ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN INTERNET CODE REUSE : A MODEL AND EMPIRICAL TEST 27 January 2011

Internet code, such as open source software code, which is available for gratis download from the Internet, is becoming an increasingly important element of code reuse in commercial software development. However, when individual developers practice such reuse in ad-hoc fashion, for different reasons they might disregard potentially existing license obligations, thereby causing serious legal, economic, and reputational issues for their employers and for themselves. In this study, we try to explicate the underlying drivers of such behavior. We employ the theories of planned behavior, ethical work climate, expected utility, and deterrence to model Internet code reuse as an individual-level ethical decision. With the use of a survey of 869 professional software developers, we find that between 15% and 21% of these developers have in the past, under time pressure, reused Internet code in such a way that disregarded license obligations. We show that developers’ attitude toward the behavior and their perceived subjective norm influence their intention to engage in such behavior. Further, we find that developers who anticipate more severe consequences for this behavior, and those who perceive less severe time pressure in their firms, hold a more negative attitude. Additionally, our results highlight an indirect effect of an ethical work climate of compliance with laws and codes on intention mediated by subjective norm. Overall, our study advances the theoretical understanding at the intersection of knowledge reuse and ethical behavior. Moreover, we offer managerial implications with respect to how to avoid economic and legal issues from violated license obligations that result from ad-hoc Internet code reuse.