Reputation & retro branding : The influence of reputation of an original product on the market performance of the relaunch of this product, and the influence of time distance and cultural distance on this relationship

(1)

Reputation & Retro Branding

The influence of reputation of an original product on the market

performance of the relaunch of this product, and the influence of time

distance and cultural distance on this relationship

Name: Geert Willem Oostveen Student number: 11918268

Date: 22-06-2018 - Final version

Program: MSc. Business Administration - Entrepreneurship & Innovation Track Institution: University of Amsterdam

(2)

Abstract

This paper investigates the determinants of market performance for a retro brand product. More specifically, it investigates how three different types of reputation of an original product influence the market performance of the relaunch of that product. Furthermore, it considers cultural distance and time distance as moderating factors. The three different types of reputation are based on selection system theory, which states reputation is a multidimensional construct, and categorizes reputation into market, expert and peer reputation. This paper theorizes that the market, expert and peer reputation positively influence the market performance, with the market reputation having the strongest impact. It also theorizes that the moderating factors have a negative effect on this relationship. The research question and hypotheses are investigated using film remakes as the empirical setting. The results show that only market reputation positively influences market performance, and that market reputation has the strongest impact on market reputation, in accordance with selection system theory. No evidence was found for the other proposed hypotheses. Despite the lack of evidence, this paper still contributes to the literature by expanding on the body of knowledge on selection system theory, reputation, and determinants of retro branding success. It also shows that, with the continuing rise of retro branding, entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial firms should find inspiration for their retro brand products from original products with high market reputation.

Statement of Originality

This document is written by Geert Willem Oostveen, who declares to take full responsibility for the contents of this document. I declare that the text and the work presented in this document is original and that no sources other than those mentioned in the text and its references have been used in creating it. The Faculty of Economics and Business is responsible solely for the supervision of completion of the work, not for the contents.

(3)

1. Introduction

When Converse launched the first mass-produced basketball sneaker in 1917, the All Star, it quickly became the most popular sneaker on the market. However, by the 1980's, the competition - namely, Nike and Adidas - got fiercer, and in 1998, Converse only had about 2.3% market share. Flash forward to 2007, Converse launched a fashion-focused campaign evoking the rich, cultural history of the All Star, reinventing it as a lifestyle brand (Devaney, 2016). Similarly, Nintendo tried to benefit from its rich history by releasing a mini version of their NES, complete with 30 games. The president of the Nintendo stated that the release of the miniature NES was designed to give customers an opportunity to re-experience the reasons that they fell in love with Nintendo right at the beginning of their journey into gaming, and proved to be a great success (Harvey, 2017). This might not even be the most prominent Nintendo example with regards to throwbacks from a bygone era. In 2016 it seemed that the world was completely turned upside down when Pokemon Go became an overnight sensation, taking many former Pokemon players back in time, with a slight twist however. Similar re-appearances of old brands exist in the food (Twinkies, Astro Pops) and beverage (Schlitz, Pabst Blue Ribbon) industry, automotive industry (Volkswagen New Beetle), in furniture (Hans Wegner Swivel Chair), and in many more product or service brands (Kane, 2014).

Other similar examples of old brands making a re-appearance that come to mind are the Chrysler PT Cruiser, or Michael Jordan's XI Retro Sneakers. These are all examples of retro branding, which, according to Brown, Kozinets and Sherry Jr. (2003), can be defined as:

"the revival or relaunch of a product or service brand from a prior historical period, which is usually but not always updated to contemporary standards of performance, functioning, or taste. Retro brands are distinguishable from nostalgic brands by the element of updating. They are brand new, old-fashioned offerings." The Chrysler PT Cruiser combines the shape of

(5)

a 1940's sedan with the latest automotive technology to produce a futuristic car with anachronistic styling, and even though Michael Jordan's XI Retro Sneakers look like an homage to the 1950's, the cushioned soles and aerated uppers make them suitable for this day and age (Brown et al., 2003).

Revived, resurrected, resuscitated and reconfigured products and services are everywhere apparent (Brown, 1999), which is best exemplified by a quote by famous comedian George Carlin: "America has no now... Our culture is composed of sequels, reruns,

remakes, reissues, re-releases, recreations, re-enactments, adaptations, anniversaries, memorabilia, oldies radio, and nostalgia record collections." (George Carlin, Brain

Droppings, 1998). Present-day consumer culture is overrun by "yestermania". Long-abandoned brands have been revived and successfully relaunched, seemingly extinct trade characters are back on the shelves in the supermarket, age-old commercials are being rebroadcast, timeworn slogans are being rejuvenated and long established products are being repackaged in their authentic eye-catching attire (Brown et al., 2003). Clearly, the contemporary marketing scene is flooded with re-presentations of the past (Brown, 1999). It seems nostalgia is a potent marketing strategy in an over-digitized world. Today's desensitized consumer enjoys the warm, wholesome tone of ads that are remindful of simpler times ("Retro Branding," n.d., para. 1), and consumers seem to be searching for genuine products with authentic history in an increasingly global marketplace (Wiedmann et al., 2011). Companies that employ retro branding can easier build brand recognition by appearing knowledgeable and easygoing ("Retro Branding," n.d., para. 1).

Given the benefits that a retro brand product provides, many entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial firms focus their activity on the development of a retro brand product. Clearly nostalgia plays a big role in the popularity of a retro brand product, and the relevance of nostalgia on retro branding strategies has already been researched (Cattaneo and Guerini,

(6)

2012), as well as the causes, characteristics, consequences (Brown, 1999), and meaning of retro branding (Brown et al., 2003). Moreover, the effect of brand heritage, which is closely related to nostalgia, on consumers attitudes and behaviors (Wiedmann et al., 2011) and how to nurture, maintain and protect a brand with a heritage (Urde et al., 2007) have been discussed. However, despite previous literature establishing the benefits of retro branding, more insights are needed about the actual market performance of these retro brands, and what helps determine this market performance besides the nostalgic aspect.

