Breakout from Bollywood? The roles of social networks and regulation in the evolution of Indian film industry

Abstract

This paper combines evolutionary perspectives with social network theory in order to explain the recent growth of a prolific and changing indigenous industry in an emergent economy, namely the Indian film industry in Mumbai, India, Bollywood. Using novel and original data, the paper argues that as the world's biggest commercial film cluster and a conspicuous growth phenomenon, Bollywood can be seen as a paradigmatic case for developing general insights into indigenous growth of industries in emerging economies. The paper demonstrates how the existence of a well-defined and geographically centered social network among producers, directors and other key roles in filmmaking in Mumbai influences the evolution of a ‘Bollywood model’ of filmmaking remarkably different from Hollywood's. The paper adds to social network perspectives in evolutionary theory by suggesting that, given certain social network structures, policy regulation and other environmental factors may be instrumental for industry evolution.