Understanding the Behavioral Intention to Report Unethical Information Technology Practices: The Role of Machiavellianism, Gender, and Computer Expertise Antonis C. Stylianou • Susan Winter • Yuan Niu • Robert A. Giacalone • Matt Campbell Received: 10 March 2010 / Accepted: 3 October 2012 Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2012 Abstract Although organizations can derive competitive advantage from developing and implementing information systems, they are confronted with a rising number of unethical information practices. Because end-users and computer experts are the conduit to an ethical organiza- tional environment, their intention to report unethical IT-related practices plays a critical role in protecting intellectual property and privacy rights. Using the survey methodology, this article investigates the relationship between willingness to report intellectual property and privacy violations and Machiavellianism, gender and computer literacy in the form of programming experience. We found that gender and computer expertise interact with Machiavellianism to influence individuals’ intention of reporting unethical IT practices. This study helps us to improve our understanding of the emergent ethical issues existing in the IT-enabled decision environment. Keywords Ethics Á Whistle-blowing Á Intellectual property Á Privacy Á Information technology Á Machiavellianism Á Computer expertise Introduction Information and communications technologies (IT) have fundamentally changed the way in which organizations and individuals collect, manage, and disseminate data and information. Smart phones, the Web, intranets, email, cloud computing, enterprise databases and systems, and other IT applications have become essential elements in the work of individuals and groups within organizations of all sizes. Despite the undeniable benefits ascribed to IT, organizations are confronted with new challenges stemming from unethi- cal information practices including invasions of personal privacy and theft of intellectual property (Mason 1986; Oz 1994; Winter et al. 2004). Although accurate numbers are difficult to determine because of firms’ reluctance to publi- cize their losses, many companies have had to notify cus- tomers of the release of private information and an estimated $63.4 billion worth of software was stolen from businesses worldwide in 2011 (Business Software Alliance (BSA) 2011). In addition to software theft, the web has made it increasingly easy to engage in other forms of intellectual property (IP) infringement such as downloading and dis- tributing photos, movies, music, blog entries, website contents, and entire books without proper attribution or compensation to their owners. Industry’s growing concern with unethical IT practices is mirrored by a rise in interest among scholars of organiza- tional behavior, ethics, and information systems (IS) (Moores and Chang 2006; Peace et al. 2003), but much remains to be learned about factors influencing the behavior A. C. Stylianou (&) The Belk College of Business Administration, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA e-mail: astylian@uncc.edu S. Winter National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA, USA e-mail: swinter@nsf.gov Y. Niu Duke Energy, Charlotte, NC, USA R. A. Giacalone Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA e-mail: ragiacal@temple.edu M. Campbell University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA e-mail: mattcampbell@usouthal.edu 123 J Bus Ethics DOI 10.1007/s10551-012-1521-1