance and can be defined as the extent to which a consumer
believes that using an online content service would fulfill his/her
certain purpose (Chu & Lu, 2007; Davis, 1989). Perceived enjoyment
is the perceived fun or pleasure sourcing from the online content
service experience, which is defined as the extent to which the
activity of using an online content service is perceived to be enjoy-
able in its own right, apart from any performance consequences
that may be anticipated (Davis, Bagozzi, & Warshaw, 1992).
An online content service which highly accomplishes con-
sumers’ task and arouses consumers’ feeling of delight will earn a
better consumer value appraisal. Taking online music service as an
example, consumers can search and purchase a pop song or a classi-
cal music, aged or latest through an online music service at any time
from any place rather than visiting physical music stores. Addition-
ally, the customization strategies of online music service providers
offer customers with the flexibility to buy a single music, a person-
alized album, or to subscribe the services. In this vein, online music
services are helpful for consumers to achieve their purposes, and
thus perceive usefulness is derived. Meanwhile, consumers may
also perceive fun and excitement while searching, purchasing and
using the desired online music services, and thus perceived enjoy-
ment is derived. Previous studies have suggested that perceived
usefulness and perceived enjoyment are instrumental in explain-
ing user adoption of hedonic information systems (e.g., van der
Heijden, 2004). Further, both of them have also been found to pos-
itively influence perceived value in the context of mobile Internet
(Kim et al., 2007). Thus, the following hypotheses are proposed:
H1. Perceived usefulness is positively related to perceived value in
the context of online content service.
H2. Perceived enjoyment is positively related to perceived value in
the context of online content service.
3.2. Perceived sacrifice
In addition to perceived benefit, consumer’s perceived sacri-
fice is another antecedent of perceived value. In general, prior
 Y.-S. Wang et al. / International Journal of Information Management 33 (2013) 199–208
studies classified consumer’s perceived sacrifice into two types:
nonmonetary and monetary sacrifice (Zeithaml, 1988). Zeithaml
(1988) defined nonmonetary sacrifice as temporal, physical, and
psychological cost. Consumers who spend more time and effort on
a product/service tend to have a higher perceived nonmonetary
sacrifice and then diminish their value perception toward the prod-
uct/service. Kim et al. (2007) used technicality, defined as users’
perceptions of ease of use, to represent the nonmonetary sacrifice.
Similarly, Chu and Lu (2007) employed perceived ease of use to rep-
resent the nonmonetary sacrifice. However, technicality/perceived
ease of use defined by Kim et al. (2007) and Chu and Lu (2007) is con-
ceptually opposite to the concept of nonmonetary “sacrifice”. Thus,
to be consistent with the benefit–sacrifice framework and serve as
a sacrifice-related construct in the VAM, technicality in this study
is redefined as the extent to which a customer believes that using
an online content service would suffer from physical, mental and
learning effort (Davis, 1989; Kim et al., 2007), which is conceptually
similar to perceived non ease of use. As such, greater technical-
ity of an online content service will increase consumers’ temporal,
physical, and psychological loss, and thus negatively contribute
to perceived value. Previous research also found that technical-
ity/perceived ease of use has a significant influence on perceived
value (Kim et al., 2007).
On the other hand, monetary sacrifice refers to a consumer’s
financial payment for the online content service. Since customers
do not always remember actual product/service prices, previous
research usually used the customers’ perception of price or fee to
measure customers’ monetary sacrifice (Jacobby & Olson, 1977;
Monroe, 1973). Kim et al. (2007) used perceived fee to represent
monetary sacrifice in the mobile Internet context while Chu and
Lu (2007) employed a similar perceived fee construct to represent
monetary sacrifice in the online music setting. According to Kim
et al. (2007), perceived fee in this study is defined as the extent to
which a customer believes that using an online content service is
expensive. It has been suggested that perceived fee/perceived price
has a direct influence on perceived value (Chang & Wildt, 1994;
Dodds & Monroe, 1985; Kim et al., 2007; Zeithaml, 1988). Previous
studies also found that perceived fee/perceived price is negatively
related to perceived value (Chang & Wildt, 1994; Chu & Lu, 2007;
Kim et al., 2007). Based on the aforementioned reasoning, this study
tests the following hypotheses:
H3. Technicality is negatively related to perceived value in the context
of online content service.
