The Limits of Reflected Glory: The Beneficial and Harmful Effects of Product Name Similarity in the U.S. Network TV Program Industry, 1944–2003

Olga M. Khessina () and Samira Reis ()
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Olga M. Khessina: School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
Samira Reis: Department of Business Administration, Carlos III University, 28903 Getafe, Spain; and GPI/COPPE, Engineering School and Graduate School of Engineering (COPPE), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21945-970 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Organization Science, 2016, vol. 27, issue 2, 411-427

Abstract: The market fate of a product ultimately determines the success or failure of a firm. A name is a central feature of any product, yet how names affect product market longevity is not well understood. In this paper we develop a theory in which a new product’s name affects the product’s categorization by audiences and, as a result, impacts its survival chances on the market. We predict that the similarity of the new product’s name to names of other products in the industry affects its survival probability, but the direction and magnitude of this effect depends on the popularity and status of products, to names of which the new product’s name is similar. We test our predictions on the population of all TV programs that were introduced during prime time plus early evening and late night on networks in the United States from the beginning of the industry in 1944 through 2003. An event history analysis of this population supports our predictions and thus suggests the importance of names in product market viability.

Keywords: categorization; organizational ecology; product demography; product name; naming; product survival; product exit; product turnover; television industry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:27:y:2016:i:2:p:411-427

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