• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.83-101
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• 2020

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to identify the factors which affect the performance of Chinese web drama. Design/methodology/approach - For empirical investigation, 163 web dramas which were listed in AiQiyi platform were used as the sample. It was hypothesized that number of explanatory variables drawn from previous research, including the power of producing company, and star power of actors and actresses, average length of an episode, genre of the drama, viewer ratings, existence of exclusive SNS account and the use of existing IP, would influence the performance of the drama measured by cumulative hit number. A hierarchical regression analysis is conducted to test hypotheses. Findings - Results show that star power of actors and actresses, average length of an episode, viewer ratings and the use of IP indeed affect the performance of Chinese web drama. Research implications or Originality - As the first empirical study of this kind, this study may help not only domestic but also global participants of fast growing Chinese web drama industry.