The Strength of Direct Ties: Evidence from the Electronic Game Industry

Jörg Claussen, Oliver Falck, Thorsten Grosjean

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

    Abstract

    We analyze the economic effects of a developer's connectedness in the electronic game industry. Knowledge spillovers between developers are likely to be of special relevance in this knowledge-intensive and regionally concentrated industry. We calculate social network measures for a developer's connectedness to other developers at multiple points in time. In a regression in which we exploit within-career variation in social network measures, we find that the number of direct ties a developer has to other developers has a strong effect on both a game's revenues and critics' scores. The quality of indirect ties makes no additional contribution to the game's success.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalInternational Journal of Industrial Organization
    Volume30
    Issue number2
    Pages (from-to)223-230
    ISSN0167-7187
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Mar 2012

    Keywords

    • Social Network Analysis
    • Electronic Game Industry
    • Knowledge Spillovers

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