DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

The Effect of eWOM on Movie Sales Considering Competition and Culture

  • JungWon Lee (Basic Science Research Institution, Chungbuk National University) ;
  • Cheol Park (College of Global Business, Korea University)
  • Received : 2024.01.15
  • Accepted : 2024.04.21
  • Published : 2024.07.31

Abstract

This paper aims to empirically analyze how competitive and cultural factors moderate the relationship between electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) characteristics and sales in the US and Korean film industries. A conceptual model was developed based on the cue utilization theory (CUT) to analyze the role of cultural and competitive factors that moderate the relationship between three characteristics of eWOM (volume, valence, and variance) and movie sales. Data of 45 days of 163 films released in Korea and the US were collected and a total of 7,335 samples were analyzed by panel regression. As results, competitive factors enhanced the influence of the eWOM of a focal film and this moderating effect depended on the eWOM characteristics. It also revealed that the effect of eWOM had a greater effect on movie sales in Korea than in the US.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This paper is supported by a Korea University Grant.

References

  1. Arellano, Manuel and Stephen Bond (1991), "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, 58 (2), 277.
  2. Babic Rosario, Ana, Francesca Sotgiu, Kristine De Valck, and Tammo H.A. Bijmolt (2016), "The Effect of Electronic Word of Mouth on Sales: A Meta-Analytic Review of Platform, Product, and Metric Factors," Journal of Marketing Research, 53 (3), 297-318.
  3. Buzova, Daniela, Silvia Sanz-Blas, and Amparo Cervera-Taulet (2018), "Does Culture Affect Sentiments Expressed in Cruise Tours' Ewom?," The Service Industries Journal, 39 (2), 154-173.
  4. Carrillat, Francois A., Renaud Legoux, and Allegre L. Hadida (2017), "Debates and Assumptions about Motion Picture Performance: A Meta-Analysis," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 46 (2), 273-299.
  5. Chen, Yubo and Jinhong Xie (2008), "Online Consumer Review: Word-of-Mouth as a New Element of Marketing Communication Mix," Management Science, 54 (3), 477-491.
  6. Chintagunta, Pradeep K., Shyam Gopinath, and Sriram Venkataraman (2010), "The Effects of Online User Reviews on Movie Box-Of ce Performance: Accounting for Sequential Rollout and Aggregation Across Local Markets," Marketing Science, 29 (5), 944-957.
  7. Chiu, Ya-Ling, Ku-Hsieh Chen, Jying-Nan Wang, and Yuan-Teng Hsu (2019), "The Impact of Online Movie Word-of-Mouth on Consumer Choice," International Marketing Review, 36 (6), 996-1025.
  8. Clemons, Eric K., Guodong Gordon Gao, and Lorin M. Hitt (2006), "When Online Reviews Meet Hyperdifferentiation: A Study of the Craft Beer Industry," Journal of Management Information Systems, 23 (2), 149-171.
  9. Colicev, Anatoli, Ashwin Malshe, Koen Pauwels, and Peter O'Connor (2018), "Improving Consumer Mindset Metrics and Shareholder Value through Social Media: The Different Roles of Owned and Earned Media," Journal of Marketing, 82 (1), 37-56.
  10. Dawar, Niraj, Phillip M. Parker, and Lydia J. Price (1996), "A Cross-Cultural Study of Interpersonal Information Exchange," Journal of International Business Studies, 27 (3), 497-516.
  11. Deng, Tianjie (2020), "Investigating the Effects of Textual Reviews from Consumers and Critics on Movie Sales," Online Information Review, 44 (6), 1245-1265.
  12. Dick, Alan, Dipankar Chakravarti, and Gabriel Biehal (1990), "Memory-Based Inferences during Consumer Choice," Journal of Consumer Research, 17 (1), 82.
  13. Duan, W., B. Gu, and A. Whinston (2008), "The Dynamics of Online Word-of-Mouth and Product Sales-An Empirical Investigation of the Movie Industry," Journal of Retailing, 84 (2), 233-242.
  14. Elberse, Anita and Jehoshua Eliashberg (2003), "Demand and Supply Dynamics for Sequentially Released Products in International Markets: The Case of Motion Pictures," Marketing Science, 22 (3), 329-354.
  15. Eliashberg, Jehoshua and Mohanbir S. Sawhney (1994), "Modeling goes to Hollywood: Predicting Individual Differences in Movie Enjoyment," Management Science, 40 (9), 1151-1173.