This paper will contribute to the literature by trying to answer that question. Specifically, it will look at the reputation of an original product, and how this influences the market performance of the relaunch of that product, following the definition of retro branding. Moreover, it also looks at the effect of time distance and cultural distance between the original product and retro brand product as possible moderating factors. Much research has been conducted on the concept of reputation, which, according to Ebbers and Wijnberg (2012, b), refers to beliefs about the focal actor's perceived qualities based on past performance. Instead of looking at the beliefs of a focal actor, this paper will look at the reputation of an original product. Using selection system theory, reputation will be divided into market, expert and peer reputation. Market reputation refers to a reputation originating from a number of possible market reputational signals, such as opinions on consumer forums or previous sales to consumers. Expert reputation refers to a reputation derived from expert judgments, like a credit rating agency for example. Lastly, peer reputation refers to a reputation generated from success among peers (Ebbers and Wijnberg, 2012, a). According to selection system theory, there should be a match between the type of reputation and the type of performance that a product has. Considering this paper tries to make a statement about the market performance of the retro brand product, the market reputation of the original product should have the strongest impact on the market performance of its relaunch (Ebbers and Wijnberg, 2012, a).

(7)

This paper may also contribute to the general understanding on reputational consequences (Fombrun and Shanley, 1990), as well as how reputations evolve over time (Milewicz and Herbig, 1994). The following research question has been formulated:

How does the reputation of an original product influence the market performance of its relaunch, and how is this relationship influenced by the time distance and cultural distance between the original product and its relaunch?

For this particular problem statement, the independent variable is the original product's reputation and the dependent variable is the market performance of that product's relaunch. There are two moderators as well, time distance and cultural distance. In order to answer the research question, film remakes will be used as the empirical setting, and an extensive database on film remakes will be analyzed. The database consists of a total of 492 film remakes from 1980 through 2016, plus the original films the remakes are based on. Using film remakes is especially useful for answering my research question, as film products have a clear measurable market, expert and peer reputation, while the remake aspect makes it a form of relaunch (Brown, 1999).

The following sections are constructed as follows. First, extensive literature will be analyzed on the concepts of retro branding and reputation, as well as literature on the moderating factors, cultural distance and time distance. Following this, the hypotheses and conceptual model will be introduced. The methodology and results will be discussed hereafter, followed by the discussion and conclusion, including implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research.

(8)

2. Theoretical Background

2.1. Retro branding

Before we explain the concept of retro branding, we first have to get a better understanding of brand extensions, as retro branding is a specific type of brand extension strategy (Brown et al., 2003). According to Aaker and Keller (1990), brand extension is using an established brand name to enter a new product category. Aaker and Keller (1990) also state that brand extensions are attractive to firms for several reasons. First of all, when firms face the reality of high new product failure rates, brand extensions provide them with a way to take advantage of brand name recognition and image to enter new markets. The risk of introducing a product in a new market can substantially be reduced by leveraging a strong brand name, because customers are provided with the familiarity of and knowledge about an established brand. Furthermore, the costs of gaining distribution and/or increase efficiency of promotional expenditures can be decreased by brand extensions (Aaker and Keller, 1990). It is important to remember that even though an extension is a way to exploit perhaps the most important asset owned by a business, you also run the risk of decreasing the value of that asset (Aaker and Keller, 1990). Damaging associations that may be expensive or even impossible to change can be created by the wrong extension, and the decision usually involves an important strategic growth thrust. Substantial time and resources could be lost, and other market opportunities may be missed, if a wrong judgment is being made (Aaker and Keller, 1990). Aaker and Keller describe several assumptions about consumer behavior that the success of a brand extension depends on. First, the consumers hold positive beliefs and favorable attitudes toward the original brand in memory. Second, these positive associations facilitate the formation of positive beliefs and favorable attitudes toward the brand extension. Third, negative associations are neither transferred to nor created by the brand extension. Aaker and Keller's (1990) research found that the attitude toward the extension was higher in

(9)

the following two situations: when there was both a perception of "fit" between the two product classes along one of three dimensions and a perception of high quality for the original brand, or when the extension was not regarded as easy to make. Lastly, Aaker and Keller (1990) also found that elaborating on the attributes of the brand extension was a more effective way of neutralizing potentially negative associations than by reminding consumers of the positive associations with the original brand.

Like mentioned before, retro branding is a specific type of brand extension strategy (Brown et al., 2003). Brown et al. (2003) claims that marketers seem to be in the midst of a "retro-revolution", due to the fact that many long-abandoned brands have recently been revived and successfully relaunched, and revivals of old brands and their images have become a powerful management option. It seems that then-and-there is here-and-now (Brown, 1999), especially when noticing that retro products, services, advertisements and pricing policies are everywhere apparent, as are heritage centers, mega-brand museums, festival shopping malls and retro restaurants like Planet Hollywood and Hard Rock Cafe (Brown, 1999). According to Brown, Kozinets and Sherry Jr. (2003, p. 20), retro branding can be defined as: "the revival or

relaunch of a product or service brand from a prior historical period, which is usually but not always updated to contemporary standards of performance, functioning, or taste. Retro brands are distinguishable from nostalgic brands by the element of updating. They are brand new, old-fashioned offerings." Retro branding refers to combining the old with the new,

usually in the form of old-style styling with hi-tech technology (Brown, 1999). Retro brands put marketers in a difficult position, as they are continually reminded of the need for product differentiation and that today's marketing environment demands strong brand identities and decries imitation (Brown et al., 2003). However, contemporary markets are suffused with updated imitations, such as retro brands, many of which are proving to be enormously popular (Brown et al., 2003). In order to exploit connections with the brand held by consumers, retro

(10)

branding strategies often leverage a brand's "memorable story", as they usually draw on pre-existing concepts linked to a brand from the past in consumers' memories (Cattaneo and Guerini, 2012).

In order to get a better understanding of retro branding, the three interdependent concepts of brand revival, brand heritage and nostalgia have to be explained. Nostalgia is often conceptualized as: "the preference of the consumption of goods and experiences from

the past, or a sentimental or bitter-sweet yearning for a product from the past" (Cattaneo and

Guerini, 2012). Davis (1979) further distinguished between personal and communal nostalgia. Personal nostalgia is related to the individuals' life cycles and communal nostalgia is related to social, epochal changes (Cattaneo and Guerini, 2012). There is a close connection between personal and communal nostalgia, especially in marketing. Not only former epochs, but also former selves are evoked by long-established brands. Old brands serve to bind consumers to their pasts and to the communities that shared those brands (Brown et al., 2003). Moreover, because old brands strongly evoke a sense of a utopian past, and because of the close-knit "caring and sharing" communities that are associated with it, they may link people together even more powerfully. With this understanding, old brands are rich with both personal and communal associations (Brown et al., 2003). Normally, marketing theory suggests that repositioning is one method of reinvigorating a brand and that the best way to rekindle a brand lies in the skillful utilization of the associations linked to a brand's heritage (Brown et al., 2003). According to Urde, Greyser and Balmer (2007, p. 3), brand heritage is defined as:

"a dimension of a brand's identity found in its track record, longevity, core values, use of symbols, and particularly in an organizational belief that its history is important. A heritage brand is one with a positioning and value proposition based on its heritage." Wiedmann et al.

