Made for Each Other: The Contrast and Performance of Category Hybrids in the Film Industry

Abstract While prior literature emphasizes that category schemas usually deter hybridization, hybrid production remains prevalent across many domains (e.g. films or innovations). For producers operating in these contexts, the central question is often not whether to span categories, but rather which categories to hybridize together. This suggests a need to shift the focus from the degree of category spanning to the patterns in which categories are hybridized. To address this, we distinguish category hybrids according to the contrast of their primary and secondary categories, and theorize the performance consequences of different hybrids. Through an analysis of the film industry, we find that hybrid films are better received by market audiences if their secondary categories are of higher contrast, particularly when their primary categories have low contrast. This lends support to our core claim that products’ secondary categories function as important information cues, clarifying how category hybrids’ primary identities are altered.