Abstract:
New technology has an impact on the way we live. The advent of the computer and its
related products (i.e. software, distributed systems, Internet) have enriched and
enhanced our lives. But it has also challenged the existing socio, cultural, ethical and
legal framework.
This thesis looks into the aspect of legal awareness, and the impact it has on software
licensing behavior. It also looks into the other factors which would affect software
licensing behavior in Sri Lanka. It is an awareness study to see if any of the identified
factors has an impact on the software licensing behavior of vendors (licensor) and
users (licensee).
The results indicate that though end users (corporate and home) and vendors are
aware of the legalities with respect to software licensing, their knowledge has no
bearing on the licensing behavior been used. Users tend to practice incorrect software
licensing behavior. Socio-cultural aspects affect both user and vendor groups.
Organizational policies and industrial policies affect corporate users. Vendors are not
affected by any of the identified factors in this research.
