Publisher:
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE), Düsseldorf
Abstract:
A wide range of media provide information on many products based on reviews or expert opinions. The effects of such information on product sales is analyzed in a small but growing literature in economics and marketing science. However, there is much more coverage on companies and products in the media than product reviews and expert opinions. Based on a unique dataset, we test whether coverage of car manufacturers in opinion leading media have significant impact on registrations of new cars in Germany. We find that positive (or at least neutral) media coverage has statistically significant effect on the number of new cars sold by several leading manufacturers on the German car market.