Title: An empirical study of ownership of digital content

Authors: Simon Lee; Abdou Illia; Assion Lawson-Body

Addresses: Lumpkin College of Business and Technology, Eastern Illinois University, 600 Lincoln Ave, Charleston, IL 61920, USA ' Lumpkin College of Business and Technology, Eastern Illinois University, 600 Lincoln Ave, Charleston, IL 61920, USA ' Department of Accountancy and Information Systems, Nistler College of Business and Public Administration, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA

Abstract: While physical items were historically the main focus of possession, in today's knowledge and information society, digital content has become a significant object of ownership. This study investigated how people's attachment to and willingness to share digital content change under various situational circumstances. Using an experiment with a questionnaire survey, the study analysed data from 160 participants. The results of this study show that participants were more willing to share when they had control over their digital content. Additionally, possession attachment was low, while willingness to share was high when there was no cost or effort involved. These findings reveal that situational changes can impact possession attachment and willingness to share digital content, even when referring to the same digital content. The findings provide empirical evidence of the importance of considering diverse psychological factors when offering services, selling, and sharing digital content.

Keywords: digital content; right to control; acquisition process; willingness to share; psychological ownership.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBEM.2025.147147

International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets, 2025 Vol.17 No.3, pp.283 - 299

Received: 06 Jun 2023
Accepted: 08 Jul 2023
Published online: 11 Jul 2025 *

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