The present study explores the antecedents and consequences of vertical integration choices in the context of new product development using project-level data from the motion picture industry. I show that uncertain access to specialized complementary assets can generate market failures for...

Our paper tests a key prediction of property rights theory, specifically, that agents will respond to marginal incentives embedded in property rights when making non-contractible, revenue-enhancing investments. (Grossman and Hart, 1986; Hart and Moore, 1990). Using rich project-level data from the...