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This paper studies how the compensation of high-wage workers is associated with organizational performance. Based on organizational justice arguments, cognitive evaluation theory (CET), and self-determination theory (SDT), we hypothesize that bonuses contingent on organizational performance tends to negatively impact the positive relationship between base pay and organizational performance. We use data from two distinct industry environments to show that the interaction between base pay and bonus pay is associated with reducing organizational performance for high-wage workers. More specifically, bonus pay relates to a decrease in the relationship between base pay and organizational performance.

This paper uses a rich panel data set including 178 female and male actors in 973 movies released between 1980 and 2019 to explore a potential gender pay gap in Hollywood's movie industry. Our analysis explicitly distinguishes between an explained and an unexplained gender pay gap. Only the latter can be referred to as "discrimination." Our study reveals a pay gap between female and male actors. Yet, gender-specific representation in leading roles and systematic differences in performance measures can explain this pay difference. While female actors' underrepresentation in leading roles reflects consumer tastes and discriminatory attitudes, no evidence can be found for direct pay discrimination in Hollywood's movie business., Charlotte Kräfft

This study uniquely employs a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) technique to account for complex relationships in consumption. The fsQCA technique assumes that relationships are based on a set–subset relationship. This assumption is fundamental when decision-makers are affected by information asymmetry and are, thus, required to jointly evaluate the credi-bility and reliability of a range of external signals. This issue also affects consumers in markets for cultural goods, where the quality of products is not known with certainty in advance of the purchase decision. Our study uses fsQCA to establish the effect of different quality signals on consumption in the US market for video game software. Our results show that reviews from professional critics alongside brand extension and multi-platform release strategies act as signals of product quality and, therefore, lead to high sales performance.

Since January 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak has been progressing at a rapid pace. To keep the pandemic at bay, countries have implemented various measures to interrupt the transmission of the virus from person to person and prevent an overload of their health systems. We analyze the impact of these measures implemented against the COVID-19 pandemic by using a sample of 68 countries, Puerto Rico and the 50 federal states of the United States of America, four federal states of Australia, and eight federal states of Canada, involving 6,941 daily observations. We show that measures are essential for containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. After controlling for daily COVID-19 tests, we find evidence to suggest that school closures, shut-downs of non-essential business, mass gathering bans, travel restrictions in and out of risk areas, national border closures and/or complete entry bans, and nationwide curfews decrease the growth rate of the coronavirus and thus the peak of daily confirmed cases. We also find evidence to suggest that combinations of these measures decrease the daily growth rate at a level outweighing that of individual measures. Consequently, and despite extensive vaccinations, we contend that the implemented measures help contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and ease the overstressed capacity of the healthcare systems.

Digital streaming has had a profound effect on the commercial music sector and now accounts for 80% of industry revenues in the United States. This study investigates the consumption of music on digital streaming platforms by analyzing the factors affecting the chart survival of individual music tracks. Our data are taken from the Spotify Global Top 200 between January 2017 and January 2020, containing observations on 3,007 unique tracks by 642 artists over 1,087 days. We identify a number of unique consumption traits applicable to online streaming services, which we use to explain variations in chart longevity. We find a positive association between the amount of time a track spends in the chart and the involvement of a major label. We also find that the level of competition from other chart entries, as well as some elements related to the pattern of diffusion, associates significantly with the likelihood of chart survival. The study highlights several important managerial implications for key industry stakeholders.

Despite the enormous revenues generated by the video game industry in recent years, relatively little research has been undertaken into consumer preferences and the determinants of video game consumption. This study addresses this deficiency through the analysis of data from a popular online video game that includes historic behavioural information for 1,408 consumers participating in 728,811 unique rounds of gameplay. We analyse these data with the goal of estimating determinants of the aggregate amount of time that a consumer spends playing the game. Through the estimation of duration models, we show that less experienced consumers are less likely to continue playing the game at any given point, possibly due to having achieved mastery and becoming bored. However, we also find that consumers tend to play the game for longer periods when using a wider range of character roles and vehicles, implying that a consumer's interest can be maintained through exposure to greater variety. Our results represent the first such evidence on in-game consumer preferences, which has important implications for video game consumption through optimisation of gameplay experiences to satisfy these preferences.

The objective of this study is the analysis of movie success mechanisms in a genre-specific context. Instead of the examination of all time box office champions, we focus on the two film genres of computer animated and comic book based films. By introducing the concept of the motion-picture marketing mix, which represents a set of tactical marketing tools in order to strengthen a companys strategic customer orientation, we are able to systematically identify key movie success factors. We conduct a cross-sectional empirical analysis across regional distinctions based on dataset that covers a time horizon of more than 30 years. We find empirical evidence that actors with ex ante popularity, award nominations and the production budget represent key movie success mechanisms and significantly influence a movies commercial appeal. Additionally, word-of-mouth creates reputation effects that also significantly affects box office gross., Daniel Kaimann, University of Paderborn

Customers continuously evaluate the credibility and reliability of a range of signals both separately and jointly. However, existing econometric studies pay insufficient attention to the interactions and complex combinations of these signals, and are typically limited as a result of difficulties controlling for multicollinearity and endogeneity in their data. We develop a novel theoretical approach to address these issues and study different signaling effects (i.e., word-of-mouth, brand reputation, and distribution strategy) on customer perceptions. Using data on the US video games market, we apply a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to account for cause-effect relationships. The results of our study address a number of key issues in the economics and management literature. First, our results support the contention that reviews from professional critics act as a signal of product quality and therefore positively influence unit sales, as do the discriminatory effects of prices and restricted age ratings. Second, we find evidence to support the use of brand extension strategies as marketing tools that create spillover effects and support the launch of new products., Daniel Kaimann and Joe Cox