Research

Job Market Paper

The Positive Effect of Stigmatization in the TV Show Industry: The Role of Private Consumption

(With Samira Reis, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid)

Existing academic literature on product stigma is primarily concerned with proving all the negative effects stigmatization can bring to the products it impacts given the feelings of fear and embarrassment it enhances in social spheres. This paper brings light to the possibility that stigma can affect product performance in a positive way when these products are consumed in private. Using a dataset of TV shows aired in the US for four years (1953 to 1957), we prove that, when we eliminate the fear of association to the stigmatized product, by looking at products consumed in private, the impact of stigma may affect positively the performance of the product. This is supported by a supplementary study on movies that were publicly consumed in theatres during the same period and whose performance, consistent with previous literature, goes down when they are stigmatized. Using probabilistic models, the results obtained prove that when stigma transfers from an individual to a TV show, there is a positive impact in the likeability of the show leading to an increase in the ratings given by the audience to it. Important implications for research on stigma and social evaluation are drawn.

Available upon request

Available upon request

Presented at:

  • Economic Sociology Showcase, Online (September 2022)

  • Madrid Work and Organizations Workshop at IE Business School, Madrid, Spain (May 2022)

  • East Coast Doctoral Conference at NYU Stern School of Business, NY, US (April 2022)

  • Academy of Management Conference, Online (August 2021)

Abstract published in AOM Annual Meeting Proceedings

In Progress...

How does stigma affect organizations' decisions about relocation?

(With Samira Reis, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid)



Existing literature on geographic mobility mostly focuses on competition and agglomeration as the main drivers for organizations to leave a region. This paper introduces the concept of fear of stigma transfer as a reason for firms to decide to leave a region that has become stigmatized and analyzes the variables that contribute to this decision. More specifically, our results show that organizations with geographic presence in non stigmatized regions are more prone to leave a stigmatized region, which may indicate that they have more fear of stigma transfer than organizations whose existence is confined to a stigmatized area. Using a dataset of the organizations from the banking and food industries that established their headquarters in Catalonia since the year 1950 and left during the period of 2017-2019 as a consequence of the nationalist conflict, we prove that, organizations that are present in other Spanish regions and other countries are more prone to leave than those that only operate in Catalonia.


Available upon request

A Core/Periphery Perspective on Stigma


This is a paper on status, social networks and stigma. We are in the process of developing a dataset on the entire population of crew members that worked in at least one of the movies distributed in the United States by the eight major studios between the years 2002 and 2021. We will then use this dataset to identify those members who were involved in the Me Too movement in order to prove that, depending on the level of status and network embeddedness of the stigmatized member, the effect of stigma will change and be perceived in very different ways by the audience. We predict that this effect will also change over time and that the prior status and network embeddedness of the cast member will be key aspects for their audience perception in the short, mid and long terms.We will also look at how stigma transfers to the accusers and what happens to their status and level of embeddedness in the field before and after accusing.