  16. Ellison, Glenn David, Edward L. Glaeser, and William R. Kerr (2007), "What Causes Industry Agglomeration? Evidence from Coagglomeration Patterns," SSRN Electronic Journal.
  17. Fiske, Susan Taylor (2017), Social Cognition: From Brains to Culture, SAGE Publications Ltd.
  18. Goldsmith, Ronald E. and David Horowitz (2006), "Measuring Motivations for Online Opinion Seeking," Journal of Interactive Advertising, 6 (2), 2-14.
  19. Gould, Eric D., B. Peter Pashigian, and Canice J. Prendergast (2005), "Contracts, Externalities, and Incentives in Shopping Malls," Review of Economics and Statistics, 87 (3), 411-422.
  20. Hall, Edward Twitchell (1989), Beyond Culture, New York: Doubleday.
  21. Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Caroline Wiertz, and Fabian Feldhaus (2014), "Does Twitter Matter? The Impact of Microblogging Word of Mouth on Consumers' Adoption of New Movies," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43 (3), 375-394.
  22. Hofstede, Geert, Gert Jan Hofstede, and Michael Minkov (2010), Cultures and Organizations Software of the Mind; Intercultural Cooperation and its Importance for Survival, New York u. a: McGraw-Hill.
  23. Ilhan, Behice Ece, Raoul V. Kubler, and Koen H. Pauwels (2018), "Battle of the Brand Fans: Impact of Brand Attack and Defense on Social Media," Journal of Interactive Marketing, 43 (1), 33-51.
  24. Inman, J. Jeffrey (2001), "The Role of Sensory-Speci c Satiety in Attribute-Level Variety Seeking," Journal of Consumer Research, 28 (1), 105-120.
  25. Jabr, Wael and Zhiqiang (Eric) Zheng (2014), "Know Yourself and Know Your Enemy: An Analysis of Firm Recommendations and Consumer Reviews in a Competitive Environment," MIS Quarterly, 38 (3), 635-654.
  26. Kale, Sudhir H. and John W. Barnes (1992), "Understanding the Domain of Cross-National Buyer-Seller Interactions," Journal of International Business Studies, 23 (1), 101-132.
  27. Keh, Hean Tat, Wenbo Ji, Xia Wang, Joseph A. Sy-Changco, and Ramendra Singh (2015), "Online Movie Ratings: A Cross-Cultural, Emerging Asian Markets Perspective," International Marketing Review, 32 (3/4), 366-388.
  28. Kim, Jiyoung, Kiseol Yang, and Bu Yong Kim (2013), "Online Retailer Reputation and Consumer Response: Examining Cross Cultural Differences," International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 41 (9), 688-705.
  29. King, Robert Allen, Pradeep Racherla, and Victoria D. Bush (2014), "What We Know and Don't Know about Online Word-of-Mouth: A Review and Synthesis of the Literature," Journal of Interactive Marketing, 28 (3), 167-183.
  30. Koschat, Martin A. (2012), "The Impact of Movie Reviews on Box Office: Media Portfolios and the Intermediation of Genre," Journal of Media Economics, 25 (1), 35-53.
  31. Lee, Jungwon and Cheol Park (2023), "Reexamining Review Variance and Movie Sales: The Inverted-U-Shaped Relationship and Boundary Conditions," Internet Research, in press, https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-08-2021-0536
  32. Lee, Jungwon and Cheol Park (2022), "The Effects of Corporate, Review and Reviewer Characteristics on the Helpfulness of Online Reviews: The Moderating Role of Culture," Internet Research, 32(5), 1562-1594.
  33. Lee, Jungwon, Yunhye Lee, and Cheol Park (2022), "The Effect of Consumer Group Breadth and Depth on Movie Sales: The Mediating Effect of eWOM-to-Viewing Ratio," Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistcis, 34 (4), 707-738.
  34. Liu, Angela Xia, Jan-Benedict E. M. Steenkamp, and Jurui Zhang (2018), "Agglomeration as a Driver of the Volume of Electronic Word of Mouth in the Restaurant Industry," Journal of Marketing Research, 55 (4), 507-523.
  35. Liu, Yong (2006), "Word of Mouth for Movies: Its Dynamics and Impact on Box Office Revenue," Journal of Marketing, 70 (3), 74-89.
  36. Marshall, Alfred (2012), Principles of Economics: An Introductory Volume, London: MacMillan.
  37. Mitra, Anusree and John G. Lynch, Jr. (1995), "Toward a Reconciliation of Market Power and Information Theories of Advertising Effects on Price Elasticity," Journal of Consumer Research, 21 (4), 644.
  38. Moon, Sangkil, Paul K. Bergey, and Dawn Iacobucci (2010), "Dynamic Effects among Movie Ratings, Movie Revenues, and Viewer Satisfaction," Journal of Marketing, 74 (1), 108-121.
