Innovation and the economic performance of the primary information sector: a multidisciplinary approach

The aim of this research is to understand and compare the implications of recent technical changes for the development and performance of three key component sub-sectors of the primary information sector (PIS): the Information and Communication Technology supply industries; Telecommunications services and Media services. In this study, the author first reviews the most important economic theories explaining the links between technical change or progress and economic performance (i.e. Neoclassical and Neo- Schumpeterian / Evolutionary), as well as the relatively recent “New Economy” writings about the latest wave of technological innovations. Secondly, the author adopts an historical and evolutionary approach to examine the evolution of three main groups of activities representing the PIS industries in the case of the USA. The study provides an account of the main technical innovations but also the regulatory, organisational, managerial and stylistic changes that follow and complete these innovations. These changes contribute to the creation of new industries and markets and, in a fundamental way to the harvesting of their benefits. Three key groups of activities are taken as case studies for empirical and historical analyses: first, the computer industry, second, the wireline telecommunication industry, and third, the audiovisual content and distribution media services. In the case of the computer and media content industries, while providing an account of the links between innovations and economic performance, the study also examines the evolution from manufacturing-type activities into activities better described as services. In the case of the wireline telecommunication industries, the author highlights the separation of different activities into different modules and highlights the role of the regulator as current “system integrator”. The perspective adopted in this research is critical of those approaches that rely on mainstream economics to provide the main framework for explaining the effect of technical change on the economic performance of these sectors. This study, rather, emphasises the necessity of using a variety of theories to explain the evolution of these sectors. In addition to an historical and evolutionary approach, this study proposes a re-defined version of Baumol’s theory of cost disease (based on a notion of “creative inputs”). It also draws on relevant aspects of the service economics literature and modularity theories (defined as a subset of theories within the Complex Evolving Systems’ school of thought)

From passive consumption of media goods to active use of media brands: on value generation and other differences

Analyses of business models and media consumption within the traditions of media economics and media management explicitly –but mostly implicitly– rely on the representation of a media consumer that rationally pursues the maximisation of utility. Such concept provides the basis for the generalised understanding of the passive consumer of media goods, motivated by subjective wants, needs and preferences. Yet, the digitalisation of media production and distribution has fundamentally changed consumers, producers and their relationship. Users of digital media platforms select, purchase or attend the output of media providers, and leave traces of their digital activities for marketers and advertisers. In addition, they supply content, rate, comment, and share or promote among their network the offers of media providers. The increasing variety of media providers are better understood as brands proposing different value generating activities rather than substitute products at different prices. Critically and by drawing from literature from a variety of research traditions, including political economy of communication, sociology, philosophy and marketing, this theoretical paper discusses the features of the active user of media brands, the hypothetical recipient of the business models of digital media services such as YouTube, Google, Netflix, Amazon Video or Facebook. It is argued that practical knowledge, affect, different types of gratifications and universal values, which are guiding principles for a better life, should be taken into accoun

journal.kommunikation-medien / Learning Collaboratively about Critical Issues of Digital Communication: an introduction to this issue of the Salzburger Sonderfenster

(VLID)267564

Media Industries Journal / Hollywood creative accounting : the success rate of major motion pictures

Academic, trade, and popular publications commonly assert that 80 percent of motion pictures fail to make a net profit, suggesting also that the main players of the motion picture industry operate in highly volatile market conditions. More importantly, major film companies use this argument to negotiate for better terms with their production and distribution partners, to lobby for stricter copyright protections, and to argue in favor of media conglomeration as a hedge against adverse market conditions. This article disputes these assertions by calculating the full range of income that major motion pictures derive from their primary and secondary markets. It demonstrates that a large share of studio films are ultimately profitable, therefore challenging the arguments that conglomerates make with industry partners and government policy makers.(VLID)156670

The case for a socially oriented business model canvas : the social enterprise model canvas

