IS TOM CRUISE THREATENED? AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF PRODUCT VARIETY ON DEMAND CONCENTRATION

Multiple studies suggested that expanding product variety due to adoption of the Internet will satisfy consumer\u27s increasingly heterogeneous tastes, thus causing the so-called Long Tail effect (i.e., increasing demand for niche products). In this paper we empirically examine the impact of product variety on demand concentration. We use two large data sets from the movie rental industry and analyze the data at both movie-level and consumer-level. We employ multiple measures to understand the changing demand concentration and incorporate the potential endogeneity of product variety. Multiple models analyzed in our study consistently suggest that larger product variety is likely to increase the demand for hits and decrease the demand for niche products. We propose that new products appear much faster than consumers discover them. Finally, we find no evidence that niche titles satisfy consumer tastes any better than popular titles and that a small number of heavy users are more likely to venture into niches than light users

Voters' Impacts on Creators' Popularity Disparity and Network Size in Two-sided Decentralized User-Generated Content Market

The development of decentralized technologies greatly facilitates the growth of user-generated content (UGC) markets. However, existing literature debates whether the decentralized UGC platform model can be economically sustainable. This study investigates the differential impacts of four voter groups, categorized by their social engagement and financial investment, on the two critical issues pertaining to decentralized UGC markets (i.e., creator popularity disparity and content contribution). We empirically tested our hypotheses using data from a leading decentralized UGC platform. The results indicate a consumer engagement tradeoff between promoting fair growth opportunities in the interest of the creators and extending the creator network in the interest of the platform. Our findings shed light on how creator popularity disparity may arise through votes from the four voter groups and their differential network externalities exerted on the creator network

The power dynamics of film production in a global context

The objective of this thesis is to shed light on the power relationships at stake in the international film industry. In the era of globalisation, numerous factors shake up the film industry, particularly its production processes. This paper investigates the following research question: how are power dynamics between actors of the film industry influenced by the globalisation of production processes? To answer it, I used qualitative research, an appropriate method to get an in-depth understanding of complex phenomena. What’s more, I used an industry-level analysis method, as this paper is exploring the film industry at large. I found that while producers dominate the industry thanks to the power money gives them, producing abroad helped them extend their power to new regions and actors. Similarly, globalisation opened new production opportunities for producers and filmmakers in countries with an emerging or underdeveloped film industry. Streaming platforms also entered the film industry by the means of the global digitalisation of content. States, alongside institutions, are playing a role in shaping power dynamics in international production processes. Ultimately, the globalisation of production processes allowed a growing dominance of producers, the entry of new actors on the market, and made the understanding of international dynamics a necessity for stakeholders of the film industry.O objectivo desta tese é esclarecer as relações de poder em jogo na indústria cinematográfica internacional. Na era da globalização, numerosos factores abalam a indústria cinematográfica, nomeadamente os seus processos de produção. Este trabalho investiga a seguinte questão de investigação: como é que as dinâmicas de poder entre os actores da indústria cinematográfica são influenciadas pela globalização dos processos de produção? Para responder a esta questão, recorri à investigação qualitativa, um método adequado para obter uma compreensão aprofundada de fenómenos complexos. Além disso, utilizei um método de análise ao nível da indústria, uma vez que este artigo explora a indústria cinematográfica em geral. Descobri que, embora os produtores dominem a indústria graças ao poder que o dinheiro lhes dá, produzir no estrangeiro ajudou-os a alargar o seu poder a novas regiões e actores. Do mesmo modo, a globalização abriu novas oportunidades de produção para produtores e realizadores em países com uma indústria cinematográfica emergente ou subdesenvolvida. As plataformas de streaming também entraram na indústria cinematográfica através da digitalização global dos conteúdos. Os Estados, juntamente com as instituições, estão a desempenhar um papel na configuração das dinâmicas de poder nos processos de produção internacionais. Em última análise, a globalização dos processos de produção permitiu um domínio crescente dos produtores, a entrada de novos actores no mercado e tornou a compreensão da dinâmica internacional uma necessidade para as partes interessadas da indústria cinematográfica