H4. Perceived fee is negatively related to perceived value in the con-
text of online content service.
3.3. Perceived value
Based on the exchange theory in marketing studies, it is believed
that consumer’s perceived value is the prerequisite of purchase
intention. As noted earlier, perceived value refers herein to a
customer’s overall assessment of the benefits and sacrifices of
acquiring and/or using an online content service. Consumers are
assumed as economically rational and will pursuit their maximum
utility. After a comprehensive trade-off evaluation of the benefits
and costs, a consumer may conclude whether a product/service
is valuable and take it as the basis for his/her following behav-
ioral decision (Zeithaml, 1988). It has been proposed that perceived
value has a positive effect on consumer intention to buy (Dodds,
Monroe, & Grewal, 1991; Lu & Hsiao, 2010; Sweeney, Soutar, &
Johnson, 1997; Zeithaml, 1988). Several previous studies have also
provided empirical evidence for the positive influence of perceived
value on purchase intention (Chu & Lu, 2007; Kim et al., 2007; Lu &
Hsiao, 2010). Thus, the hypothesis is presented.
203
H5. Perceived value is positively related to purchase intention in the
context of online content service.
3.4. ESEOP
As stated earlier, ESEOP refers to an individual’s propensity of
ethical usage of online content. Previous research has suggested
that stronger ethical concerns regarding piracy are related to less
pirating behaviors (Coyle et al., 2009; Cronan & Al-Rafee, 2008;
Levin et al., 2004; Pan & Sparks, 2012; Yoon, 2011b), implying that
ESEOP may have a positive influence on purchase intention in the
context of online content services. Once a consumer with high eth-
ical self-efficacy is in the face of an ethics-related consumption
situation, he or she will have the intention to show disciplined con-
ducts to fulfill moral norms, regardless of the moral intensity of that
situation is high or low. Prior studies have also found a significant
relationship between moral judgment and ethical behavior (e.g.,
Coyle et al., 2009; Cronan & Al-Rafee, 2008; Jung, 2009; Moores &
Chang, 2006; Pan & Sparks, 2012; Yoon, 2011a, 2011b). Thus, it is
inferred that customers who have high ESEOP are more likely to
purchase online content services than those who have low ESEOP.
This study proposes the following hypotheses:
H6. ESEOP is positively related to purchase intention in the context
of online content service.
While prior studies have found the positive relationship
between perceived value and purchase intention, this relation-
ship may not always be sustainable for all consumers. As noted
earlier, Chen et al. (2008) found that perceived value of download-
ing free music files influences behavioral intention to download
illegal music files more strongly for the low morality group than
for the high morality group, implying that an individual’s ethi-
cal self-efficacy concerning online piracy may play a moderating
effect on the relationship between perceived value and purchase
intention in the context of online content services. It is thus
inferred that customers who have high ESEOP are more likely
have strong perceptions regarding the effect of perceived value on
purchase intention than those who have low ESEOP. Specifically,
perceived value influences purchase intention more strongly for
customers with high ESEOP than for those with low ESEOP. Based
on the aforementioned reasoning, this study proposes the following
hypothesis:
H7. When ESEOP is higher, the positive relationship between
perceived value and purchase intention is stronger in the context of
online content service.
4. Methods
4.1. Measures
Selected measurement items must represent the concept about
which generalizations are to be made to ensure the content
validity of the measurement (Bohmstedt, 1970). Therefore, to
ensure content validity, measurement items in this study were
mainly adapted from prior studies. Besides, to simplify the
validation of our research model, the measures of this study
focuses on the online music services. The measures for perceived
value were adapted from Kim et al. (2007) and Sirdeshmukh,
Singh, and Sabol (2002). The scale for perceived usefulness
was modified from Kim et al. (2007) and Chu and Lu (2007),
while the scale for perceived enjoyment was adapted from Kim
et al. (2007) and Agarwal and Karahanna (2000). The items for
measuring technicality were modified from Kim et al. (2007) and
Davis (1989). Also, the items used to measure perceived fee were
adapted from Kim et al. (2007) and Voss, Parasuraman, and Grewal
204 Y.-S. Wang et al. / International Journal of Information Management 33 (2013) 199–208

(1998). Twelve items for measuring ESEOP were adapted from Table 1
Reliability, AVE and factor loading.
