Understanding Entertainment Value: an Investigation Into the Subjectivity of People Who Experience Live Entertainment
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UNDERSTANDING ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE SUBJECTIVITY OF PEOPLE WHO EXPERIENCE ENTERTAINMENT by FLORIN VLADICA B.Eng., Universitatea Politechnica, Bucharest, Romania, 1991 Executive M.B.A., ASEBUSS, Bucharest, Romania, 1997 M.B.A., University of New Brusnwick, Saint John, Canada, 2001 A Dissertation presented to Ryerson University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Joint Programme of Communication and Culture A Partnership of Ryerson University and York University Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2012 © (Florin Vladica) 2012 I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis or dissertation. I authorize Ryerson University to lend this thesis or dissertation to other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. Signature I further authorize Ryerson University to reproduce this thesis or dissertation by photocopying or by other means, in total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. Signature ii UNDERSTANDING ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE SUBJECTIVITY OF PEOPLE WHO EXPERIENCE ENTERTAINMENT FLORIN VLADICA Doctor of Philosophy Joint Programme of Communication and Culture A Partnership of Ryerson University and York University Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2012 ABSTRACT The purpose of this doctoral dissertation and the research presented herein is to test and refine a general method of observing, capturing, describing and comparing subjective viewpoints on entertainment value. Of particular interest and equally important is the effort to provide a theoretical foundation for the conceptualization, operationalization, and empirical testing of the entertainment value concept, adopting the perspective of those experiencing performance-based and screen-based entertainment. This dissertation is also a crossover study between and among amusement, recreation, entertaining experiences, audience research, and events and live performances. Results will be integrated into the broader study of entertainment, where the core phenomenon under investigation is the entertainment experience. iii Entertainment value is a multi-faceted concept, widely used but poorly, or at least not effectively, operationalized for use in scholarly and commercial research. It is proposed herein that entertainment value refers to the type of value that screen-based products and live performances yield to those who experience these generic forms of entertainment. Entertainment value is perceived consumer value, experiential and subjective, a multi-dimensional concept and construct intrinsic to the entertainment experience. In three complementary studies, respondents are grouped based on shared subjective experiences resulting from the consumption of three different kinds of innovative entertainment products: a) an animated, short documentary film, b) one episode a described video television comedy; and c) a live cultural performance. In an innovative way, Stephenson’s Q Methodology (1953) and Typology of Consumer Value proposed by Morris Holbrook (1999) are adopted, tested and refined to empirically identify, describe and compare the subjective viewpoints of those who experience entertainment. The Q Methodology allowed for a rich description of a range of entertainment experiences from almost three hundred respondents. Interpretation of subjective reactions and self-reports, and the differences among these viewpoints, have been facilitated by and pointed to corresponding types of perceived entertainment value. In this sense, Holbrook’s (1999) typology for consumer value proved useful, by complementing in a number of ways the design and implementation of this exploratory research with Q methodology. iv DEDICATION To my family, This work was possible also because of your efforts, patience and trust. To Charles, This research was completed because you ensured I had what I needed. Thank You! Toronto, Canada, 2012 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The research presented herein and the three studies leading to the results of this dissertation were possible because of the funding provided by and the commitment of different organizations and individuals: The Rogers Fellowship in Communication and Culture, created through the generous donation of Ted and Loretta Rogers, were awarded in 2006 and 2007 to the author of this dissertation. In 2008, the School of Graduate Studies at Ryerson University complemented the contribution from the Province of Ontario, offered through the Ontario Graduate Scholarship. Partial results of the research were presented at scholarly conferences and doctoral summer schools in Austria, Canada, Colombia, Portugal, Spain and the United States. These contributions were partially funded by travel grants offered by the Canadian Media Research Consortium (CMRC) and Ryerson’s Student Union (RSU). The investigation of live cultural performances were funded in part through Ryerson’s International Research Excellence Fund (RIREF). vi The investigation of the innovative documentary film, Ryan , and of described video entertainment, including the episode in the series The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town , was funded in part through a Research Assistantship offered by the Creating Liberal & Integrated Media Experiences (CLIME) project and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). For the study of described video entertainment, Blind and partially sighted respondents were recruited with assistance from Deborah Gold at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB); Joe Rae and Richard Quan at the Alliance for the Equity of Blind Canadians; Ray Cohen at the Canadian Abilities Foundation; Marianne Cook at Link Up; Laura Antal at Balance for Blind Adults; Kelly Dermody at Ryerson University’s Library Services for Persons with Disabilities; and JP Udo at Ryerson University. For the study of live cultural performances, assistance in distributing invitations at the venues where The Met: Live in HD and NT Live were broadcast in cinema, was facilitated by Lydia Gilmour and Matt DeVuono at Cineplex Entertainment in Toronto, Mihaela Ciceu at Liberty Centre Bucharest, and Christian Hofer at Metropol Kino in Innsbruck. Special assistance in Innsbruck was offered by Dagmar Abfalter and the faculty team in the Strategic Management and Leadership Department at the University of Innsbruck. vii This research would have not been possible without the volunteer contribution and participation of graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in four courses at Ryerson University and at Brock University: BDC 310: Research Methods in the Fall of 2009, and during Winter of 2010 BDC 102: Media Writing, MP 8110: Innovation and Growth in Media Industries, and COMM 3P21: Canadian Television. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... iii Dedication ........................................................................................................................................ v Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... vi Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ ix List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. xii List of Appendices ......................................................................................................................... xiv 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 Rationale of Research: Significance of Entertainment and Experiential Value ........................ 2 Statement of the Problem: Understanding the Experiential Value of Entertainment ................ 6 Objectives and Research Questions: Consumer’s Accounts of Entertainment Value ............. 8 Methodological Considerations: Q methodology and Typology of Consumer Value ................. 9 Scholarly Contribution: Originality and Challenges to Existing Perspectives .......................... 11 Organization and Structure of the Dissertation: Three Q Studies in Eight Chapters .............. 15 Definition of Terms .................................................................................................................... 17 2. Entertainment ........................................................................................................................ 23 Study of Entertainment: Entertainment in Communication and Cultural Studies .................... 24 Entertaining Experiences: An Offering of the Experience Economy ....................................... 33 Entertainment Offering: Economic Characteristics of Experiential Products .......................... 38 Entertainment Omnivores: Audiences, Consumers, Spectators, Users, Fans ....................... 49 Audience Research: A Re-conceptualisation of Research Methodologies ............................ 59 3. Entertainment Value ............................................................................................................. 67 Consumer Value: A Synopsis of the Concept ......................................................................... 69 Holbrook's Typology of Consumer Value: An Experiential View