Player Market Research Articles

Moneyball Theory in Professional Sports: An Analysis of the Football Industry and Market Failure

Abstract: Nowadays, the transfer price of athletes in the sports market is getting higher and higher. Moneyball is a theory that allows professional sports teams to spend a small amount of money but bring a huge boost. Moneyball applies the economic theory of market failure, mainly using two market failures, Information Failure and Monopsony. This article will analyze two professional sports teams that use Moneyball and market failure in football and baseball and describe the advantages and disadvantages of Moneyball and the future use of Moneyball. This paper finds that Moneyball can help many teams buy cost-effective players in today's sports player market. Moneyball can also help teams refine their recruiting analysts, and there are cases where Moneyball can be used in football. To buy the most suitable players with the guarantee that the team will not break the rules. Moneyball needs more teams to apply to determine this theory in the football world.

Identifying successful football teams in the European player transfer network

This paper considers the European transfer market for professional football players as a network to study the relation between a team’s position in this network and performance in its domestic league. Our analysis is centered on eight top European leagues. The market in each season is represented as a weighted directed network capturing the transfers of players to or from the teams in these leagues, and we also consider the cumulative network over the past 28 years. We find that the overall structure of this transfer market network has properties commonly observed in real-world networks, such as a skewed degree distribution, high clustering, and small-world characteristics. To assess football teams we first construct a measure of within-league performance that is comparable across leagues. Regression analysis is used to relate league performance with both the network position and level of engagement of the team in the transfer market, under two complimentary setups. Network position variables include, e.g., betweenness centrality, closeness centrality and node clustering coefficient, whereas market engagement variables capture a team’s activity in the transfer market, e.g., total number of player transfers and total paid for players. For the season snapshots, the number of transfers correspond to weighted in- and out-degree. Our analysis first corroborates several recent findings relating aspects of market engagement with teams’ league performance. A higher number of incoming transfers indicates worse performance and better resourced teams perform better. Then, and across specifications, we find that network position variables remain salient even when engagement variables are already considered. This substantiates the notion in the existing literature that a high degree corresponds to better team performance and suggests that network aspects of trading strategy may affect a team’s success in their respective domestic league (or vice versa). In this sense, the approach and findings presented in this paper may in the future guide team’s player acquisition policies.

Comparing the Service Quality of China Super League and English Premier League for Offline Game Experience

Football, the most popular sport worldwide, has approximately 3.5 billion fans. In addition, the service quality of different football leagues varies, and it significantly impacts fan attendance to football games offline. This paper focuses on comparing the service quality of the English Premier League (EPL) and the China Super League (CSL) to identify areas for improvement in CSL's offline game’s attendance. The paper evaluated the service quality of the two leagues through four dimensions: program quality, interaction quality, outcome quality, and environment quality. The results show that the EPL is better at offering more games, greater interaction quality due to effective safety polices, higher player market value that led to more competitive matches, and more professional and modern football stadiums. In comparison, less games, excessively stringent security regulations that detract from the spectator experience, lesser player market value, and subpar stadium infrastructure plague the CSL. The research concludes that for CSL to enhance its service quality, it should allow more teams to play in CSL, relax some security policies, adjust its salary caps and foreign player policies, and build more professional football stadiums. These improvements are crucial for boosting fan attendance and engagement, ultimately enhancing the league's marketability and revenue. Future research should explore service quality in other global football leagues to provide a more comprehensive understanding of service quality’s impact on attendance.

Comprehensive Analysis of Football Player Market Valuation: Integrating Performance Metrics and Marketability Factors

In the fast-paced world of professional football, valuing players involves numerous factors. This paper explores the determinants of football players' market values using a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative data from sources like Opta Sports, Transfermarkt, and the CIES Football Observatory, along with qualitative insights from semi-structured interviews with industry experts, were analyzed. The quantitative analysis found that goals scored and social media followers significantly predict player market value, with a strong social media presence amplifying the impact of goals. Non-linear relationships revealed diminishing returns on market value as social media followers increase. Qualitative insights highlighted the importance of media presence, cultural impact, and digital engagement in shaping player valuations. Players frequently featured in media, seen as cultural icons, or active on digital platforms tend to have higher market values. A comparison with historical data showed a growing emphasis on marketability and digital presence. The study concludes that integrating quantitative performance metrics with qualitative marketability factors is crucial for accurate player valuation. This holistic approach offers valuable insights for clubs, agents, and policymakers, enhancing decision-making in player transfers and contract negotiations. The research contributes to sports management and economics by providing a comprehensive framework for managing player assets in professional football.