the scale of ethical self-efficacy for software piracy developed by
Kuo and Hsu (2001). Finally, the scale for purchase intention was Construct/item Composite AVE Factor t-Value
adapted from Kim et al. (2007) and Davis et al. (1989). Likert scales reliability loading
(ranging from 1 to 7), with anchors ranging from “strongly dis- Purchase intention 0.98 0.94
agree” to “strongly agree” were used for all construct items, with PI1 0.96 137.15
the exception of those items for measuring ESEOP whose anchors PI2 0.97 225.32
PI3 0.97 163.21
ranged from “not at all confident” to “totally confident.” The survey
Perceived value 0.89 0.67
items were pre-tested by a small number of e-commerce experts PV1 0.65 14.26
and were modified to fit the context of online music services PV2 0.87 66.80
studied. The survey items are listed in Appendix A. In addition, a PV3 0.90 84.83
PV4 0.63 36.79
declaration of anonymity and aggregation analysis is emphasized in
Perceived usefulness 0.95 0.75
the introduction of the questionnaire to increase the response rate PU1 0.85 46.46
and to mitigate the bias effect of social desirability while respon- PU2 0.92 104.89
dents answer their ethical judgment (Coyle et al., 2009; Gupta, PU3 0.82 21.27
Gould, & Pola, 2004; Shanahan & Hyman, 2010). PU4 0.86 34.41
PU5 0.88 62.03
PU6 0.85 42.38
4.2. Data collection Perceived enjoyment 0.96 0.87
PE1 0.94 122.19
Data used to test the research model was gathered from an PE2 0.96 213.21
PE3 0.95 188.42
online convenience sample in Taiwan. The online survey question-
PE4 0.87 25.93
naire of this study was established on a survey portal in Taiwan, Perceived fee 0.95 0.86
where the interested online users can connect the portal. Willing PF1 0.85 28.11
respondents were asked to participate in the survey. Respondents PF2 0.98 339.50
then self-administered the questionnaire and were asked to circle PF3 0.95 89.97
Technicality 0.93 0.78
the response that best described their level of agreement with the
TE1 0.93 103.70
statements. A sample of 124 valid responses was obtained from TE2 0.93 96.89
a variety of respondents with different demographic background. TE3 0.92 107.85
In terms of the respondents, 41.13% were male and 58.87% were TE4 0.73 14.87
ESEOP 0.95 0.61
female. Approximately, 33.26% of the respondents were aged 20–29
ES1 0.87 67.25
and 89.52% of the respondents had over six years of computer expe- ES2 0.88 71.16
rience. Also, 96.7% of the respondents had attained a degree at the ES3 0.88 59.95
collegiate level or above. Almost all of the respondents (94.94%) had ES4 0.82 26.15
online music use experiences. ES5 0.85 38.03
ES6 0.86 53.28
ES7 0.69 16.27
4.3. Data analysis ES8 0.75 25.05
ES9 0.70 16.74
The empirical data was analyzed using the partial least squares ES10 0.76 16.34
(PLS) approach, which was employed because it does not require ES11 0.49 10.05
ES12 0.70 16.52
the data to have a multivariate normal distribution and is less
demanding in terms of sample size. SmartPLS software was used
for the data analysis of this study, which contained two steps. In
should be greater than the correlations between that construct
the first step, all measurement models were examined for their
and all other constructs (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). This study com-
psychometric properties, while the second step focused on testing
pared the correlations between constructs with the square root
the research model and hypotheses. The PLS provides a convenient
of AVE of the individual constructs. This analysis indicated that
approach for the simultaneous analysis of measurement model,
the correlations between constructs were lower than the square
structural model, and interaction effects.
root of AVE of the individual constructs, confirming discriminant
validity (see Table 2). Thus, the measurement model demon-
5. Results
strated adequate reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant
validity.
