Film Distribution and The Process of Institutional Entrepreneurship: A Case Study on Institutional Entrepreneurship in the Ghanaian Film Industry

Abstract

Technological disruption and the following advent of streaming platforms have changed the film industry definitively. Therefore, this study seeks to uncover the phenomenon of streaming and the changes of institutional arrangements it might entail. Since the area has received little attention in the academic literature, this study aims to contribute to filling the gap of knowledge through a case study on the process of institutional entrepreneurship following the inaccessibility of film distribution in Ghana. Twelve interviews were conducted with filmmakers and additional stakeholders within the Ghanaian film industry. Based on Battilana et al.’s (2009) Model of the process of institutional entrepreneurship and Scott’s (2014) institutional pillars, the empirical findings suggest opportunity for institutional entrepreneurship and the implementation of divergent change. Thus, the study also finds the inherent distrust among Ghanaian filmmakers to be a possible constraint to the diffusion of divergent change, the study provides fertile ground for future research.