How does the Strength of Network Ties affect Film Exports?

Previous studies argued that maintaining arms-length relationships or weak ties with partners improves performance while others emphasized in favor of strong ties and the roles of trust in relationships. We review the influences of both strong and weak ties, investigate the level of analysis issues in network research, and reexamine the relationships in the Korean film industry. Unlike previous studies, we propose a more refined framework at the project level. With the contingency approach, we argue that the impact of network ties depends on not only their strength but also project characteristics. We propose that strong ties positively affect projects with standard characteristics but negatively influence creative projects in the setting of the film exports. We measured the performance of exported films by two indexes, artistic and commercial success. Our tests show that strong tie networks improve the commercial performance of films (standardized project), while hamper the artistic performance (creative task). We discuss the implications for future research on the strength of network ties and the film industry.