Pay or freeload? Exploring consumers' willingness to pay in the copyright industry under digital transformation: the roles of copyright moral norms and values

Purpose
This research examines consumers' willingness to pay for digital copyright content during the digital transformation era, focusing on the psychological mechanisms that underlie their decision-making. Integrating the S-O-R theory and elaboration likelihood theory, the research examines the roles of perceived copyright transparency, platform integration, digital incentive systems and traceability as stimuli; copyright moral norms, values, and attitudes toward payment as organismic factors and willingness to pay as the behavioral response. It further explores the moderating effects of institutional pressure and digital literacy.

Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-methods approach was adopted. Quantitative data (i.e. Study 1) were collected through a large-scale survey of Chinese digital content consumers and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and artificial neural networks (ANN) to capture both linear and non-linear relationships. To explain unexpected results, semi-structured interviews (i.e. Study 2) were conducted and analyzed through thematic coding, providing qualitative depth and contextual interpretation.

Findings
The quantitative results show that copyright moral norms and copyright value significantly predict willingness to pay and stimulus factors shape these organismic states. However, attitudes toward payment exert no direct effect, and institutional pressure fails to strengthen the role of moral norms or values. Digital literacy also does not enhance the value–behavior link. Qualitative findings suggest that price sensitivity, peer influence and situational convenience often override attitudinal and normative support.

Originality/value
By integrating S-O-R and elaboration likelihood theories and combining SEM, ANN and qualitative analysis, this research challenges assumptions that positive attitudes and institutional enforcement reliably predict compliance. It offers culturally grounded insights into digital copyright governance with implications for both theory and practice.