Theme 3: Research and theory

What theory is and is not!

When you write your thesis make sure that you don’t just list a number of references, variables, diagrams or hypotheses. A thesis should be anchored in a theory, a contextual framework that situates your study within a field of study. Simply giving a list of references to an existing theory without using it to frame your hypothesis you’re falling short of proper use of theory. 

When presenting data, for example using diagrams or charts, you need to logically explanation how the data is related to your selected theory. Data is separate from theory, theory explains why something is observed and data is what is observed. Hypotheses should explain what you expected to appear, your theory explains why. However maybe the most important point, try to find a balance between method and theory. Don’t focus too much on the empirical side of your thesis. 

In the end no single study can prove or disprove a theory. A scientific theory can be an impetus, a reason to study a question in a new way. The hypothesis, your chosen variables, your method will all be affected by your theoretical framework, but they are all separate.

Critical Push: Strategies for Creating Momentum in the Motion Picture Industry.  

I think this was an interesting empirical study, however in my estimation the article seems to lack focus; it’s doesn’t primarily address it’s main hypothesis. The authors also make assumptions without empirical evidence. They don’t have proper support for the conclusions they reach. This paper has a weak theory and method however it has some relevance for its field. 

The main hypothesis in this paper contains of how film studios can create a “sales momentum” (process that generate positive consumer awareness) and how information about product quality play an important role in the hypercompetitive dynamics of the motion picture industry. To manage the film industry’s volatility and uncertainty studios have developed strategies for production, marketing and distribution. This paper analyzes how studios incorporate the anticipated response from critics into their strategy and how studios attempt to deal with uncertainty in a hypercompetitive environment.  

This is a qualitative study of the film industry and consists of 409 future films, and covers all movies released between 1991-1992 in the U.S. Selected theories are within in an economic approach and the study reflects the philosophy of positivism. Hypotheses are generated from existing theories and the researchers search for causal relationships. The study starts with theory framing and then the theory is tested; they go from the general (broad perspective) to the specific therefore they use a deductive approach. Several hypotheses are tested however they don’t connect their theory to their data in a satisfactory way, so from my viewpoint the data doesn’t measure what it was intended to measure. 

The theory part is not very well formalized, which makes it difficult (from my perspective) to understand their research. The first presented theory is about the strategic role of information. Buyers very often have less information than sellers, to overcome this problem firms spend lots of resources in signaling and persuasion. Studios invest in attributes that send strong positive signals about quality as star power, visual effects etc. Those components are likely to attract audiences. Next presented theory is about how to create a momentum in an uncertain industry. Studios use different strategies to gain revenues. Prolonging the theatrical run would be a successful development of momentum. 

The theory type for this research would be Theory for Explaining and Predicting. There are some illustrated causal relationships between the variables. They predict a causal relationship between sales momentum and number of screens of the opening weekend (change in one variable is caused by the other). However these relationships aren’t logically explained within the study. This paper attempts to alter our understanding of how things are but also what will be and how they correspond. They have to organize their discussions because at the moment my impression is that the manuscript does not “contain theory”. The presented theory has further limitation, it’s very broad so it’s hard do apply within the very specific field that is the film industry and their study is built on theory testing. I am convinced that a greater focus on industry-specific theory would be much more beneficial. However the weakness of the selected theories, which means the study lacks stringency, is in a sense also a strength as the broad theory enables the authors to draw links to various study fields. 

Journal of management: Publishing theoretical and empirical articles that have high impact on the field of management. They provide implications useful for the further development of research within business strategy, entrepreneurship and research method etc. Journal of Management have an Impact Factor of 6.051, and is Ranked: 4 out of 192 in Management, 3 out of 120 in Business.