Optimization of dynamic product offerings on online marketplaces: A network theory perspective

The fierce competition amongst brands on online marketplaces makes the optimization of offerings within this context a significant challenge. To address this challenge, we draw upon network theory and model the degree of competition through consumers’ consideration sets. We use a large empiricaldataset from one of the biggest online marketplaces to explore the dynamic relationship between network position and the degree of competition, and we depict the redistribution of market share of related offerings after adjusting their array. In doing so, we provide a theoretical reference on when and how brands should optimize their product offerings on online marketplaces. We further demonstrate that intra-brand cannibalization relations have a significantly greater impact on the degree of competition compared to inter-brand ones, while intra-brand cannibalization relations represent the main reason for fluctuations in the degree of competition. Hence, contrary to existing theoreticalinsights and practical intuitions, our findings demonstrate that brands should minimize the number and heterogeneity of their offerings within a market segment to increase their sales on online marketplaces

Is Tom Cruise Threatened? An Empirical Study of the Impact of Product Variety on Demand Concentration

We empirically examine the impact of expanded product variety on demand concentration using large data sets from the movie rental industry as our test bed. We find that product variety is likely to increase demand concentration, which goes against the “Long Tail effect” theory predicting that demand would become less concentrated on “hit” products due to expanded product variety. We further provide evidence that this finding is not due to introducing many low-selling niche products as the intuition might suggest. Instead, we discover that increasing product variety diversifies the demand away from each movie title, but less significantly for hits than for niche products. In particular, we find that increasing product variety by 1,000 titles may increase the Gini coefficient of DVD rentals by 0.0029, which translates to increasing the market share of the top 1% of DVDs by 1.96% and the market share of the top 10% of DVDs by 0.58%. At the same time the market share of the bottom 1% of DVDs is reduced by 21.29% while the market share of the bottom 10% of DVDs is reduced by 5.28%. We rule out alternative explanations using a variety of “Long Tail” metrics, capturing movie format/distribution channel interaction and customer heterogeneity, while making use of instrumental variables

A manifesto for the creative economy

The UK\u27s creative economy is one of its great national strengths, historically deeply rooted and accounting for around one-tenth of the whole economy. It provides jobs for 2.5 million people – more than in financial services, advanced manufacturing or construction – and in recent years, this creative workforce has grown four times faster than the workforce as a whole. But behind this success lies much disruption and business uncertainty, associated with digital technologies. Previously profitable business models have been swept away, young companies from outside the UK have dominated new internet markets, and some UK creative businesses have struggled to compete. UK policymakers too have failed to keep pace with developments in North America and parts of Asia. But it is not too late to refresh tired policies. This manifesto sets out our 10-point plan to bolster one of the UK\u27s fastest growing sectors

Recommender systems in industrial contexts

This thesis consists of four parts: - An analysis of the core functions and the prerequisites for recommender systems in an industrial context: we identify four core functions for recommendation systems: Help do Decide, Help to Compare, Help to Explore, Help to Discover. The implementation of these functions has implications for the choices at the heart of algorithmic recommender systems. - A state of the art, which deals with the main techniques used in automated recommendation system: the two most commonly used algorithmic methods, the K-Nearest-Neighbor methods (KNN) and the fast factorization methods are detailed. The state of the art presents also purely content-based methods, hybridization techniques, and the classical performance metrics used to evaluate the recommender systems. This state of the art then gives an overview of several systems, both from academia and industry (Amazon, Google ...). - An analysis of the performances and implications of a recommendation system developed during this thesis: this system, Reperio, is a hybrid recommender engine using KNN methods. We study the performance of the KNN methods, including the impact of similarity functions used. Then we study the performance of the KNN method in critical uses cases in cold start situation. - A methodology for analyzing the performance of recommender systems in industrial context: this methodology assesses the added value of algorithmic strategies and recommendation systems according to its core functions.Comment: version 3.30, May 201