Piracy versus Netflix: Subscription video on demand dissatisfaction as an antecedent of piracy

Abstract

Drawing from cognitive dissonance and neutralization theories, this study seeks to improve the understanding on consumer decision-making between the current legal and illegal video consumption alternatives. We develop and test a research model featuring Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) satisfaction and various dimensions of SVOD quality as antecedents of video piracy neutralizations and attitudes. Based on results from an online survey among Finnish SVOD users, SVOD satisfaction is primarily determined by content quality, and has a small negative effect on attitude toward piracy through decreased piracy neutralization. However, it appears that current legal services are not seen as true alternatives to illegal sources of video content.