(2011) found significant effects of brand heritage on consumers' attitudes and behaviors related to the given brand. They state that the heritage of a brand adds the association of

(11)

depth, authenticity, and credibility to the brand's perceived value. Furthermore, the heritage is helpful for building a special relationship with a consumer or a range of non-consumer stakeholders, as a basis for distinctiveness in positioning. This means that the heritage of a brand can result in the willingness to accept higher prices and higher consumer loyalty, and can therefore, with reference to consumers to whom heritage is meaningful, be seen as a competitive advantage (Wiedmann et al., 2011). Considerable overlap exists among nostalgia, brand heritage, and brand revival. Consumers' nostalgic leanings are traded on with revived goods and services. Familiar slogans and packages, for example, invoke brand heritage and evoke consumers' memories of better days, both personal and communal (Brown et al., 2003). Four relevant themes that relate to and usefully synthesize extant conceptual elements of brand management and marketing are revealed by Brown, Kozinets and Sherry Jr. (2003). These elements are allegory (brand story), arcadia (idealized brand community), aura (brand essence), and antinomy (brand paradox), and together are commonly referred to as the 4As of retro branding. Brand allegories are basically symbolic stories, narratives, or extended metaphors. Didactic messages that invoke and then offer resolutions for consumers states of moral conflict are successfully conveyed by allegories (Brown et al., 2003). In arcadia, an almost utopian sense of past worlds and communities is evoked, and this sense of the past as a special, magical place is an indispensable part of retro marketing's appeal (Brown et al., 2003). Aura relates to the presence of a powerful sense of "authenticity", which is significantly important to brands. Authenticity, or uniqueness in other words, is an important aspect of brand identity (Brown et al., 2003). Lastly, antinomy refers to an irresolvable paradox. As an example, consider scientific and technological progress both as unstoppable, and almost overwhelming, and as the main reason of people's craving to return to simpler, slower, and less stressful times (Brown et al., 2003). The meaning of retro brands inheres in these four key characteristics, and these characteristics indicate that the social and cultural

(12)

forces that inspire brand meaning are considerably more complex than prior conceptualizations suggest (Brown et al., 2003).

Cattaneo and Guerini (2012) found that consumers do not seem to consider purchase of a retro brand with respect to a newer alternative based on nostalgic feelings or concepts, as far as the role and the importance of nostalgic brand associations are concerned. Therefore, nostalgia alone cannot be the center of a retro branding communication strategy. Instead, when compared with newer alternatives, more tangible product specifications and updated features appear to be associated by consumers with retro brands as purchase drivers (Cattaneo and Guerini, 2012). In other words, the central application of retro branding strategies indicates to the updating to present-day standards of functionality: the original version of the offer must change to such an extent that consumers regard it as even better than before, yet drawing upon the pool of brand associations, but not automatically nostalgic ones (Cattaneo and Guerini, 2012).

In conclusion, retro brands will have enduring appeal as a marketing strategy for two critical reasons. First, by tapping into the root of trust and loyalty that consumers hold toward old brands, a competitive edge is gained, regardless of technology and imitation quickly eliminating first-mover advantage (Brown et al., 2003). Second, considering Davis' (1979) contention that communal nostalgia increases during chaotic times, this day and age with an increasingly unstable cultural environment should be an important cause for the continuing rise of retro branding (Brown et al., 2003). For a retro brand, the balance between past and present also vivifies brand meanings. Retro products seem tailor-made to address a core paradox at the center of brand management. Retro blends the benefits of uniqueness, novelty, and exclusivity (with its traces of higher functionality, class, styling and premium prices) with oldness, familiarity, recognition, trust and loyalty. These intrinsic paradoxes construct the creative vitality at the center of retro brand's remarkable appeal (Brown et al., 2003).

(13)

2.2. Reputation

The concept of reputation has been researched quite extensively in the last few decades. Researchers analyzing numerous different contexts, ranging from product and service markets to corporate financing, stock markets, entrepreneurial efforts, and cultural industries, have shown that reputation is a valuable intangible asset that increases reputation holders' success (Ertug et al., 2016). Scholars in management have defined reputation in a number of ways that are associated with different approaches to measuring reputation. A commonly held view is that reputation comprises being "known" for something and is based on an actor's achievements and history (Ertug et al., 2016). This is very similar to Ebbers and Wijnberg (2012, b) stating that reputation refers to beliefs about the focal actor's perceived qualities based on past performance. Fombrun and Shanley (1990, p. 234) interpreted reputations as:

"the outcome of a competitive process in which firms signal their key characteristics to constituents to maximize their social status." They also state that since different publics attend

to different characteristics of firms' performance, reputations reflect firms' relative success in accomplishing the expectations of multiple stakeholders. Rindova et al. (2005, p. 1033) define reputation as: "stakeholders' perceptions about an organization's ability to create value

relative to competitors." As you can tell by the few definitions given, most research on

reputation involved individual or organizational reputation, instead of product reputation, which is the topic of this paper. This is evidenced by Wernerfelt (1988), who simply stated that a product's reputation is given by the likelihood, as seen by numerous consumer groups, that it is "good". According to Hall (1992), reputation portrays the knowledge and emotions held by individuals about, say, a product range, and can be an important factor in obtaining competitive advantage through differentiation. Before we get into the relationship between the reputation of an original product and the market performance of its relaunch, some more theory on reputation will be discussed first. This theory is predominantly based on individual

(14)

or firm reputation.

According to Rindova et al. (2005), the type of definition used for reputation also depends on from which perspective reputation is being studied. Scholars studying reputation from an economics perspective tend to characterize it as the observers' expectations or estimations of a distinct attribute of an organization, specifically the organization's capacity to produce quality products (Rindova et al., 2005). According to this perspective, reputations develop on the basis of past actions, through which firms signal to stakeholders their "true" attributes (Rindova et al., 2005). A different perspective comprises drawing on institutional theory to understand reputation. These scholars tend to define it as a global impression, which represents how a collective, a stakeholder group or multiple stakeholder groups, regard a firm (Rindova et al., 2005). According to this perspective, reputations develop as a product of information exchanges and social influence among numerous actors interacting in an organizational field (Rindova et al., 2005). The economics perspective highlights the perceived quality dimension of organizational reputation, because it addresses how stakeholders evaluate a distinct organizational attribute, such as the capacity to produce quality products (Rindova et al., 2005). The institutional perspective, however, highlights the prominence dimension of organizational reputation, because it is concerned with the collective awareness and recognition that an organization has acquired in its organizational field, or the organization's prominence in the minds of stakeholders (Rindova et al., 2005).

