Entertainment Science

The entertainment industry has long been dominated by legendary screenwriter William Goldman’s “Nobody-Knows-Anything” mantra, which argues that success is the result of managerial intuition and instinct. This book builds the case that combining such intuition with data analytics and rigorous scholarly knowledge provides a source of sustainable competitive advantage – the same recipe for success that is behind the rise of firms such as Netflix and Spotify, but has also fueled Disney’s recent success. Unlocking a large repertoire of scientific studies by business scholars and entertainment economists, the authors identify essential factors, mechanisms, and methods that help a new entertainment product succeed. The book thus offers a timely alternative to “Nobody-Knows” decision-making in the digital era: while coupling a good idea with smart data analytics and entertainment theory cannot guarantee a hit, it systematically and substantially increases the probability of success in theentertainment industry. Entertainment Science is poised to inspire fresh new thinking among managers, students of entertainment, and scholars alike.

Thorsten Hennig-Thurau and Mark B. Houston – two of our finest scholars in the area of entertainment marketing – have produced a definitive research-based compendium that cuts across various branches of the arts to explain the phenomena that provide consumption experiences to capture the hearts and minds of audiences.

Morris B. Holbrook, W. T. Dillard Professor Emeritus of Marketing, Columbia University

Entertainment Science is a must-read for everyone working in the entertainment industry today, where the impact of digital and the use of big data can’t be ignored anymore. Hennig-Thurau and Houston are the scientific frontrunners of knowledge that the industry urgently needs.

Michael Kölmel, media entrepreneur and Honorary Professor of Media Economics at University of Leipzig

Entertainment Science’s winning combination of creativity, theory, and data analytics offers managers in the creative industries and beyond a novel, compelling, and comprehensive approach to support their decision-making. This ground-breaking book marks the dawn of a new Golden Age of fruitful conversation between entertainment scholars, managers, and artists.

Allègre Hadida, Associate Professor in Strategy, University of Cambridge

“Thorsten Hennig-Thurau and Mark B. Houston – two of our finest scholars in the area of entertainment marketing – have produced a definitive research-based compendium that cuts across various branches of the arts to explain the phenomena that provide consumption experiences to capture the hearts and minds of audiences.  With its strong emphasis on empirical applications, this comprehensive and beautifully organized book takes a leadership position in our studies of the arts-and-entertainment industries. A formidable achievement that will be a wonderful educational resource.” (Morris B. Holbrook, W. T. Dillard Professor Emeritus of Marketing, Columbia University)

“Entertainment Science is a must-read for everyone working in the entertainment industry today, where the impact of digital and the use of big data can’t be ignored anymore. Thorsten Hennig-Thurau and Mark Houston are the scientific frontrunners of knowledge that the industry urgently needs.” (Michael Kölmel, media entrepreneur and Honorary Professor of Media Economics at University of Leipzig)

“Entertainment Science’s winning combination of creativity, theory, and data analytics offers managers in the creative industries and beyond a novel, compelling, and comprehensive approach to support their decision-making. This ground-breaking book marks the dawn of a new Golden Age of fruitful conversation between entertainment scholars, managers, and artists.” (Allègre Hadida, Associate Professor in Strategy, University of Cambridge)

“Finally, a pioneering step from conventional power-political and gut-feel decision-making to a research-based guide that can readily be applied to all segments of the entertainment and media universe. More than anything that has been previously available, Entertainment Science provides readers with a deep understanding of what makes the industry tick and what raises the probability of profitability. Media executives, scholars, students, and buffs will find this book an invaluable reference.” (Harold (Hal) L. Vogel, author of “Entertainment Industry Economics: A Guide for Financial Analysis”)

“Hennig-Thurau and Houston have done a terrific job organizing, summarizing, and articulating lucidly cumulative scholarly research on the entertainment industry. Entertainment Science challenges convincingly the “Nobody-Knows -Anything” old mantra, making empirical-based knowledge and findings accessible to a wide range of audiences.” (Jehoshua Eliashberg, Professor of Marketing, The Wharton School)

“Entertainment Science offers a new dimension of how statistical analysis can be applied to the intersection of art and science.” (Jason E. Squire, editor of “The Movie Business Book” and Associate Professor of Practice, USC School of Cinematic Arts)

Dr. Thorsten Hennig-Thurau is Professor of Marketing and Media Research and holds the Chair for Marketing & Media Research at the University of Münster’s prestigious Marketing Center. Prior to joining the University of Münster in 2010, he was a professor at the Bauhaus University of Weimar and served as a part-time Research Professor of Marketing at City University London’s Cass Business School for ten years. Dr. Hennig-Thurau’s academic work focuses on the entertainment industries and the consequences of digitalization, such as the role of social media for firms and consumers; he teaches entertainment and media marketing classes, along with courses on branding and innovations.

Dr. Mark B. Houston (Ph.D. Arizona State University; M.B.A. University of Missouri; B.S. Southwest Baptist University) is Professor of Marketing at Texas Christian University, where he holds the Eunice and James L. West Chair in Marketing. He is alsoVisiting Professor of Marketing at University of Münster, and a member of the CSL Research Faculty, Center for Services Leadership, Arizona State University. Dr. Houston previously served as Professor of Marketing at Texas A&M University (where he was also Head of the Marketing Department), University of Missouri-Columbia, where he held the David and Judy O’Neal MBA Professorship, Saint Louis University and Bowling Green State University.