Attention economy in professional football: A study protocol on the individual perspective of social media marketability of European football player

In the digital age, the attention economy assumes that attention flows along the same channels as money. Attention is a scarce commodity, so competing for it should follow a similar mechanism to the general acquisition of income and can therefore be seen as a social currency (Franck, 1998). Nowhere is this more evident than in the realm of professional sports, where athletes have become both performers and brands (Nufer, 2018), competing not only on the field but also in the arena of attention. For the players themselves but also for the clubs, the market value of a football player is no longer solely determined by their athletic prowess but is equally influenced by their ability to capture and maintain the attention of fans or sponsors (Leo & Kuczkowski, 2020). Seeing players as entrepreneurs, we assume that reputation is a fluid and dynamic asset (Gerbaulet, 2016), wherein the player’s ability to manage and cultivate their public image becomes paramount. Football players aim to maximize their lifetime income, which includes both their performance on the pitch and their marketability off it. Marketability can extend beyond their playing career and may follow a life-cycle concept (Vernon, 1966). Therefore, players are motivated to use social media to boost their reputation and lifetime market value. To investigate this phenomenon, we analyse data from the big five European football leagues (Bundesliga, Premier League, Ligue 1, La Liga, and Serie A) focusing on the 2022/2023 season. This season was chosen to ensure a closed information set, as the 2023/2024 season was ongoing during the initial data collection period, and player market values are typically updated multiple times throughout a season. Our study examines the correlation between social media activity and player market value by employing a regression model to quantify the influence of social media metrics, while controlling for other relevant variables. Player market values are sourced from the widely recognized platform Transfermarkt (https://www.transfermarkt.de). Social media activity is quantified through metrics such as the number of followers, the volume of posts, likes, and engagement rate, with data obtained from Fanpage Karma (https://www.fanpagekarma.com/). To account for players’ footballing abilities, we include performance data such as playing time, shots, and packing index sourced from The Analyst (https://theanalyst.com/eu). Additional control variables, including player age, position, league, and club affiliation, are also sourced from Transfermarkt and incorporated into the regression model. The dataset comprises 2,284 players, of whom 80% (1,805 players) have Instagram accounts. Instagram usage is highest among Premier League players (92%) and lowest among those in Ligue 1 (65%). The results of the regression analysis will be presented and discussed, providing insights into the relationship between social media presence and market value. This analysis will contribute to understanding the patterns of attention generation in relation to marketability and the rationality behind social media use in professional football. References Gerbaulet, D. (2016). Der Unternehmer als Reputator [The entrepreneur as reputator]. Mohr Siebeck. Franck, G. (1998). Ökonomie der Aufmerksamkeit. Ein Entwurf [The economy of attention. A draft]. Carl Hanser. Leo, M., & von Kuczkowski, A. (2020). „Kaufen Sie Ronaldo!“ Wie Facebook, Instagram & Google den Profifußball verändern [„Buy Ronaldo!“ How Facebook, Instagram & Google are changing professional football]. Die Werkstatt. Nufer, G. (2018, 30 January). Viel mehr als nur Sportler. Warum Ronaldo und Neymar mehr zu Marken im Fußball taugen als Götze [Much more than just athletes. Why Ronaldo and Neymar are more suitable as football brands than Götze]. Focus Online. https://www.focus.de/sport/experten/nufer/f-f_id_8386959.html Vernon, R. (1966). International investment and international trade in the product cycle. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 80(2), 190–207. https://doi.org/10.2307/1880689

Factors that Influence Player Market Value in Different Position: Evidence from European Leagues

This research study delves into the intricate dynamics that influence player market values in various positions within European soccer leagues. Through the development and advancement of the soccer market industry and player health keeping. This study considered that soccer player's market value could be influenced by different factors or by different numbers of range nowadays compared with previous studies. By analyzing the newest version of player market value, influence factors of elite soccer players in season 2022/23 UEFA leagues. The analysis model analyzed a few key factors that influence the player's market value, such as age, goals, assists, and league. Simple/ Multiple regression models, T-tests, and ANOVA analysis are used in the examination. The research demonstrates that age plays a pivotal role, with players experiencing value growth during specific age ranges. League affiliation and performance metrics, particularly goals and assists, also emerge as significant drivers of market value. The study provides valuable insights for decision-makers within the soccer ecosystem, aiding in player management strategies and market navigation.