Even though both of these perspectives focus on firm reputation, the economics perspective seems to be more applicable to this paper. Considering it specifically focuses on the firm's capacity to produce quality products, it is more in line with product reputation, notwithstanding the reputation of the firm is still in the forefront. It should be noted that Jensen, Kim and Kim (2012) have also advocated an interesting conceptualization in which reputation is understood to be attribute-specific (containing information about a specific set of

(15)

attributes) and audience-specific (containing information that can be evaluated in terms of the expectations of a focal audience). Especially their attribute-specific conceptualization of reputation seems to fit the mold of the product reputation focus of this paper. According to selection system theory, reputation can be seen as a multi-dimensional construct that is based on different types of reputational signals (Ebbers and Wijnberg, 2012, a). Ebbers and Wijnberg (2012, a) categorize these dimensions and signals of reputation into market, peer, and expert reputation, and this paper will follow these same guidelines. More on selection system theory and the multi-dimensionality of reputation will be explained in chapter 3.1.

Fombrun and Shanley (1990) state that publics appear to formulate reputations from a mix of signals derived from market and accounting information, media reports, and other noneconomic cues. Firms' risk return profiles, resource allocations, social responsiveness, institutional ownership, media exposure, and corporate diversification postures signal constituents about firms' prospects and bring about reputations (Fombrun and Shanley, 1990). Rindova et al. (2007) also found that continual investment in an array of relevant signals, including levels of financial performance, patterns of resource deployment and endorsements from high-status or prominent third parties can help build a firm's reputation. On the individual level, an actor's reputation can be affected by the reputations of past and current exchange partners, which happens through affiliation or association. Also, collective reputations can be conveyed to the individuals that are, or have been, members of that specific collective (Ebbers and Wijnberg, 2010).

Having a good reputation leads to several favorable consequences. It can produce excess returns for firms by restricting the mobility of rivals in an industry, it may allow firms to charge premium prices, entice better applicants, improve access to capital markets, and interest investors (Fombrun and Shanley (1990). Moreover, Rindova et al. (2005) found that reputation impacts stakeholders economic choices in regard to the organization and adds to

(16)

differences in organizational performance, hereby providing a firm with sustainable competitive advantages. Milewicz and Herbig (1994) found that a firm's chances of getting a positive first hearing for a new product and of getting early acceptance of that product increases with a better reputation. They also found that a good reputation convinces consumers to give a new brand extension a try. Also, Ertug et al. (2016) found that reputation decreases uncertainty about an actor's future behavior, which allows evaluators to assess actors. A favorable reputation is advantageous because it decreases uncertainty and provides reassurance of an actor's value (Ertug et al., 2016). For individuals reputation is also very important, since they become more valuable in both the external and internal labor market as their reputation increases (Delmestri et al., 2005). All in all, reputations carry quite a lot of importance. Corporate audiences commonly rely on the reputations of firms in making investment decisions, career decisions, and product choices. Reputations indicate publics about how a firm's products, jobs, strategies, and prospects compare to those of rival firms (Fombrun and Shanley, 1990), and provides stakeholders with security about the firms' capability to create value (Rindova et al., 2007). Lastly, reputation has economic significance because it aids decision-makers to make decisions in the absence of more complete information (Ebbers and Wijnberg, 2012, b).

(17)

3. Hypotheses Development

3.1. Reputation & market performance

Various studies have reported a positive relationship between a firm's reputation and its financial performance (Rindova et al. 2005). Shapiro (1982) found that when a firm's reputation increases, so do its sales. When the quality of a producers' products are tough to notice before an investment or purchase decision is made, actors can use the quality of past products as a signal of the quality of current or new products. In other words, reputation refers to the beliefs about the focal actor's perceived qualities based on past performance (Ebbers and Wijnberg, 2012, b). Models of reputation assume a close coupling between individuals' past actions and future expectations (Delmestri et al., 2005). According to Milewicz and Herbig (1994), brand names can frequently be repositories for a firm's reputation: high quality performance on one product can often be conveyed to another product just by the brand name. For a firm extending its product line, a famous name can be favorable in aiding user acceptance of the new product because of its existing brand reputation (Milewicz and Herbig, 1994). Milewicz and Herbig (1994) also found that a firm's chances of getting a positive first hearing for a new product and of getting early acceptance of that product increases with a better reputation. Moreover, a favorable reputation convinces consumers to give a new brand extension a try (with retro branding being a specific type of brand extension strategy) (Milewicz and Herbig, 1994).

Selection system theory examines competitive processes by concentrating on the evaluations that attribute value to products and producers. In each competitive arena there are the competitors or selected, and the individuals or firms whose assessments of products and producers decide the performance differentials between the selected. These are referred to as selectors (Ebbers and Wijnberg, 2012, a). Selection system theory categorizes between three optimal types of selection systems. Market selection is when the consumers themselves are

(18)

the selectors, peer selection is when other producers are the selectors, and expert selection is when assessments by third parties, who are neither producers nor consumers, are the influential factor in deciding which producers are successful (Ebbers and Wijnberg, 2012, a). There are three potential difficulties to this basic model of selection systems. First of all, actual selection systems can be a combination of the above-mentioned ideal types. Secondly, competitive processes can advance in multiple stages with its own set of selectors. Lastly, decision makers who may look like selectors of one type can really be representing selectors of another type (Ebbers and Wijnberg, 2012, a). Ebbers and Wijnberg (2012, a) go on to state that a multitude of studies show that reputations of individuals and/or organizations are quality signals that serve to impress stakeholders and are very important in obtaining resources. Signals that can be used as proxies of missing information are critical determinants of the result of competitive processes (Shapiro, 1983; Rindova et al., 2005). For producers, reputational signals based on past performance are of considerable value because they can affect the behavior of audiences (Rindova et al., 2007). The significance and value of reputations increases when competitive processes take place under conditions of high uncertainty and imperfect information (Shapiro, 1983).

