Julia Hanna writes:
... In the video industry, the long-tail view suggests that consumers will purchase an increasing number and a wider variety of videos, everything from Hollywood classics to obscure foreign films. Long-tail proponents believe that consumers have very different tastes, and online retailing with its low distribution costs is finally able to deliver just what consumers want. Ten years ago, however, Philip Cook and Robert Frank's The Winner-Take-All Society: Why the Few at the Top Get So Much More Than the Rest of Us argued exactly the opposite. Why would you watch some average-quality film, these authors asked, if your favorite titles are always available, for instance via video-on-demand? According to this superstar theory, video purchases will become more homogenous when distribution costs fall. ΒΆ Which view is right? Elberse and Oberholzer-Gee find some support for both ideas. ...
Link: Harvard Business School Working Knowledge. Thanks to John Proffitt of KAKM/KSKA for the tip. --Dennis
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