Specialization or Generalization? Robust Identity for Hollywood Careers

• In Event: 40226 - Reimagining and Reconstructing Occupational Work and Identities in Changing Environments

Abstract

The literature on competitive project-based labor markets in industries such as film, music, and the gig economy, offer competing views on how individuals should position themselves to have successful careers. The ‘categorical imperative’ literature argues individuals should specialize in external market genres to signal clarity, legitimacy and competence to consumer audiences and financiers. Conversely, the ‘role as resource’ literature argues individuals should generalize their association with internal production roles to enhance their adaptability and collaboration within temporary creative teams. How do these literatures interrelate and which positioning strategy is most effective? To date, no empirical study has compared and integrated these competing views concerning successful project-based careers. We address this by focusing on the careers of directors, producers, screenwriters, and actors in Hollywood (1980–2019), and we find evidence that these literatures should be integrated for a more complete understanding of how careers are forged in project-based labor markets. We find that successful careers require multivocal identities that appeal to both internal and external environments, and these environments vary their distinct demands by role. When individuals are in roles that broker production teams with external audiences - like producers - they extend their career by categorical imperative alone, specializing in their producer role and certain movie genres. When individuals occupy roles inwardly focused on the creative process - like screenwriters and directors - they extend their careers by expanding their role-experiences to include writing, directing, and acting, all while specializing in a movie genre. This finding suggests a new theory of labor market careers that recognizes the importance multivocal demands on roles have for successful careers.

Authors

• Yuze Sui, Stanford University

• Tianyu Du, Stanford University

• Daniel A. McFarland, Stanford University