The impact of trust on intellectual property right protection: a cross-national study

Purpose: This study aims to empirically investigate how difference in social trust explains the heterogeneity of intellectual property right (IPR) protection (proxied by software piracy rate) across countries. Specifically, the authors also examine whether this effect is complementary or substitute to legal and economic factors. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use both ordinary least square and two-stage least square regressions to investigate this effect. Findings: The authors find that there is also a complementary effect between trust and rule of law in reducing the violation of IPRs. Originality/value: Although the literature by now has documented the solid relationship between trust and the quality of formal institutions, only few studies have explored more specific measures of institutional consequences. Thus, this study is the first study investigating the role of trust, a valuable social capital dimension, on IPR protection.