The transfer market for sports players - A contest theory approach

The transfer market for sports players is analyzed using a contest theory approach. A sports team exerts two types of effort in order to attract a player: productive effort, for which the team incurs a cost only if the player signs a contract with them; and persuading effort, for which the team incurs a cost regardless. The findings describe the conditions under which there will be no persuading effort, as well as the impact of persuading effort on productive effort and the contestant's utility.

Evaluating Machine Learning Models for Predicting Football Players' Market Values: A Review

In the realm of football management, the accurate assessment of player market values stands as a critical managerial task. Traditional methods reliant on expert opinions often lack transparency and can be prone to inaccuracies. This study proposes a data-driven approach employing machine learning algorithms to determine football players' market values objectively. Utilizing FIFA 20 data from sofifa.com, four regression models - linear regression, multiple linear regression, decision trees, and random forests - were evaluated for their efficacy in estimating market values. This research offers a robust framework for football clubs and player agents to enhance negotiation strategies and make well- informed decisions in the dynamic football transfer market. Key Words: Linear regression, multiple linear regression, decision trees, random forests, machine learning , FIFA video game data.

The Influence of Customers' Trust To Permission E-mail Marketing Acceptance And Purchase Intention of Online Paid Course

The world of education in Indonesia has developed along with technological advances and the use of the Internet, particularly during the pandemic, that make remote learning feasible. Alongside formal education, the demand for skill education has surged, creating an attractive market for online paid course players to penetrate, like MySkill. MySkill adopts various advertising strategies to promote its services, mainly email marketing. However, email marketing does not significantly influence customers' purchase intention of MySkill services. Therefore, this research intends to test the effect of customers' trust on permission email marketing and its subsequent influence on purchase intention. This research utilizes a quantitative approach by online survey and uses descriptive statistics and PLS-SEM to analyze the survey result. The results revealed that customers' trust significantly influences permission email marketing acceptance and purchase intention. Permission email marketing positively affects perceived usefulness and ease of use, increasing customer purchase intention. However, the relationship between perceived ease of use and purchase intention was not statistically significant. These findings are expected to give insight into developing better strategies for purchase intention in the educational technology industry or related industries.

Abolishing Amateurism: Reimagining the Future of U.S. College Football

Recently, college athletes have won new rights to their name, image, and likeness; to educational benefits; to transfer; and to earn compensation based on the revenue their labor produces. Using critical race theories, we review the desegregation of college football alongside the legal protections for National Collegiate Athletic Association amateurism, as it was practiced from the 1950s through recent days. We argue that such amateurism still structures a racialized property relationship that grants ontological, monetary, and educational benefits to white stakeholders at the expense of Black football players. Throughout, we offer legal and historical insights about the limitations of the law for social change. We conclude with suggestions to dismantle amateurism and establish a labor market for college football players through which athletes can secure just compensation and workplace protections.

PENGEMBANGAN INDUSTRI HALAL MELALUI E-COMMERCE PADA SEKTOR FASHION MUSLIM NDONESIA

Indonesia's development into a world halal industry in the field of Muslim fashion continues to increase as Indonesia's Muslim population reaches 87%. The aim of the research is to determine the potential for developing the halal e-commerce industry in Indonesia. The results of the research are that halal e-commerce can be a solution to encourage the development of the halal industry, with the availability of halal e-commerce making it easier for producers to transact and market their products online. The SWOT analysis shows that halal e-commerce in the Muslim fashion sector to encourage the development of the halal industry in Indonesia is found from internal factors, the strength of the number of influencers and artists who wear Muslim fashion, the number of internet users, teenagers and children. For internal factors, it was found that the majority of Indonesia's population is 87% Muslim, awareness of Muslims dressing according to Islamic law. The threat of many competing countries, the lack of uniformity of internationally agreed halal certificates, the minimal level of knowledge about the market for MSME players means that many still sell offline.

