TV series adaptations and their repercussions on consumers: insights from two complementary qualitative analyses

ABSTRACT

The study explores the nature of adaptations made on an experiential product, a TV series, that enters a foreign market, and investigates the perceptions of foreign consumers concerning the adapted experiential product in two parts. The first part content analyses the nature of adaptations based on comparisons of the contents of the original and adapted versions of the TV series, while the second part content analyses consumers’ perceptions of the adapted TV series based on their social media entries. The first part reveals three broad categories of adaptations, namely contextual, cultural, and competitive. The second part indicates that the familiarity with the original TV series and the distinct genre were influential on consumers’ evaluation of and satisfaction with the adapted TV series.

KEYWORDS:

• Adaptation
• experiential consumption
• format
• TV series
• consumer perception

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The suitability of Hofstede dimensions for the study was inspired by other studies in international marketing examining the nature and extent of adaptations made (e.g. Singh, Kumar et al., 2005). However, due to contextual differences, we referred to Hofstede and Hofstede (2005, pp. 51, 57, 92, 96, 128, 135, 136, 174, 178) and used their concepts in developing our coding frame based on the information they provide about the manifestation of their cultural dimensions within the context of general norms, family, and schools, which was suited to the content of the TV series.

2. The conceptual model was developed by reviewing our records of the data analysis as well as the relationships we noted between the analytical concepts, arranging the categories into different theoretical frameworks, and settling on the arrangement that fits best the data, and expressing the framework we reached in relational statements (Corbin & Strauss, 2015).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bilge Aykol

Dr. Bilge Aykol (Ph.D., MBA, Dokuz Eylül University) is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Faculty of Business of Dokuz Eylül University. Her research interests centre on international marketing and purchasing, relationship marketing, and experiential consumption. Her articles have appeared inJournal of World Business, Journal of International Marketing, International Business Review, Management International Review, Industrial Marketing Management, Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Small Business Management, and Tourism Management among others.

İlayda İpek

Dr. İlayda İpek (Ph.D., Dokuz Eylül University; MBA, Middle East Technical University) is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Faculty of Business, Dokuz Eylül University, Turkey. Her research interests concentrate on international marketing, brand management, and consumer behavior. Her articles have been published inBusiness Strategy and the Environment, International Business Review, International Marketing Review, International Journal of Emerging Markets, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, and Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services.

Nilay Bıçakcıoğlu-Peynirci

Dr. Nilay Bıçakcıoğlu-Peynirci (Ph.D., MBA, Dokuz Eylül University) is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Faculty of Business, Dokuz Eylül University, Turkey. Her primary research areas include international and industrial marketing, while secondary research areas involve brand management and consumer studies.  She has published articles, which have appeared inInternational Business Review, International Marketing Review, Journal of Brand Management, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, and Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services.