Collaboration in Online Communities: Reconceptualising the Complex Problem of Unauthorised Music File Sharing

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Author(s)
Beekhuyzen, Jenine
von Hellens, Liisa
Nielsen, Sue
Year published
2010
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This empirical paper explores the complex problem space of unauthorised music file sharing, providing insight into collaboration activities in online communities. As many consumers now access their music through unauthorised file sharing, it is interesting to consider what makes such communities so attractive. This paper presents the debates surrounding music piracy/file sharing, using a critical perspective to consider 'another way of doing things'. The arguments in this paper are based on a doctoral study involving 30 interviews, 3 focus groups, and 120 days of participant observation within an underground music file sharing ...
View more >This empirical paper explores the complex problem space of unauthorised music file sharing, providing insight into collaboration activities in online communities. As many consumers now access their music through unauthorised file sharing, it is interesting to consider what makes such communities so attractive. This paper presents the debates surrounding music piracy/file sharing, using a critical perspective to consider 'another way of doing things'. The arguments in this paper are based on a doctoral study involving 30 interviews, 3 focus groups, and 120 days of participant observation within an underground music file sharing community. Actor- network theory is useful in identifying the controversies in this complex problem space, encouraging a reconceptualisation of file sharers and the information systems they create. These new insights contribute to the literature of information systems development within the context of online communities.
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View more >This empirical paper explores the complex problem space of unauthorised music file sharing, providing insight into collaboration activities in online communities. As many consumers now access their music through unauthorised file sharing, it is interesting to consider what makes such communities so attractive. This paper presents the debates surrounding music piracy/file sharing, using a critical perspective to consider 'another way of doing things'. The arguments in this paper are based on a doctoral study involving 30 interviews, 3 focus groups, and 120 days of participant observation within an underground music file sharing community. Actor- network theory is useful in identifying the controversies in this complex problem space, encouraging a reconceptualisation of file sharers and the information systems they create. These new insights contribute to the literature of information systems development within the context of online communities.
View less >
Conference Title
Proceedings of the Australasian Conference on Information Systems (ACIS)
Publisher URI
Copyright Statement
© 2010 Australasian Association for Information Systems. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the conference's website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Information Systems Management