Does Stylistic Similarity to Popular Competitors Affect Consumer Evaluations of Quality? Evidence from Online Movie Evaluations
Aesthetics and Style in Strategy
ISBN: 978-1-80043-237-6, eISBN: 978-1-80043-236-9
Publication date: 9 November 2020
Abstract
This work addresses how consumer perceptions of quality may be influenced by the composition of competition. I develop a theoretical framework that explains how consumer evaluations of quality can be negatively impacted by a product's stylistic similarity to popular competitors. These issues are examined empirically using more than 75,000 online consumer evaluations, from the evaluation aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, of 123 feature films released in the United States during 2007. Results suggest that during a movie's opening week, movies that are stylistically similar to the top-performing box office movie are evaluated less favorably. Additional analyses indicate that this negative effect may persist in later periods due to social conformity pressures, and that there is reduced demand for those movies that are stylistically similar to the top box office performer. This article contributes to the broader literature in strategic management by depicting how stylistic features of competitors can affect consumer behaviour and perceptions of quality in markets. This work also suggests managerial implications for entry-timing decisions and positioning choices.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
I am grateful for the helpful feedback from Shirly Bluvstein, Luís Cabral, Gino Cattani, Paul DiMaggio, J.P. Eggers, Frédéric Godart, Jason Greenberg, Karren Knowlton, Sarah Lebovitz, Francis Park, Joe Porac, Priya Raghubir, Julie Ross, Robert Salomon and Robert Seamans. Moreover, I am indebted to Masakazu Ishihara for both assistance on developing this chapter and for sharing some of the primary data. Additionally, I appreciate the contributions to earlier versions of this chapter made by reviewers and audiences at TADC at London Business School in 2016, the 2016 Academy of Management Annual Meeting in Atlanta, the 2016 Columbia-NYU Management Doctoral Conference, ECDC-2017 in New York City, the 2019 European Group of Organization Studies Annual Meeting in Edinburgh, and brown bag seminar participants at NYU-Stern. Remaining errors or omissions are the exclusive domain of the author.
Citation
Sands, D.B. (2020), "Does Stylistic Similarity to Popular Competitors Affect Consumer Evaluations of Quality? Evidence from Online Movie Evaluations", Cattani, G., Ferriani, S., Godart, F. and Sgourev, S.V. (Ed.) Aesthetics and Style in Strategy (Advances in Strategic Management, Vol. 42), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 199-226. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0742-332220200000042008
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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