Is New Product Development Impacted by the Manager’s Gender? The Case of Motion Pictures

Abstract

The authors examine differences in movies directed by men versus women. Drawing from a broad sample of almost 5,000 movies, the authors conduct an in-depth thematic variation analysis, and also explore the differences in movies directed by men versus women by examining budgets, film length, and product quality. Results indicate that while men direct longer, higher budget movies that receive wider distribution, the differences in movie quality ratings are insignificant, suggesting that women directors may be more cost efficient in generating quality outcomes. While women directors are more likely to focus on genres that rely on the quality of the dialog and creativity (e.g., dramas and musicals), men are more likely to direct projects that rely on technical execution and special effects.

Keywords: innovation, new product development, gender