As mentioned in the previous chapter, a performance based reputation is a multidimensional construct (Fombrun and Shanley, 1990) that in addition to past market success can be based on many signals from a variety of different sources. These signals include contests, awards, reviews, ratings, and mere volume of media attention (Ebbers and Wijnberg, 2012, b). Considering reputations are multidimensional constructs, and the evaluation of reputation vary across different stakeholders (Fombrun and Shanley, 1990), Ebbers and Wijnberg (2012, a) distinguish between different types of reputational signals. These signals are an interpretation of evaluations by different types of selectors, namely: market reputation signals, peer reputation signals, and expert reputation signals. Using this

(19)

tripartite classification allows Ebbers and Wijnberg (2012, a) to categorize types of reputations on the basis of their sources. First, if a reputation is based on success in consumer markets, for example the quality perceptions by the (end-) consumers or sales numbers for a specific product, it can be linked to market selection. Second, a reputation type can be linked to expert selection if it originates from expert judgments. An example of this would be certified and professional doctors evaluating and approving a specific treatment or product to improve your health. Third, if the reputation is based upon success among peers, for example a high-tech company or product winning an innovation award where the judges and voters are other high-tech companies, it can be linked to peer selection. In Ebbers and Wijnberg's (2012, a) research, they found that nascent organizations will be more successful in attracting investment capital from an investor if their founding members have performance-based reputations of a type that matches the type of the investor. The results of their study showed that certain types of reputation are more beneficial if they match the primary type of selectors in the selection system. In other words, Ebbers and Wijnberg's (2012, a) selection system theory explains that there is a match between the type of reputation and the type of performance that a project has. In Ebbers and Wijnberg's (2012, a) paper specifically, the match is between reputations and investments, which is performance as a capacity to obtain financial capital.

Considering reputational signals based on past performance can be of great importance, and the reputations of stakeholders have an impact on the ability to attract investment capital for new ventures (performance as a capacity to obtain financial capital), we can assume that the reputation of an original product will therefore have a significant effect on the performance of that product's relaunch as well. According to the same theory, when an original product can count on multiple reputations (i.e., market, expert and peer reputation), the market reputation of the original product has the strongest impact on that product's

(20)

relaunch's market performance. However, having a strong peer and expert reputation should still help the performance of the product's relaunch, albeit to a lesser extent. This leads to the following hypotheses:

H1a: The higher the original product's reputation (market), the higher the market performance of that product's relaunch.

H1b: The higher the original product's reputation (expert), the higher the market performance of that product's relaunch.

H1c: The higher the original product's reputation (peer), the higher the market performance of that product's relaunch.

H1d: The market reputation of the original product has the strongest impact on the market performance of that product's relaunch.

3.2. Cultural distance, reputation & market performance

Besides the reputation of an original product having an effect on the market performance of its relaunch, this paper also considers cultural distance as a possible moderator and factor influencing the relaunch market performance. According to Ghemawat (2001) cultural distance refers to a country's cultural features that determine how people interact with one another and with companies and institutions. Differences in religious beliefs, race, social norms, and language are all factors that can contribute to creating distance between two countries. Some cultural attributes, like language, are quickly recognized and understood. Others are much more delicate. Social norms, the deeply rooted system of unspoken assumptions that direct individuals in their everyday decisions and interactions, are generally nearly invisible, even to the people who abide by them (Ghemawat, 2001). Most often,

(21)

cultural attributes create distance by affecting the decisions that consumers make between substitute products because of their inclinations for particular features (Ghemawat, 2001). An example of this are color tastes, as these are closely linked to cultural prejudices. Finally, Ghemawat (2001) also states that sometimes products can touch a deeper nerve, sparking associations related to the consumer's identity as a member of a specific community. In these cases, entire categories of products are affected by cultural distance. This is especially true in the food industry, which is particularly sensitive to religious attributes. Jews and Muslims, for example, do not eat pork because it is expressly forbidden by their religion. Hutzschenreuter et al. (2016) state that most literature regarding cultural distance uses the cultural dimensions proposed by Hofstede (1984). Initially, four dimensions of national culture were created, which has since then been expanded to six, namely: power distance, individualism versus collectivism, masculinity versus femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long term orientation versus short term normative orientation, and indulgence versus restraint. The cultural dimensions symbolize independent preferences for one state of affairs over another that differentiate countries (rather than individuals) from each other ("National Culture," n.d., para. 4). A brief explanation for each dimension is given below.

Power distance indicates the degree to which the less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is shared unequally ("National Culture," n.d., para. 6). Individualism can be characterized as a preference for a loosely-knit social framework in which individuals are expected to take care of only themselves and their direct families ("National Culture," n.d., para. 8). Collectivism, on the other hand, describes a preference for a tightly-knit framework in society in which individuals can anticipate their relatives or members of a particular in-group to look after them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty ("National Culture," n.d., para. 9). Masculinity portrays a preference in society for achievement, heroism, assertiveness, and material rewards for success. Its opposite,

(22)

femininity, stands for a preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life ("National Culture," n.d., para. 10). Uncertainty avoidance indicates the degree to which the members of a society feel uneasy with uncertainty and ambiguity ("National Culture," n.d., para. 12). Long term orientation versus short term normative orientation refers to how societies uphold some links with its own past while dealing with the challenges of the present and the future. Societies prioritize these two existential goals differently ("National Culture," n.d., para. 14). Indulgence stands for a society that allows relatively free fulfillment of basic and natural human drives related to enjoying life and having fun. Restraint stands for a society that restrains fulfillment of needs and regulates it by means of strict social norms ("National Culture," n.d., para. 18). Kogut and Singh (1988) developed an index which can be employed to transform the scores of these dimensions for each country to determine the cultural distance between two countries. This index will be explained in chapter 4.3.

Much research has been conducted on the effect of cultural distance in multiple areas of business, with foreign direct investment representing the most attractive area for its application (Shenkar, 2001). In terms of cultural distance and its effect on performance, research has focused mostly on its effect on the performance of MNE's and its affiliates in international markets, where it generally has been considered a hindrance (Shenkar, 2001). However, there is no clear cut answer regarding the relationship between cultural distance and MNE performance, evidenced by Tihanyi et al. (2005), who conducted a meta analysis and found substantial literature arguing both a positive and negative relationship. Unfortunately, there is a lack of research regarding the relationship between reputation and cultural distance. However, Matarazzo et al. (2017) recently investigated the effect of cultural distance on the reputation transferability from a made in Italy target firm to a foreign acquirer by analyzing local country consumers. They found that small cultural distance fosters the reputation transferability more than the opposite case of large cultural distance. Even though there are

(23)

still quite a few question marks regarding cultural distance, and especially the relationship between cultural distance, performance, and reputation, the research of Matarazzo (2017) and Shenkar et al. (2001) leads to the following hypothesis:

H2: As the cultural distance increases, the reputation (market, expert, peer) of the original product will have a smaller effect on the market performance of that products' relaunch.