5.1. Measurement model

Assessment of the measurement model involved evaluations Table 2

of reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of Square root of AVE and correlation.
the construct measures. Reliability was examined using compos- Construct PE ES PF PU PV PI TE
ite reliability. As shown in Table 1, reliability exceeded 0.8 for
PE 0.93
each construct. Convergent validity of the construct measures was ES −0.17 0.78
examined using factor loading and average variance extracted PF −0.21 0.20 0.93
(AVE). PU 0.81 −0.19 −0.25 0.87
As shown in Table 1, each item’s factor loading is larger than 0.5 PV 0.72 −0.10 −0.34 0.69 0.82
PI 0.16 0.32 0.02 0.06 0.27 0.97
and has a significant t-value, confirming the convergent validity
TE 0.50 −0.19 −0.10 0.57 0.38 0.10 0.88
of the construct measures. Additionally, the AVE for each construct
exceeded the recommended level of 0.50 (see Table 1), which meant PU, perceived usefulness; PE, perceived enjoyment; TE, technicality; PF, perceived
fee; PV, perceived value; ES, ethical self-efficacy for online piracy; PI, purchase inten-
that more than one-half of the variances observed in the items tion.
were accounted for by their hypothesized constructs. To assure Diagonal elements are the square roots of AVE; off-diagonal elements are the cor-
discriminant validity, the square root of AVE for each construct relations.
 Y.-S. Wang et al. / International Journal of Information Management 33 (2013) 199–208
Table 3
Statistical results of the structural model.
Dependent variable Independent variable
Perceived value Perceived usefulness
Perceived enjoyment
Technicality
Perceived fee
Purchase intention Perceived value
ESEOP
Perceived value × ESEOP
*
p < 0.05.
5.2. Structural model
This study proceeded to test the path significances using a
bootstrapping resampling technique. Statistical results of the struc-
tural model, including path coefficients, t-values, and R-square
are shown in Table 3. As expected, both perceived usefulness and
perceived enjoyment had a significant positive effect on perceived
value (ˇ = 0.295 and ˇ = 0.461, respectively). Thus, H1 and H2 were
supported. Perceived fee was found to have a significant nega-
tive influence on perceived value (ˇ = −0.169); therefore, H4 was
supported. However, technicality was unexpectedly found to have
an insignificant effect on perceived value (ˇ = −0.036). Thus, H3
was not supported. Additionally, both perceived value and ESEOP
were observed to positively affect purchase intention (ˇ = 0.327 and
ˇ = 0.342, respectively), supporting H5 and H6.
As to the moderating effect, ESEOP was found to have a mod-
erating effect on the relationship between perceived value and
purchase intention, with higher ESEOP leading to higher positive
relationship of perceived value to purchase intention (ˇ = 0.270).
Therefore, H7 was supported. Fig. 2 shows how ESEOP moderates
the relationship between perceived value and purchase intention.
Altogether, the proposed model accounted for 57.7 percent of the
variance in perceived value and 27.2 percent of the variance in pur-
chase intention, with perceived enjoyment having the strongest
effect on perceived value and ESEOP exerting the strongest total
effect on purchase intention among the explanatory variables.
Additionally, Cohen’s (1988) effect size f2 was used to examine
the substantive effect of adding ESEOP to the VAM model. The R2 for
the full model is 27.2% while that for the VAM model is 7.6%, leading
to an f2 value of 0.267. Cohen (1988) suggested 0.02, 0.15, and 0.35
as operational definitions of small, medium, and large effect sizes
respectively. Thus, ESEOP provided a substantial (i.e., larger than
medium) effect on purchase intention.
Fig. 2. The moderating effect of ethical self-efficacy on the relationship between
perceived value and purchase intention.
205
Path coefficient t-Value R-square
0.295 4.776* 57.7%
0.461 6.265*
−0.036 0.985
−0.169 5.716*
0.327 7.863* 27.2%
0.342 9.172*
0.270 10.431*
6. Discussion
Considering the importance of consumers’ willingness to pay
for the success of online content industries, this study, based on the
VAM and previous literature, explores the antecedents of perceived
value and the moderating effect of ESEOP on the relationship
between perceived value and purchase intention. This study also
helps build a theoretical framework for the research of consumer
purchase behavior in the field of online content services. The results
indicate that perceived enjoyment, perceived usefulness, perceived
fee have a significant influence on perceived value, which, in turn,
significantly influences purchase intention. The results also show
that ESEOP moderates the positive effect of perceived value on pur-
chase intention. The following paragraphs sequentially discuss the
theoretical and practical implication of our findings for consumer
online content purchase behaviors.
As expected, both perceived enjoyment and perceived useful-
ness were found to be significant determinants of perceived value.