  39. Murray, Keith B. (1991), "A Test of Services Marketing Theory: Consumer Information Acquisition Activities," Journal of Marketing, 55 (1), 10.
  40. Park, Cheol and Thae Min Lee (2009), "Antecedents of Online Reviews' Usage and Purchase Influence: An Empirical Comparison of U.S. and Korean Consumers," Journal of Interactive Marketing, 23 (4), 332-340.
  41. Purohit, Devavrat and Joydeep Srivastava (2001), "Effect of Manufacturer Reputation, Retailer Reputation, and Product Warranty on Consumer Judgments of Product Quality: A Cue Diagnosticity Framework," Journal of Consumer Psychology, 10 (3), 123-134.
  42. Raju, P. S. (1980), "Optimum Stimulation Level: Its Relationship to Personality, Demographics, and Exploratory Behavior," Journal of Consumer Research, 7 (3), 272.
  43. Richardson, Paul S., Alan S. Dick, and Arun K. Jain (1994), "Extrinsic and Intrinsic Cue Effects on Perceptions of Store Brand Quality," Journal of Marketing, 58 (4), 28.
  44. Rui, Huaxia, Yizao Liu, and Andrew Whinston (2013), "Whose and What Chatter Matters? The Effect of Tweets on Movie Sales," Decision Support Systems, 55 (4), 863-870.
  45. Saboo, Alok R., V. Kumar, and Girish Ramani (2016), "Evaluating the Impact of Social Media Activities on Human Brand Sales," International Journal of Research in Marketing, 33 (3), 524-541.
  46. Schwert, G. William (1987), "Effects of Model Specification on Tests for Unit Roots in Macroeconomic Data," Journal of Monetary Economics, 20 (1), 73-103.
  47. Slovic, Paul and Sarah Lichtenstein (1970), "Comparison of Bayesian and Regression Approaches to the Study of Information Processing in Judgment," Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 6 (6), 649-744.
  48. Song, Reo, Sangkil Moon, Haipeng Chen, and Mark B. Houston (2017), "When Marketing Strategy Meets Culture: The Role of Culture in Product Evaluations," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 46 (3), 384-402.
  49. Sridhar, Shrihari and Raji Srinivasan (2012), "Social Influence Effects in Online Product Ratings," Journal of Marketing, 76 (5), 70-88.
  50. Stephen, Andrew T. and Jeff Galak (2012), "The Effects of Traditional and Social Earned Media on Sales: A Study of a Microlending Marketplace." Journal of Marketing Research, 49 (5), 624-639.
  51. Stephen, Andrew T. and Olivier Toubia (2009), "Deriving Value from Social Commerce Networks," Journal of Marketing Research, 47 (2), 215-228.
  52. Sun, Monic (2012), "How Does the Variance of Product Ratings Matter?," Management Science, 58 (4), 696-707.
  53. Tan, Tom Fangyun, Serguei Netessine, and Lorin Hitt (2017), "Is Tom Cruise Threatened? An Empirical Study of the Impact of Product Variety on Demand Concentration," Information Systems Research, 28 (3), 643-660.
  54. Tang, Linghui (2017), "Mine Your Customers or Mine Your Business: The Moderating Role of Culture in Online Word-of-Mouth Reviews," Journal of International Marketing, 25 (2), 88-110.
  55. Tylor, Edward Burnett (2010), Primitive Culture: Researches into the Development of Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, Nabu Press.
  56. Vogel, Harold L. (2020), Entertainment Industry Economics: A Guide for Financial Analysis, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  57. Wang, Feng, Xuefeng Liu, and Eric (Er) Fang (2015), "User Reviews Variance, Critic Reviews Variance, and Product Sales: An Exploration of Customer Breadth and Depth Effects," Journal of Retailing, 91 (3), 372-389.
  58. Wooldridge, Jeffrey M. (2013), Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach, Mason: Cengage Learning.
  59. Wu, Jianan, Yinglu Wu, Jie Sun, and Zhilin Yang (2013), "User Reviews and Uncertainty Assessment: A Two Stage Model of Consumers' Willingness-to-Pay in Online Markets," Decision Support Systems, 55 (1), 175-185.
  60. Yang, Joonhyuk, Wonjoon Kim, Naveen Amblee, and Jaeseung Jeong (2012), "The Heterogeneous Effect of WOM on Product Sales: Why the Effect of WOM Valence is Mixed?," European Journal of Marketing, 46 (11/12), 1523-1538.
  61. You, Ya, Gautham G. Vadakkepatt, and Amit M. Joshi (2015), "A Meta-Analysis of Electronic Word-of-Mouth Elasticity," Journal of Marketing, 79 (2), 19-39.
  62. Zimmermann, Steffen, Philipp Herrmann, Dennis Kundisch, and Barrie Nault (2018), "Decomposing the Variance of Consumer Ratings and the Impact on Price and Demand," Information Systems Research, 29 (4), 984-1002.