3.3. Time distance, reputation & market performance

Time distance will also be considered as a possible moderator and factor influencing the relationship between an original product reputation and the market performance of its relaunch. In this paper, time distance refers to the amount of time that has passed between the release of the original product and the release of the relaunch. It has already been established that a favorable reputation increases a firm's market performance (Rindova et al., 2005; Shapiro, 1982), and these findings are complemented by Roberts and Dowling (2002), who find that firms with relatively good reputations are better able to sustain profit outcomes over time. Moreover, Milewicz and Herbig (1994) found that brand names can frequently be repositories for a firm's reputation: high quality performance on a past product can often be conveyed to a new product just by the brand name.

Shapiro (1982) states that reputation is an imperfect attribute because there is always a time lag effect: companies must constantly adjust reputation after the latest period. The critical factor in the reputation lag is the time frame concerned with the speed of learning. Similarly, Barnett et al. (2006) also state that as assessments of the firm accumulate over time, reputation capital ebbs and flows. Moreover, according to Milewicz and Hertig (1993), reputation is an accumulated composite of all former transactions over the life of the entity, a historical notion, and requires stability of an entity's actions over a prolonged time.

(24)

Furthermore, they state that reputation is dynamic in nature; and is prone to change over time and is a function of time, leading to the conclusion that the strength of a company's overall reputation erodes with the passage of time (Milewicz and Hertig, 1994). All of this leads to the following hypothesis:

H3: As the time distance increases, the reputation (market, expert, peer) of the original product will have a smaller effect on the market performance of that products' relaunch.

3.4. Conceptual model

Given below is the conceptual model derived from the research question and hypotheses. Like mentioned before, the independent variable is the original product's reputation and the

dependent variable is the market performance of that product's relaunch. Product's reputation 1-2-3 refers to market, expert and peer reputation. There are also two moderators, cultural distance and time distance.

(25)

4. Methodology

4.1. Research setting & data

In order to answer the research question, film remakes will be used as the empirical setting, and an extensive database on film remakes will be analyzed. The database consists of a total of 492 film remakes from 1980 through 2016, plus the original films (or shorts, series, TV movies and plays) the remakes are based on. Using film remakes is especially useful for answering my research question, as film products have a clear measurable market, expert and peer reputation, while the remake aspect makes it a form of relaunch (Brown, 1999).

All remakes in the database have been produced to some extend by the U.S., however, not always as the leading country. In order to measure some of the country based variables, like cultural distance, the leading country has been considered. Moreover, not all remakes were based on original films, some were based on shorts, series, TV movies or plays. In these cases, measuring market, peer, and expert reputation proofed to be an issue, and were therefore excluded from the final dataset. Besides these missing values, there were other instances where the data was simply not available. This was due to the fact that some of the original films the remakes were based on stemmed from the early 20th century, when film data was not managed and saved the way it is currently. Similarly, some of these issues occurred when trying to find the data on some of the control variables and the moderating variable cultural distance, but to a far lesser extent. The variable market performance had no missing values, nor did the moderating variable time distance. Missing values were dealt with by excluding cases listwise, meaning that only the cases without any missing data in any variable was analyzed. All film data has been collected using IMDb, BoxOfficeMojo, The Numbers, or other film data aggregate websites, and all country data has been collected using either the CIA World Factbook, The World Bank database and Geert Hofstede's website.

(26)

4.2. Variables & measures

4.2.1. Dependent variable

This study analyses the effect of performance-based reputations of original products on the market performance of its relaunch. Therefore, only one dependent variable needs to be measured.

Product relaunch market performance. No prior research has used film remakes as the

empirical setting for product relaunch market performance. However, according to Brown (1999), remakes are a form of product relaunch, and Bohnenkamp et al. (2015) used remake box-office results as a performance measure for remakes. Therefore, the market performance of the product's relaunch will be measured by looking at the total box-office results reported by IMDb of the film remake. These results will be adjusted for inflation.

4.2.2. Independent variables

Since this research considers performance-based reputation as a multi-dimensional construct, and selection system theory categorizes reputations into market, peer and expert reputations, there will be three independent variables that need to be measured.

Original product's market reputation. Market reputation will be measured by giving

the film a value of 1 if the original film has ranked among the 20 highest grossing films in its year of release in the country of origin. This information can be found using IMDb, BoxOfficeMojo, The-Numbers and other film data aggregate websites. Box office results has often been used as a construct for measuring the market performance of films (Ebbers and Wijnberg, 2012, a; Sorenson and Waguespack, 2006; and Delmestri et al., 2005), however, due to a lack of box-office data from the early 20th century, top 20 results for the highest grossing films in its year of release in the country of origin have been used instead.

(27)

Original product's expert reputation. If the original film is from the U.S., expert

reputation will be measured by giving the film a value of 1 if the original film has won/been nominated for a Golden Globe (Golden Globe awards are awarded by critic reviewers, or film experts). Likewise, if the original film is foreign, expert reputation will be measured using a similar award in the country of origin. This information can be found using IMDb. Prior research has used critic reviews as a measure for expert reputation in the film industry (Eliashberg and Shugan, 1997; Basuroy, Chatterjee and Ravid, 2003; Ebbers and Wijnberg, 2012, a), however, considering the size of the database and time constraints, it was not possible to go over the critic reviews for each film. Therefore, Golden Globes and similar foreign awards have been used instead.

Original product's peer reputation. If the original film is from the U.S., peer

reputation will be measured by giving the film a value of 1 if the original film has won/been nominated for an Academy Award (Acadamy Awards are awarded by other actors, directors and producers, or film peers). Likewise, if the original film is foreign, peer reputation will be measured using a similar award in the country of origin. This information can be found using IMDb. Anand and Watson (2004) found that awards are an important quality signal contributing to reputation, and Gemser, Leenders and Wijnberg (2008) have studied the effects of these signals on performance in the film industry. Moreover, Ebbers and Wijnberg (2012, a) have similarly used awards as a measure for peer reputation.