The main purpose of this article is to introduce the Social Enterprise Model Canvas (SEMC), a Business Model Canvas (BMC) conceived for designing the organizational settings of social enterprises, for resolving the mission measurement paradox, and for meeting the strategy, legitimacy and governance challenges. The SEMC and the analysis that explains its features are of interest to academics concerned with the study of social entrepreneurship because they offer a new analytical tool that is particularly useful for untangling and comparing different forms of social enterprises. Also, it is of interest to social entrepreneurs, because the SEMC is a platform that can be used to prevent ‘mission drifts that might result from problems emerging from the mismanagement of such challenges. The arguments presented are grounded on scientific literature from multiple disciplines and fields, on a critical review of the BMC, and on a case study. The main features of SEMC that makes it an alternative to the BMC are attention to social value and building blocks that take into consideration non-targeted stakeholders, principles of governance, the involvement of customers and targeted beneficiaries, mission values, short-term objectives, impact and output measures.(VLID)460566

Creative Inputs as the Cause of Baumol's Cost Disease: The Example of Media Services

This article explains that the most important aspect of W. J. Baumol's idea of cost disease is the fundamental intuition that there are some types of labor's contributions that are irreplaceable by new technologies. These contributions are indentified as “creative inputs”: original ideas, concepts, actions, and inductive solutions to ill-defined problems. This article also empirically demonstrates that media content activities are stagnant, whereas activities involved in the distribution and exhibition of media content are progressive.

Media Convergence Meets Deconvergence

This introductory chapter explains that there is a widely shared understanding of the imperative nature of media convergence, which is based on different notions connecting positive goals such as efficiency, synergy, simplification, information abundance, participation, availability and multimodality. These social imaginaries of media convergence are powerful concepts that influence political agendas and legitimize policy decisions. In this book, these privileged meanings of media convergence are challenged by presenting alternative and mostly overlooked trends and theories defined under the umbrella term of media deconvergence. The perspective of deconvergence helps to shed light on sites of tension and the simultaneity of competing forces such as coalescence and drifting apart, or linearity and discontinuity. Two of these sites of tension are analyzed more carefully in this chapter: the users perspective and the (de)convergence of markets.(VLID)232112

Royalty Collection Organizations: Private Interest Enterprises or Social Purpose Organisations?

<p>This article presents the preliminary work carried out for a study designed to assess and explain the extent and form of the competition between performing rights royalty collection organisations (RCOs) in the music industry. Performing rights function as a key aspect of copyright law allowing creators and publishers to be compensated when their works are broadcast or performed. Such rights generate approximately $10bn annual in revenue for the music industry. RCOs effectively operate as enforcement agents sanctioned by law to requisition and gather payment on behalf of their members. However, they are also organisations with social goals that act as intermediaries between music users (the customers) and music rights holders (the beneficiaries). RCOs come in a variety of forms: large, small, for-profit, non-profit, national, international. Yet, notwithstanding the variety of their organisational designs and their crucial role in developing the music industry, they are an under-researched aspect in regard to music and intellectual property rights. In order to establish a more comprehensive understanding of the form and nature of these royalty collection societies, and the competition between them and the social impacts, we compare the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) with the UK's Performing Rights Society. Employed for this purpose is the Social Enterprise Model Canvas, the frame used to analyse the business model of organisations that prioritise social goals financed from market revenues. </p&gt

News Flow Management

Das Forschungsvorhaben verfolgt das Ziel, Erkenntnisse über den ökonomischen und publi-zistischen Erfolg bei der angebotsseitigen Plattformbewirtschaftung mit redaktionellen Inhal-ten durch Zeitungshäuser zu sammeln, diese Erkenntnisse für die österreichische Zeitungslage aufzubereiten und in einem Transferprozess mit interessierten Stakeholdern zu diskutieren. Den Untersuchungsgegenstand bilden die von den Veränderungsprozessen besonders betroffenen nationalen und regionalen Tageszeitungen. Zur Wahrung der Einheit des Gegenstandes bleiben Gratiszeitungen, sowie das Segment der Boulevard- oder Populärpresse in der empirischen Forschung unberücksichtigt. Das Forschungsinteresse richtet sich auf zwei Aspekte: Erstens sollen im internationalen Vergleich best practice Beispiele identifiziert werden, die einen innovativen Weg der Inhaltebewirtschaftung mit Nachrichten beschreiten. Zweitens soll durch inhaltsanalytische Verfahren und durch Managementbeobachtung ein unternehmerisches Profil dieser ausgewählten Beispiele erstellt werden. Dabei spielen auch die Erfahrungen eine Rolle, die die Zeitungs-häuser auf dem jeweils eingeschlagenen Weg bisher mit der wirtschaftlichen Verwertung der digitalen Plattformen gesammelt haben