Antecedents and Consequences of Third-party Products Evaluation Systems: Lessons from the International Motion Picture Industry

This paper studies one key characteristic shared by a growing number of industries—their products are continuously monitored and evaluated by third-party systems such as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for public protection. By studying differences in ratings and commercial performance of products across different countries, marketing managers can obtain general insights into why, and anticipate when evaluation boards, operating in different global markets, are likely to rate the same product differently. Since different ratings may lead to differences in commercial performance, the product evaluations often require local adaptations. Two related issues are examined in this paper. First, the impact of the product’s evaluation by the local evaluation board upon its commercial performance (consequences) is studied. Local country covariates such as mandatory vs. voluntary evaluation boards and cultural characteristics such as masculinity are employed as moderators between the product’s evaluation and its local performance. Second, the key drivers of the boards evaluations (antecedents) are studied, taking into account both the nature of the product and the nature of the evaluation board. Implications of the results for the motion picture industry as well as other industries are discussed from a managerial, research, and public policy perspective.