This finding is consistent with previous studies which found that
utilitarian and hedonic benefits resulting from using online services
are critical in determining consumers’ perception of value (e.g., Chu
& Lu, 2007; Kim et al., 2007). However, different from previous
research regarding the TAM (e.g., van der Heijden, 2004) which
suggests that both perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment
affect adoption intention directly, the results of this study indicate
that both perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment influence
purchase intention indirectly through the mediation of perceived
value. Importantly, perceived enjoyment was observed to exert
a strongest effect on perceived value among the antecedents of
perceived value. The finding implies that acquiring and using online
music services is in nature a leisure-oriented activity and that
online content marketers should include more enjoyable and enter-
taining elements into their services to increase the value perceived
by consumers. Whereas, our findings emphasize that consumers’
value perceptions are motivated not only by hedonic benefits but
also by the utilitarian benefits of using online content services.
Thus, the development of new functionality and the enhance-
ment of information quality, content quality, system quality, and
service quality still should not be neglected in promoting cus-
tomers’ perceived value in the online content service settings.
Consistent with the finding of Chu and Lu (2007), technicality
(similar to perceived ease of use) was found to have an insignificant
impact on perceived value. This implies that consumers’ computer
self-efficacy has been largely increased in the Internet age, caus-
ing the insignificant effect of technicality. In line with the works of
Kim et al. (2007) and Chu and Lu (2007), our finding suggests that
perceived fee (similar to perceived price) has a significant nega-
tive on perceived value, which means that consumers who have
high perceived fee will have a lower level of value perception than
those who have low perceived fee. Thus, reasonable pricing strate-
gies are crucial in enhancing customers’ value perceptions of using
online content services. Online content service providers could take
advantage of online consumer surveys to discover the acceptable
price range by online consumers before marketing a new online
206 Y.-S. Wang et al. / International Journal of Information Management 33 (2013) 199–208

content service. Additionally, adopting personalized pricing strate- discussion to include additional online content services (e.g., video
gies for customized online content services and allowing online on demand) or cultural groups.
contents to be downloaded into different electronic devices with- Second, this study does not incorporate all potential determi-
out repeated payment is also a feasible way to enhance customers’ nants and moderators into the value–intention framework, leading
value perceptions. to a relatively low explained variance in purchase intention. Hence,
In line with the finding of previous research (e.g., Chu & Lu, 2007; there may be a need to search for additional determinants and mod-
Wang, 2008), this study further confirms that perceived value has erators that can improve predictions regarding purchase intention
a significant positive influence on purchase intention in the con- in the online content service environment. For example, person-
text of online content services. This implies that consumers who ality traits are potential moderators of the relationship between
have high perceived value of using online content services are more perceived value and purchase intention (Lu & Hsiao, 2010). Future
likely to purchase the online content services than those who have research could examine how personality traits or other potential
low perceived value. Thus, in order to attract more customers to buy moderators interact with perceived value to affect purchase inten-
online content services and remain sustainable competitive advan- tion.
tage, online content service providers, based on our findings, should Finally, this study employs a snapshot research approach. Addi-
enhance customers’ value perceptions by improving the utilitarian tional research efforts are needed to evaluate the validity of the
and hedonic benefits of their online content services and adopting proposed model and our findings. Longitudinal evidence might
a reasonable pricing strategy for their online offerings. When the enhance the current understanding of the relationships among
price is too high, customers may not only refrain from purchas- perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, perceived fee, techni-
ing, but also become suspicious of the quality (Patterson & Spreng, cality, ESEOP, and purchase intention.
1997).
