Consumers as risk takers
Evidence from the film industry during the 1930s
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8420692 |
|---|---|
| Authors | John Sedgwick (0000-0002-8775-6243, London Metropolitan University, corresponding author), Michael Pokorny (b Westminster Business School, University of Westminster , London, UK) |
| Year | 2010 |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 74-99 |
| Publication date | 2010-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Business History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-6791 • E-ISSN: 1743-7938 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00076790903469620 |
| OpenAlex | W2155704720 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 27 |
This paper examines the risk environment of film consumption in the United States during the 1930s when moviegoing dwarfed all other paid-for leisure activities. We argue that the wide variability in the financial performance of films, reflecting the considerable risks that were involved in film production, can be interpreted as being mirrored in the risks incurred by consumers in the film consumption process. We further argue that production risk needs to be understood within the context of consumer risk. Using a dataset derived from the trade journal Variety, we examine the weekly fortunes of movies in first-run cinemas as consumers rapidly substitute movies that are currently on release for the promised pleasures of yet unseen movies. That expected utility was not always realised was commonplace, as was the pleasurable surprise that came with being thrilled by certain films. These are important results since, perhaps for the first time in modern society, they led to the emergence of the long right tail of consumer preferences for mass distributed goods
Advertising · Art · Business · Commerce · Consumption (sociology · Context (archaeology · Economics · Film industry · Microeconomics · Movie theater · Production (economics · Social science · Sociology · Surprise · Variety (cybernetics · Visual arts · Art History and Market Analysis · Cinema and Media Studies · Computer Science · Consumer Market Behavior and Pricing · History · Marketing
Explanations for the Restrained Development of the Dutch Cinema Market in the 1930s
Profitability trends in Hollywood, 1929 to 1999
Film consumer decision-making
Emboldening and Contesting Gender and Skin Color Stereotypes in the Film Industry in India, 1947–1991
Hollywood in the world market – evidence from Australia in the mid-1930s
Clint Eastwood's US audience 1964-2009
Hollywood Economics
The characteristics of film as a commodity
Current Research in Film
Richard B. Jewell's RKO film grosses, 1929–51
Information and Consumer Behavior
Advertising as Information
The Risk Environment of Film Making
Bose-Einstein Dynamics and Adaptive Contracting in the Motion Picture Industry
Building Knowledge about the Consumer
RKO Film Grosses, 1929–1951
MGM film grosses, 1924-1948
Warner Bros Film Grosses, 1921-51
Profitability trends in Hollywood, 1929 to 1999
The film business in the United States and Britain during the 1930s1
Brand Extensions of Experiential Goods
Choosing Less-Preferred Experiences For the Sake of Variety
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,38 |
| Citation span | 2010 - 2021 (12) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |