In this ongoing series, we’ll profile Ivey’s faculty, giving you insights into their work and lives.
While researching the impact of intellectual property strategy in the music industry, Laurina Zhang experienced her own top hit.
When she was still a PhD student, Zhang caused a stir in the music industry when she posted her dissertation paper on her website. The paper examined how relaxing copyright protection in the form of sharing restrictions actually increases music sales for lesser-known artists. An editor from TorrentFreak – a popular online publication about copyright, privacy, and file sharing – blogged about it and the post led to a flurry of additional media coverage. Her research was subsequently featured in Forbes, Billboard, Boing Boing, and PC Magazine.
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“It was exciting and strange for me, as well. I was a PhD student and didn’t expect this type of attention,” she said. “It’s exciting and reassuring to know that outside of academia the industry cares a lot about this.”
Zhang’s research findings showed that relaxing sharing restrictions leads to a disproportionate increase in music sales for less popular albums versus popular albums. In other words, reducing search costs can help consumers discover niche products in online markets, she said. These findings have major implications for creative industries that often depend on the distribution (i.e., mainstream vs. niche) of products in their portfolio, such as book publishing, movies, and music.
Now at Ivey, Zhang will continue her research on the intersection of innovation and competition and also teach core business strategy to HBAs starting in January. Zhang previously worked at the Bank of Canada in Ottawa, before returning to academia to get a PhD in Strategic Management.
When she’s not immersed in her teaching and research, Zhang can often be found immersed in the water. She enjoys paddle-boarding and takes to the waves as often as she can while on vacation. She also enjoys travelling and said her favourite trip so far was when she visited Wengen, Switzerland, a car-free village that’s perched in the Swiss Alps, this past summer.
At A Glance
WHO: Laurina Zhang, Assistant Professor, General Management.
PAST OCCUPATION: After she received her undergraduate degree in Commerce from the University of Toronto, Zhang worked at the Bank of Canada in Ottawa. She later decided to continue her education and did a PhD in Strategic Management at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.
RESEARCH INTEREST: Zhang’s research focuses on the intersection of innovation and competition, with particular attention to digitization, intellectual property, and entrepreneurship.
FINDINGS: Relaxing sharing restrictions, a type of copyright strategy, increases music sales, although the impact is not uniform across the sales distribution. While it increases sales of lower-selling albums, it does not appear to benefit the sales of top-selling albums.
RELEVANCE: Her research findings suggest that the optimal strength of copyright in creative industries depends on the distribution of products in firms' portfolio.
FUN FACT: Zhang enjoys travelling, recently visiting Wengen, Switzerland. She is also a huge fan of water sports and has tried scuba diving, snorkelling, and (her favourite) paddle-boarding.
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