Why College Students Commit Computer Hacks: Insights from a Cross Culture Analysis

Computer hacking committed by young adults has become an epidemic that threatens the social and economic prosperity brought by information technology around the world. In this study, we extend previous studies on computer hackers with a cross cultural approach by comparing sources of influence on computer hacking in two countries: China and the United States. This comparative study yielded some significant insights about the contributing factors to the computer hacking phenomenon in these two countries. While some factors are consistent, others are distinctly different, across the two samples. We find that moral beliefs about computer hacking are the most consistent antidote against computer hacking intentions among the Chinese and the American college students. On the other hand, we find that playing computer games (team sports) significantly increases (decreases) the intention to computer hacking in the Chinese college students, but has no significant effect on the American college students. In addition, we find that hypotheses based on routine activity and selfcontrol theories are modestly supported by the two samples; however, each sample supports distinct dimensions of the two theories. Hofstede’s national cultural framework provides salient explanations to these differences in the two samples.