4.2.3. Moderating variables

Two moderating variables will be considered for this research, which are time distance and cultural distance.

Time distance. Time distance will be measured by looking at the number of years

(28)

Cultural distance. Cultural distance will be determined by looking at Geert Hofstede's

six measures of cultural dimensions for each country, which are long-term orientation, power distance, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, and indulgence. This information can be found on Geert Hofstede's website. Thereafter, the index developed by Kogut and Singh (1988) will be employed to transform the results of these dimensions for the country producing the original film and the country producing the remake to determine the cultural distance. According to Hutzschenreuter et al. (2016), most authors employ this index in order to measure cultural distance. The original index by Kogut and Singh (1988) was developed for four cultural dimensions, as Geert Hofstede added the dimensions long-term orientation and indulgence later on. Algebraically, it was built like this:

In this formula, Iij stands for the index for the ith cultural dimension and jth country, Vi

is the variance of the index of the ith dimension, u indicates the other country for it to be compared with, and CDj is the cultural difference of the jth country from the uth country. In

order to include the dimensions long-term orientation and indulgence, the formula has been changed in the following way:

The same rules apply for this formula, with only a simple modification made to include the new cultural dimensions. Furthermore, the film remake database included a total of 35 countries, which means that the variance of the index for each cultural dimension has been calculated using the scores of only these 35 countries.

(29)

4.2.4. Control variables

This study also controlled for several variables, which include the country variables GDP, religion and education. Moreover, this study also controlled for several variables previously identified by scholars as movie success factors (Bohnenkamp et al., 2015), namely production budget of the remake, total star professionals involved in the remake, MPAA rating of the remake, and genre change. Unfortunately, due to time constraints and the size of the database, it was not possible to control for the production budget, star professionals involved and MPAA rating of the originals.

GDP. Gross domestic product will be measured for the country producing the remake,

at the time of the remake, as well as the country producing the original, at the time of the remake. This information can be found in The World Bank database.

Religion. The religion of the country of the remake, as well as the country producing

the original will be included. This information can be found in the CIA World Factbook.

Education. Education will be measured by looking at the school life expectancy,

which is primary to tertiary education, for both the country producing the remake as well as the original. This information can be found in the CIA World Factbook.

Production budget remake. The production budget will be measured by looking at the

total production budget results reported on IMDb for the film remake. These results will be adjusted for inflation.

Total star professionals involved remake. A star professionals was involved in the

remake when either the director, producer, writer or one of the top three actors/actresses have been part of two or more films that were in the top 10 grossing films in its year of release in the four years before the release of the remake (Cattani et al., 2013). The star professionals for each remake has then been added together to arrive at the total star professionals involved. This information can be found on IMDb, BoxOfficeMojo and The-Numbers and other film

(30)

data aggregate websites.

MPAA rating remake. The MPAA rating of the remake will be included. This

information can be found on IMDb.

Genre change. Genre change will be measured by comparing the genres of the original

with the genres of the remake. Since most films have more than one genre, the final number will be the amount of shared genres between the original and the remake. This information can be found on IMDb.

4.3. Method & assumptions

IBM SPSS Statistics version 25.0 has been used for all computations. The effect of an original product's reputation (market, expert and peer) on the market performance of the relaunch of that product was predicted with a simple linear regression calculation. The moderating effect of cultural distance and time distance was analyzed using the Kenny & Baron Method (1986).

The normal P-P plot shows that the data only slightly varies from the normality line therefore it can be concluded that the data is normally distributed. The scatterplot of the standardized residuals and the standardized predicted values shows that the points are somewhat equally distributed above and below zero on the X axis, and to the left and right of zero on the Y axis therefore the data is homoscedastic. The VIF value is below 10 therefore it can be concluded that multicollinearity is absent.

(31)

5. Results

5.1. Descriptive statistics & correlations

Table 1 (appendix 1) shows the descriptive statistics and Table 2 (page 32) shows the correlation matrix including all variables of the model, plus the control variables. An explanation on the correlation matrix follows below.

There is a significant negative moderate relationship between religion remake country and GDP remake country (r = -.448, p < 0.01). There is a significant negative moderate relationship between religion remake country and education remake country (r = -.408, p < 0.01). There is a significant negative weak relationship between religion remake country and education original country (r = -.103, p < 0.01). There is a significant negative weak relationship between religion remake country and time distance (r = -.089, p < 0.05). There is a significant negative weak relationship between religion remake country and market performance remake (r = -.093, p < 0.01).

There is a significant negative moderate relationship between religion original country and GDP original country (r = -.500, p < 0.01). There is a significant negative weak relationship between religion original country and education original country (r = -.202, p < 0.01). There is a significant negative weak relationship between religion original country and time distance (r = -.194, p < 0.01). There is a significant positive weak relationship between religion original country and peer reputation original (r = .269, p < 0.01).

There is a significant negative weak relationship between GDP remake country and peer reputation original (r = .106, p < 0.01). There is a significant positive weak relationship between GDP original country and education original country (r = .110, p < 0.05). There is a significant negative weak relationship between GDP original country and star professional remake (r = -.143, p < 0.01). There is a significant negative weak relationship between GDP original country and peer reputation original (r = -.209, p < 0.01). There is a significant

(32)

negative weak relationship between education remake country and education original country (r = -.294, p < 0.01). There is a significant positive weak relationship between education remake country and market performance original (r = .143, p < 0.05).

There is a significant negative moderate relationship between education original country and cultural distance (r = -.420, p < 0.01). There is a significant positive weak relationship between star professional remake and production budget remake (r = .317, p < 0.01). There is a significant positive weak relationship between star professional remake and cultural distance (r = .134, p < 0.01). There is a significant positive weak relationship between shared genres original remake and production budget remake (r = .251, p < 0.01). There is a significant positive moderate relationship between production budget remake and market performance remake (r = .600, p < 0.01). There is a significant positive weak relationship between MPAA rating remake and market performance remake and (r = .120, p < 0.05).

There is a significant negative weak relationship between time distance and religion original country (r = -.194, p < 0.01). There is a significant negative weak relationship between time distance and cultural distance (r = -.278, p < 0.01). There is a significant negative weak relationship between time distance and peer reputation original (r = -.263 p < 0.01). There is a significant positive weak relationship between peer reputation original and market performance original (r = .230 p < 0.01). There is a significant positive weak relationship between expert reputation original and market performance original (r = .250, p < 0.01).

