Factors Influencing Unethical Behavior in Social Networks based on Theory of Planned Behavior

Factors Influencing Unethical Behavior in Social Networks based on Theory of Planned BehaviorAbstract The expanding use of Social Networking Sites (SNS) and their flexible functionalities allow individuals to use these sites in ethical and unethical ways. The objective of this study is to identify the influential factors that have an impact on individuals’ ethical decision-making process based on Theory of Planned Behavior. For this purpose, four different scenario-based questionnaires were designed to enable the survey to investigate factors affecting individuals’ behavior in different situation. With 660 returned questionnaires in hand, the collected data were analyzed using the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique. The results showed attitude to be the most influential factor, followed by perceived behavioral control and subjective. Finally, the role of different scenarios was studied and it is shown different effects on the relationships based on different scenarios.Keywords: Unethical Behaviors, Theory of Planned Behavior, Social Networks, Ethic in Information Technology