Title: Pirates never sail alone: exploring the mechanics of social entrepreneurship involved in software piracy

Authors: Mathieu-Claude Chaboud

Addresses: Groupe ESC Dijon Bourgogne, Dijon, France

Abstract: Most research on software piracy has been based on a vision of pirates as free riding individuals trying to justify their illegal and illegitimate behaviour. However, some authors have questioned this premise and have shown piracy to be conducted by people whose assessment of the legitimacy of intellectual property practices differs from that of the software industry. Based on the work of Hjorth and Steyaert (2006) and the notion of social entrepreneuring, this article explores the practices and discourses of software pirates as social entrepreneurs creating and consuming social capital in their efforts to constantly maintain and recreate a pirate community.

Keywords: software piracy; software pirates; entrepreneurs; social entrepreneurship; entrepreneuring; legitimacy; online communities; virtual communities; web based communites; social value; social capital; intellectual property.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2014.064267

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2014 Vol.22 No.4, pp.519 - 536

Published online: 06 Sep 2014 *

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