Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • December 2014
  • Article
  • Management Science

When to Sell Your Idea: Theory and Evidence from the Movie Industry

By: Hong Luo
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

I study a model of investment and sale of ideas and test its empirical implications using a novel data set from the market for original movie ideas. Consistent with the theoretical results, I find that buyers are reluctant to meet unproven sellers for early-stage ideas, which restricts sellers to either developing the ideas fully (to sell them later) or abandoning them. In contrast, experienced sellers can attract buyers at any stage and they sell worse ideas sooner and better ideas later. These results have important managerial implications for buyers and sellers and show that, in such contexts, policy interventions that discourage buyer participation—such as stronger intellectual-property protection—may diminish the market for ideas and hurt inexperienced sellers.

Keywords

Strategy; Intellectual Property; Film Entertainment; Sales; Entertainment And Recreation Industry

Citation

Luo, Hong. "When to Sell Your Idea: Theory and Evidence from the Movie Industry." Management Science 60, no. 12 (December 2014): 3067–3086.
  • Find it at Harvard
  • Read Now

About The Author

Hong Luo

Strategy
→More Publications

More from the Author

    • February 2021
    • Faculty Research

    Spotify's Audio-First Strategy: Leading the Podcasting Market

    By: Hong Luo and Carol Lin
    • January 2021
    • Faculty Research

    Universal During COVID: The Future of Theatrical Windows

    By: Hong Luo, Henry McGee and Carol Lin
    • December 2019
    • Management Science

    Invest in Information or Wing It? A Model of Dynamic Pricing with Seller Learning

    By: Guofang Huang, Hong Luo and Jing Xia
More from the Author
  • Spotify's Audio-First Strategy: Leading the Podcasting Market By: Hong Luo and Carol Lin
  • Universal During COVID: The Future of Theatrical Windows By: Hong Luo, Henry McGee and Carol Lin
  • Invest in Information or Wing It? A Model of Dynamic Pricing with Seller Learning By: Guofang Huang, Hong Luo and Jing Xia
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College