International Licensing as a Strategic Option for Firms in the Creative Industries

Abstract

International licensing is a vital entry mode for the creative industries, a dynamic sector of the world economy, growing at a faster pace than traditional sectors. The context of digitalization increased the relevance and value of content and brand/character licensing. In 2016 global retail of licensed merchandise reached 272 billion dollars driven by entertainment/character which represented 45% of the total (LIMA, 2017). The International Business (IB) literature argues that licensing is a low-cost, low-involvement and low-risk entry mode although it is the sole alternative for some sectors. The lack of academic research on the subject, the relevance of licensing for the creative industries and the limited presence of Brazilian firms in the international market motivated this research. This Ph.D. dissertation comprises four essays that evolved in parallel, although complementary, directions to better gather different perspectives on the subject. The initial effort was to map the extant literature on international licensing. The first essay evaluated the use of different theoretical perspective in IB research and the application of these theoretical perspectives to small and medium-sized firms. The second essay reviews the IB literature to understand the theoretical influences on the study of licensing using a bibliometric approach. A third essay, of an exploratory nature, analyzed for case studies from small-sized Brazilian firms aiming at understanding how licensing was present in their business and its use in their international process. Finally, the fourth essay consisted of a survey to identify the perceptions of executives from a segment of the creative industries concerning international licensing for their content and brands/characters. Finally, general conclusions were drawn from the four essays, theoretical implications were presented and recommendations were made for the use of licensing by managers.