Title: Ethics, entrepreneurship and the adoption of e-book devices

Authors: Vanessa Ratten

Addresses: A.J. Palumbo and J.F. Donahue Schools of Business Administration, Duquesne University, 464 Rockwell Hall, 600 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15282, USA

Abstract: Electronic books (e-books) are rapidly gaining popularity as a technological innovation that will change the way people read books. A social cognitive perspective to understand how a person adopts an e-book device is utilised in this paper to empirically test the results of a survey. A portion of the conceptual model is supported by the results of the survey that demonstrates the importance of an individual|s ethics and entrepreneurial orientation to the adoption behaviour they have about e-book devices. This paper highlights for practitioners the importance of focusing on marketing the ethical and innovativeness of e-book devices.

Keywords: e-book devices; electronic books; e-books; technological innovations; publishing industry; social cognitive theory; entrepreneurship; reading; technological change; social change; technology adoption; conceptual models; individual ethics; entrepreneurial orientation; adoption behaviour; ethical issues; innovativeness; marketing; Amazon Kindle; e-book readers; iPad; Apple; tablet computers; wireless technology; digital books; publishers; Sony Reader; Barnes & Noble Nook; booksellers; youth; young people; Brisbane; Australia; learning orientation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIL.2011.042083

International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 2011 Vol.10 No.3, pp.310 - 325

Published online: 26 Nov 2014 *

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