Importantly, our findings indicate that ESEOP not only has a sig-
nificant positive influence on purchase intention, but it also has a
8. Conclusions
positive moderating effect on the relationship between perceived
value and purchase intention. Consumers who have high confi-
This study contributes to a more thorough understanding of
dence in ethical usage of online contents tend to have a higher
the antecedents of perceived value and the moderator of the rela-
behavioral intention to purchase online content services than those
tionship between perceived value and purchase intention. The
who have low confidence in the same moral event. This result some-
contributions of this study to research on consumer online con-
what coincides with the studies of Coyle et al. (2009), Yoon (2011b),
tent purchase behaviors are threefold. First, different from previous
Moores and Chang (2006), and Cronan and Al-Rafee (2008) who
research on the value–intention framework, the current study
found the effect of ethical factors on individual digital piracy. How-
not only explores the antecedents of perceived value, but it also
ever, the main effect of ESEOP on purchase intention found by this
investigates the moderator of the relationship between perceived
study is inconsistent with the work of Chen et al. (2008) who found
value and purchase intention. As such, this study represents a new
that the degree of morality has not a significant influence on behav-
direction for online consumer purchase behavior research. Second,
ioral intention to download unauthorized music files. Nevertheless,
this study supports that perceived enjoyment, perceived useful-
the interaction effect of ESEOP and perceived value on purchase
ness, and perceived fee significantly influence purchase intention
intention is somewhat consistent with the exploratory finding by
through the mediation of perceived value, confirming the nomo-
Chen et al. (2008) who found that perceived value of downloading
logical structure of the VAM (Kim et al., 2007; Wang, 2008), which
free music files influences behavioral intention to download unau-
is quite different from that of the TAM (Davis, 1989; Davis et al.,
thorized music files more strongly for the low morality group than
1989; van der Heijden, 2004). Third, this study provides empirical
for the high morality group. Similarly, our finding suggests that
evidence to support that ethical self-efficacy for online piracy not
perceived value of using online content services affects purchase
only has a positive effect on purchase intention, but also enhances
intention more strongly for the consumers with high ESEOP than
the positive influence of perceived value on purchase intention.
for those with low ESEOP. As Shanahan and Hyman (2010) note,
This is a new finding of this study since the main and interac-
many misconducts result from unknowing something immoral or
tion effects of perceived value and ethical self-efficacy on purchase
illegal. Thus, a comprehensive moral education on digital content
intention have rarely been explored in previous online purchase
piracy is required to facilitate the growth and development of
behavior research. Future studies are still required to address
the online content service markets, especially in the Asian areas.
the determinants and moderators in the value-based adoption
For example, teaching students that downloading an unautho-
model.
rized music file online is an equity-infringing conduct like stealing
a CD in a physical shop would gradually change students’ eth-
ical self-efficacy for online piracy, which, in the long run, will
reduce online piracy and guide consumers into right consumption Acknowledgement
mode.
This research was substantially supported by the National
Science Council (NSC) of Taiwan under grant number NSC 98-2410-
7. Limitations H-018-019-MY2.

While this study was conducted with methodological rigor,

there are some limitations to address in the future. First, the find-
ings discussed and their implications were obtained from one single Appendix A. Measuring items used in this study
study that examined a particular online content service (i.e., online
Perceived usefulness
music service) and targeted a specific user group in Taiwan. If future
PU1 Using online music services enables me to acquire the music
researcher wishes to make glittering generalities, they should first files that I need more quickly.
randomize their sample to include other nationalities and geo- PU2 Using online music services enhances my music appreciation.
graphical areas beside Taiwan. Therefore, continued research is PU3 Using online music services makes it easier to get the music
needed to generalize the findings of this study and extend the information.
 Y.-S. Wang et al. / International Journal of Information Management 33 (2013) 199–208 207

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Yi-Shun Wang is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Information Manage-
ment at National Changhua University of Education, Taiwan. He received his Ph.D.
in MIS from National Chengchi University, Taiwan. His current research interests
include IT/IS adoption strategies, IS success models, customer relationship man-
agement, and e-learning. He has published in journals such as Information Systems
Journal, International Journal of Information Management, Information & Management,
Government Information Quarterly, Journal of Information Science, Journal of Global
Information Management, Computers & Education, British Journal of Educational Tech-
nology, Cyber Psychology & Behavior, Computers in Human Behavior, Service Industries
Journal, Managing Service Quality, among others. He has served as a Project Reexa-
mination Committee Member for both research areas of Information Management
and Applied Science Education in the National Science Council of Taiwan.
Ching-Hsuan Yeh is a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Information Man-
agement at National Changhua University of Education, Taiwan. He received his
Ph.D. in International Business from National Chi Nan University, Taiwan. His current
research interests include consumer behavior, e-commerce, and Internet market-
ing. He has published papers in journals such as International Journal of Information
Management, Journal of Business Research, and Food Quality and Preference.
Yi-Wen Liao is an assistant professor in the Department of Information Manage-
ment, Taiwan at Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Taiwan. She received
her Ph.D. in MIS from National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan. Her current research
interests include electronic commerce, online shopping behavior, and e-learning.
Her work has been published in academic journals such as International Journal of
Information Management, Government Information Quarterly, British Journal of Edu-
cational Technology, and Computers in Human Behavior.