본 연구는 최근 급부상하고 있는 드라마 산업을 대상으로 하여 청중(시청자)들의 드라마 선택과 관련된 마인드 셋 (mindsets)을 분석하는 것을 목적으로 한다. 본 연구에서 저자는 빠른 의사결정에 도움을 주는 친숙한 단서, 감정 전염, 동조 압력 등이 드라마 선택에 중요한 역할을 할 것이라는 논리 하에, 온라인 드라마 커뮤니티(온라인 커뮤니티), 스타 (주연배우, 작가, 연출가) 등의 변수들이 시청률에 미치는 영향을 분석했다. 2001년부터 2009년까지 우리나라 지상파 방송사에서 방영한 드라마 222개를 대상으로 하여 실증 분석한 결과, 인터넷 커뮤니티는 드라마의 시청률에 중요한 영향 요인으로 작용하는 것으로 나타났다. 구체적으로 인터넷 커뮤니티의 크기는 드라마 시청률과 정(正)의 유의한 관계가 있 는 것으로 나타났다. 또한, 인터넷 커뮤니티의 크기와 주연 배우, 연출가, 작가 등의 지명도와 상호작용 효과를 분석한 결과, 주연배우 지명도와 인터넷 커뮤니티, 연출가 지명도와 인터넷 커뮤니티 등의 상호작용 항(項)은 드라마 시청률과 정(正)의 유의한 관계가 있는 것으로 나타났다. 그러나 작가 지명도와 인터넷 커뮤니티 등의 상호작용 항(項)은 드라마 시청률에 유의한 영향을 미치지 못하는 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 연구 결과는 시청자들이 빠르게 의사결정을 하는데 도움을 줄 수 있고 친숙성이 큰 단서, 그리고 동류 집단의 압 력이 드라마 시청률 제고에 큰 역할을 한다는 것을 시사한다.
In spite of its significance, drama industry has not received much attention from management researchers. There are very few studies of drama industry to date and even fewer that directly address the managerial issues confronting producers in the industry. The explanation for this neglect is rooted in how management scholars regard entertainment industries. Drama industry is clearly different from most other industries: Its products evoke intensely private experience, and they tap values and aspirations that are neither utilitarian nor commercial. Therefore, understanding the audiences’ mindsets is an important ingredient in understanding the drama industry. Rather than focusing on the contents or the audiences’ characteristics, this study examines the process of decision-making for viewing drama, which is rare in previous researches. As dramas are experience products, audiences find it difficult to judge their pre-consumption quality. According to prior research on decision-making, audiences’ information on a specific drama is the most important factor they consider in deciding to view the drama. The arguments presume that audiences should have stored some information about the drama by their own experience or through the help of others (vicarious experience). To decide whether to view a particular new drama, audiences often rely on information provided by online drama community (ODC). ODC is likely to be especially important for audiences because it offers vicarious experience on sensory aspects not conveyed by tangible attributes. Participating in an ODC provides audiences with opportunities to share their passionate feelings and tastes. The audiences also discuss the content of dramas’ thematic categories, meanings, and overall quality. The assessment of specific dramas can easily be disseminated to the offline communities to inform other like-minded audiences because they perceive the online community members’ comments on the drama as credible information. Thus, online world-of-mouth (WOM) can reach limitless individuals, making it a far more powerful weapon against producers than traditional WOM, which is likely to only reach a small number of friends or family. Prior research has not investigated the influence of that factor on the performance of an individual drama. To fill the research gap, this study investigates the influence of ODC on drama ratings. In deciding whether to watch a specific drama, audiences try to estimate the magnitude of enjoyment they are likely to obtain from viewing that drama. The greater the expected enjoyment, the higher the likelihood of viewing that specific drama. One of the most important factors that can be considered in estimating a drama’s enjoyment value is its featuring of stars. There is a greater possibility of viewing a drama if an audience likes its actors/actresses. The liking of specific actors/actresses presumes that an audience has somewhat stored information about them in his/her memory. Usually, the audience is likely to have clear expectations about dramas with stars because past information on the stars provides a basis for one’s expectations and attitudes. However, empirical results of the influence of star power on a drama’s performance are conflicting. The lack of a star-power effect has been reported on several studies. Mixed results about the impacts of stars on drama are possible because the audience’s possible negative word-of-mouth might mitigate the influences of star power on a drama’s performance. The mixed results suggest that audiences’ reliance on star power would vary depending upon the availability of complementary information on the drama. Audiences with experience on the stars want to ascertain their judgment on the drama viewing by complementing the information about the drama attributes from outside sources like ODC. Also, audiences who have gained knowledge about a specific drama from ODC tend to be more assured if they have stored knowledge on stars such as actors/actresses, writers, and producers. In sum, audience’s reliance on the information from the online community will be enhanced if they know the drama is featuring stars, and therefore the drama performance will correspond to the magnitude of star power and the size of online community. That is, the greater the star power and the bigger the size of ODC, the higher the ratings of the drama will be. Thus in this study, three two-way interaction hypotheses, namely ODC ? star actor/actress power, ODC ? star writer power, and ODC ? star producer power are proposed. The sample consisted of 222 dramas aired on four major terrestrial channels (KBS1, KBS2, SBS, MBC) in South Korea from January 2001 through January 2009. The dependent variable of this study was the rating of the drama expressed as the average percent of the drama’s share ratings. The key independent variable, the size of ODC, was measured by counting the number of reviews on the online community of a specific drama. Another independent variable, star power, such as actor/actress power, writer power, and producer, was measured by counting the number of hit dramas featured (written, produced) by the stars (actor/actress, writer, and producer) before the specific drama aired. The findings show that the size of ODC is positively related to rating performance. Further, the findings demonstrate that the size of ODC positively moderates the relationship between star power (actor/actress, and producer) and rating performance. Challenging standard drama viewing models, this study shows how audiences tend to use cognitive shortcuts when making decisions about choosing newly released dramas. The findings show that the cues that help the quick decision-making of viewing the drama do play a major role in determining rating performance. Thus, audiences tend to use not only the reviews at the ODC but also their own knowledge on stars for cues when deciding whether or not to view a particular drama consecutively. My model is capable of projecting what would happen to viewing patterns if new dramas became available based on a rigorous model of audience’s decision-making. The findings would provide a clearer picture of the consistency of viewing patterns. In an increasingly competitive market, channels and producers need to know how viewing decisions of audiences are made and the likely effects of decision-cues on ratings. This study can help to provide a basis for anticipating the likely audience for a new drama. In addition, it can play an important role in building the strategy to be used to promote viewing behavior to a particular drama and to television in general. For example, producing a drama featuring stars can be mostly utilized by mixing well-managed ODC. The findings provide the producers and channels with a pertinent implication because salaries of stars have been steadily escalating. It is my contention that an improved understanding of drama from an audience’s point of view is of central importance for strategy development in both drama producers and regulatory organizations. I predict that the likelihood of developing a successful drama will be much higher if they employ my model than without it. My model would provide them with insights for seeing the world from a different perspective.