(33)

Variable Mean SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1. Religion Remake Country 1,24 0,74 1 2. Religion Original Country 2,8 1,511 .059 1

3. GDP Remake Country 9,97E

+12 5,11E +12 -.448** .050 1

4. GDP Original Country 7,24E

+12 5,82E +12 -.015 -.500** .392** 1 5. Education Remake Country 16,97 0,722 -.408** -.030 .045 .008 1 6. Education Original Country 16,86 1,017 -.103* -.202** .024 .110* .294** 1 7. Star Professionals Remake 0,26 0,543 -.031 .038 -.080 -.143** .031 -.034 1

8. Shared Genres Or. & Rem. 1,83 0,948 .020 .058 .088 -.039 .037 .087 .089 1 9. Production Budget Remake 46263 750 44549 011 -.038 -.023 .014 .054 .092 -.032 .317** .251** 1

10. MPAA Rating Remake 2,58 1,115 .042 -.048 -.038 .016 .038 -.021 .037 .025 .023 1

11. Time Distance 23,74 17,485 -.089* -.194** -.030 .239** .123** .061 -.019 .046 .347** .096* 1 12. Cultural Distance 0,6121 12 1,0155 7 .086 .467** .065 -.487** -.085 -.420** .134** .081 -.014 -.006 -.278** 1 13. Peer Reputation Original 0,21 0,406 -.061 .269** .106* -.209** .051 .012 -.012 .048 -.012 -.011 -.263** .216** 1 14. Expert Reputation Original 0,16 0,364 -.097 .077 .123* -.056 .075 -.084 .047 .081 .130* -.001 -.039 .085 .434** 1 15. Market Reputation Original 0,41 0,492 -.046 -.073 -.081 .017 .143* -.037 .081 .086 .254** .120* .062 -.008 .230** .250** 1 16. Market Performance Rem. 52448 232 64830 962 -.093* -.064 -.042 .059 .069 -.037 .286** .117* .600** -.036 .170** -.066 .032 .064 .221** 1

(34)

5.2. Testing hypotheses

Hypothesis 1a states that the higher an original product's market reputation, the higher the market performance of that product's relaunch. A simple linear regression was calculated to predict market performance based on market reputation. See table 3 (page 33) for the results of the regression analysis. The variable market reputation was dummy coded (1 = original film ranked among the 20 highest grossing films in its year of release in the country of origin, Else = 0). A significant equation was found (F(1,490) = 18.234, p < 0.05, with an R2 of .036). The explained variance of the model is 3.6%. Graph 1 shows that the score on market performance is only slightly higher if the film has been ranked among the 20 highest grossing films in its year of release in the country of origin. The hypothesis that the higher the original product's market reputation, the higher the market performance of that product's relaunch, is supported by the data.

Graph 1. Boxplot of relationship between market performance relaunch and market reputation original.

R R2 R2 Change B SE β t

0.189 *

0,036

DMarketReputation 27822291,23 6515500,696 0,189 4,27

(35)

Hypothesis 1b states that the higher an original product's expert reputation, the higher the market performance of that product's relaunch. A simple linear regression was calculated to predict market performance based on expert reputation. See table 4 (page 34) for the results of the regression analysis. The variable expert reputation was dummy coded (1 = original film has won/been nominated for a Golden Globe or similar foreign award, Else = 0). A non-significant equation was found (F(1,490) = 1.927, p < 0.05, with an R2 of .004). The explained variance of the model is 0.4%. Graph 2 shows that the score on market performance is the same whether the original film has won/been nominated for a Golden Globe or similar foreign award or not. The hypothesis that the higher the original product's expert reputation, the higher the market performance of that product's relaunch, is not supported by the data.

Graph 2. Boxplot of relationship between market performance relaunch and expert reputation original.

0,063 *

0,004

DExpertReputation 12571088,68 9055166,317 0,063 1,388

(36)

Hypothesis 1c states that the higher an original product's peer reputation, the higher the market performance of that product's relaunch. A simple linear regression was calculated to predict market performance based on peer reputation. See table 5 (page 35) for the results of the regression analysis. The variable peer reputation was dummy coded (1 = original film has won/been nominated for an Academy Award or similar foreign award, Else = 0). A non-significant equation was found (F(1,490) = .379, p < 0.05, with an R2 of .001). The explained variance of the model is 0.1%. Graph 3 shows that the score on market performance is the same whether the original film has won/been nominated for an Academy Award or similar foreign award or not. The hypothesis that the higher the original product's peer reputation, the higher the market performance of that product's relaunch, is not supported by the data.

Graph 3. Boxplot of relationship between market performance relaunch and peer reputation original.

0,028 *

0,001

DPeerReputation 4958517,746 8049524,323 0,028 0,616

(37)

Hypotheses 1d states that the market reputation of the original product has the strongest impact on the market performance of that product's relaunch. Considering only hypothesis 1a has been supported by the data, which states that the higher the market reputation of an original product, the higher the market performance of that product's relaunch, and hypotheses 1b and 1c are not supported, the conclusion is that the market reputation has the strongest impact on the market performance. Therefore, the hypothesis that the market reputation of the original product has the strongest impact on the market performance of that product's relaunch is supported by the data.

Hypothesis 2, the first moderator, states that as the cultural distance increases, the reputation (market, expert, peer) of the original product will have a smaller effect on the market performance of that product's relaunch. The moderator analysis is run using the Kenny & Baron Method (1986). The first step is regressing the control variables on market performance. The second step is regressing the control variables, market reputation and the moderator (cultural distance) on market performance. The third step is regressing the control variables, market reputation and the moderator (cultural distance) and the interaction term on market performance. The variables shared genres (1 = 2 genres shared, Else = 0), star professional remake (1 = 2 star professionals involved in the remake, Else = 0), MPAA rating (1 = Rated R, Else = 0), religion remake country (1 = Protestant, Else = 0), religion original country (1 = Buddhist, Else = 0) have been dummy coded.

Original product's market reputation. There is a significant relationship between the

control variables and market performance (F(10,261) = 15.843, p < 0.001). There is a significant relationship between the control variables, market reputation, cultural distance and market performance (F(12,259) = 13.336, p < 0.001). The explained variance of the model is 38,2% (R2_{=.382). There is a significant relationship between the control variables, market}

Reputation & retro branding : The influence of reputation of an original product on the market performance of the relaunch of this product, and the influence of time distance and cultural distance on this relationship