This dissertation examines the key success drivers of hedonic media products like movies and video games, across both the production and distribution phases. Essay I analyzes how public and private funding impact the cultural and economic success of movies, using German film funding as an example. It finds that public funding attracts private investment and increases box office revenues globally, but does not directly improve movie quality ratings. Essay II focuses on the digital home video market and how pricing and timing of releases influence streaming success for purchases and rentals. It reveals differences in consumer behavior, with purchases being more price-elastic and rentals more sensitive to release timing. Essay III investigates how casting popular actors as in-game characters, i.e. star power, drives the success of video games. It finds star power can directly boost game success, especially for genres like horror and RPGs, but counteracts the benefits of multiplayer games. Overall, the dissertation provides valuable insights for entertainment companies, marketers and policymakers on strategically leveraging factors like funding sources, pricing, release timing and star power to enhance the success of hedonic media products across different distribution channels.:Index of Figures VIII Index of Tables IX Abbreviations X 1 Synopsis 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Summaries of Dissertation Essays 7 1.2.1 Essay I: The Global Impact of Public and Private Funding on Cultural and Economic Movie Success: Evidence from German Film Funding 7 1.2.2 Essay II: Strategic Levers for Sequentially Distributed Digital Products: The Case of Home Video 9 1.2.3 Essay III: From Screen to Screen: How Star Power Drives Video Game Success 12 2 Essay I: The Global Impact of Public and Private Funding on Cultural and Economic Movie Success: Evidence from German Film Funding 14 2.1 Abstract 14 2.2 Introduction 15 2.3 Conceptual and Research Background 18 2.3.1 The German Public Funding System 18 2.3.2 Impact of Quality Signals on Movie Financing (RQ1) 19 2.3.3 The Relationship Between Public and Private Funding (RQ2) 20 2.3.4 Impact of Movie Financing on Cultural Success (RQ3) 21 2.3.5 Impact of Movie Financing on Economic Success (RQ4) 23 2.4 Study Design 25 2.4.1 Data 25 2.4.1 Model 27 2.5 Results 29 2.5.1 Overview 29 2.5.2 Impact of Quality Signals on Movie Financing (RQ1) and Impact of Public on Private Funding (RQ2) 32 2.5.3 Impact of Movie Financing on Cultural Success Variables (RQ3) 32 2.5.4 Impact of Movie Financing on Economic Success (RQ4) 36 2.6 Conclusion 38 2.6.1 Discussion 38 2.6.2 Practical Implications 42 2.6.3 Limitations and Research Outlook 43 Appendix A: Essay I 44 Appendix A.1: Bivariate Correlations 44 Appendix A.2: Model Statistics and Extensive Results 48 Appendix A.3: T-Test Results 62 3 Essay II: Strategic Levers for Sequentially Distributed Digital Products: The Case of Home Video 66 3.1 Abstract 66 3.2 Introduction 67 3.3 Theoretical Framework and Research Background 69 3.3.1 Home Video Success 70 3.3.2 Strategic Distribution Levers and Competition 73 3.3.3 Interactions of Strategic Levers and Preset Factors 75 3.4 Data 75 3.4.1 Basis 75 3.4.2 Pricing and Timing 78 3.4.3 Competition and Preset Factors 78 3.4.4 Controls 79 3.5 Method 80 3.6 Results 83 3.6.1 Impacts of Strategic Levers and Competition 84 3.6.2 Impacts of Preset Factors 87 3.6.3 Moderating Impact of the Strategic Levers 87 3.6.4 Simulation Analysis 92 3.7 Discussion 94 3.7.1 Pricing, Timing, and Competition 94 3.7.2 Preset Factors and Lever Interactions 96 3.7.3 Managerial Implications 97 3.7.4 Limitations and Directions for Further Research 99 Appendix B: Essay II 100 Appendix B.1: Model Robustness 100 Appendix B.2: Comprehensive Results 115 4 Essay III: From Screen to Screen: How Star Power Drives Video Game Success 128 4.1 Abstract 128 4.2 Introduction 129 4.3 Research Background and Theoretical Framework 131 4.3.1 Literature Review 131 4.3.2 Video Games vs. Movies 133 4.3.3 Theoretical Framework 134 4.4 Study Design 139 4.4.1 Data 139 4.4.2 Method 144 4.5 Results 145 4.5.1 Overview 145 4.5.2 Impact of Star Power on Video Game Success 147 4.5.3 Star Power Impact Across Game Traits 149 4.6 Discussion 152 4.6.1 Conclusion 152 4.6.2 Managerial Implications 155 4.6.3 Limitations and Directions for Further Research 156 Appendix C: Essay III 157 Appendix C.1: Bivariate Correlations 157 Appendix C.2: Regression Model T-Test Results 161 Appendix C.3: Extended Results 163 References 167 Curriculum Vitae XII Eidesstattliche Erklärung XIII

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