Success factors of media product brands. Examining the building blocks for success across different media types

Abstract

Media companies and their managers have to develop and adapt products and services as well as processes and business models to exploit opportunities in the digital era. In doing so, knowledge of success factors is crucial.
Success factor research in the media is a fairly broad and fragmented field. Studies till date have focused on single types of media; however, this technology-based distinction is no longer valid. It has been shown that products and services converge as well as their development and production processes. Therefore, the present study aims to synthesize the findings from different media contexts.
On the basis of a comprehensive literature review and semi-structured, in-depth interviews with media professionals from Austria, Germany and Switzerland, ten building blocks of media success are suggested: content, design, environmental orientation, internal processes, organizational aspects, leadership, human resources, marketing, distribution, and external evaluation. The findings support the transferability of success factors on an abstract level and their adaptability for different contexts. They function as hygiene factors representing industry standards and constraints to failure. This study concludes with presenting the implications for media management research and media practice.