The Business of Culture

The business of culture is the business of designing, producing, distributing, and marketing cultural products. Even though it gives employment to millions, and is the main business of many large and small organizations, it is an area that is rarely studied from a strategic management perspective. This book addresses this void by examining a wide range of cultural industries--motion pictures, television, music, radio, and videogames--from such a perspective. The articles included in this book will be helpful to individuals who seek a better understanding of organizations and strategies in the entertainment and media sector. But it should also provide valuable insights to managers and entrepreneurs who operate in environments that share the creative uncertainty and performance ambiguity that characterize most cultural industries.

Joseph Lampel, Jamal Shamsie, Theresa K. Lant

Contents: A.P. Brief, J.P. Walsh, Foreword. Preface. Introduction. J. Lampel, J. Shamsie, T.K. Lant, Toward a Deeper Understanding of Cultural Industries. W.R. Scott, Observations on Research on Cultural Industries. Part I: The Process of Value Creation.J. Keyton, f.l. smith, Conflicts Over Creative Control: Power Struggle on Prime Time Television. J. Lampel, The Genius Behind the System: The Emergence of the Central Producer System in the Hollywood Motion Picture Industry. M.A. Glynn, Maestro or Manager?: Examining the Role of the Music Director in a Symphony Orchestra. Part II: The Challenge of Positioning.M.A. Schilling, Game Not Over: Competitive Dynamics in the Video Game Industry. A.B. Eisner, Q.R. Jett, H.J. Korn, Playing to Their Strengths: Strategies of Incumbent and Start-Up Firms in Web-Based Periodicals. J. Shamsie, D. Miller, W. Greene, A Question of Timing: Strategies for Scheduling Television Shows. Part III: The Nature of Markets.N. Anand, Charting the Music Business: Billboard Magazine and the Development of the Commercial Music Field. J.A. Ahlkvist, R. Faulkner, Are They Playing Our Song? Programming Strategies on Commercial Music Radio. J. Shamsie, Skating on Thin Ice: Confronting Knowledge Ambiguity in the U.S. Motion Picture Industry. Part IV: The Role of Technology.C. Jones, From Technology to Content: The Shift in Dominant Logic in the Early American Film Industry. T. Dowd, From 78s to MP3s: The Embedded Impact of Technology in the Market for Prerecorded Music. T.K. Lant, P.F. Hewlin, Silicon Alley.com: Struggling for Legitimacy in New Media. Part V: The Impact of Globalization.J. Lampel, B. Honig, Let the Children Play: Muppets in the Middle of the Middle East. W.L. Guild, M.L. Joyce, Surviving in the Shadow of Hollywood: A Study of the Australian Film Industry. J. Lampel, J. Shamsie, Uncertain Globalization: Evolutionary Scenarios for the Future Development of Cultural Industries. Conclusions. J. Lampel, J. Shamsie, T.K. Lant, Untangling the Complexities of Cultural Industries: Directions for Future Research. W.R. Scott, Promising and Neglected Types of Studies on Cultural Industries.