Measuring the popularity of football players with Google Trends.

Google Trends is a valuable tool for measuring popularity since it collects a large amount of information related to Google searches. However, Google Trends has been underused by sports analysts. This research proposes a novel method to calculate several popularity indicators for predicting players' market value. Google Trends was used to calculate six popularity indicators by requesting information about two football players simultaneously and creating popularity layers to compare players of unequal popularity. In addition, as the main idea is to obtain the popularity indicators of all players on the same scale, a cumulative conversion factor was used to rescale these indicators. The results show that the proposed popularity indicators are essential to predicting a player's market value. In addition, using the proposed popularity indicators decreases the transfer fee prediction error for three different models that are fitted to the data using the multiple linear regression, random forest, and gradient boosting machine methods. The popularity indicator Min, which is a robust reflection of the popularity that represents a player's popularity during the periods when they are less popular, is the most important popularity indicator, with a significant effect on the market value. This research provides practical guidance for developing and incorporating the proposed indicators, which could be applied in sports analytics and in any study in which popularity is relevant.

Micro Entry Theory: Understanding the Drivers and Effects of the Entry of Micro Players in the Context of Digital Platforms

AbstractDigital platforms have facilitated the entry into the market of micro players, a subcategory of specialists formed by individuals offering products and services on a very small scale. This study builds on previous research on micro players' entry, to formalize, validate, and expand a theory of micro entry that helps to explain the market dynamics when micro players use digital platforms to enter the market. We (1) examine how macro‐economic conditions influence the entry of micro players and specialists and (2) investigate the differential effects of the entry of micro players and specialists on the generalists' performance. Our setting is the accommodation industry in Spain, in which generalists are represented by dominant hotels and micro players and specialists by occasional and regular operators who entered the market through Airbnb. We find that the entry of micro players into the market through digital platforms is driven by high unemployment rates and platform legitimacy, factors that do not similarly influence the entry of specialists. Additionally, the results show that the entry of specialists decreases generalists' performance, while micro players' entry is complementary.

Digitalization in Indonesian Creative Economy Community

The wave of the industrial revolution 4.0 has brought fundamental changes to various global life orders, marked by the growing development of creativity and innovation using information technology that disrupts various aspects of global life, including competition in the economy. This study aims to examine the empowerment of local creativity in supporting the implementation of the digital economy. The locus of study took place in the city of Yogyakarta. This study uses an exploratory qualitative approach with data collection techniques through in-depth interviews, observations, and document review. The results suggested that the Department of Industry, SME, and Cooperatives of Yogyakarta City are advised to provide more training, especially on how to expand the market for MSME players independently. Then the Yogyakarta City Trade Office is advised to increase the frequency of meetings (which contain education, direction, motivation, and socialization) with traders. Meanwhile, Yogyakarta City HIPMI (Young Entrepreneurs Association) is advised to expand its marketing network both throughout Indonesia and abroad so that in the future, the creativity and ideas of young Indonesians can be widely known.
 Keywords: creativity, digital economy, MSMEs (small and medium enterprises), traditional market traders

Alternating-Offers Bargaining with Nash Bargaining Fairness Concerns

The Rubinstein alternating-offers bargaining game is reconsidered, where players show fairness concerns and their fairness references are characterized by the Nash bargaining solution. The objective of this paper is to explore the impact of fairness concerns in the alternating-offer bargaining game. Alternating-offer bargaining with fairness concerns is developed. We construct a subgame perfect equilibrium and show its uniqueness. Then, it is shown that players' payoffs in the subgame perfect equilibrium are positively related to their own fairness concern coefficient and bargaining power and negatively to the opponents' fairness concern coefficient. Moreover, it is shown that the limited equilibrium partition depends on the ratio of discount rates of the two players when the time lapse between two offers goes to zero. Finally, the proposed model is applied to the bilateral monopoly market of professional basketball players, and some properties of equilibrium price are shown. Our result provides the implication that players should carefully weigh their own fairness concerns, bargaining power and fairness concerns of their opponents, and then make proposals, rather than simply follow the suggestion that the proposal at the current stage is higher than that at the past stages.

МАТЕМАТИЧЕСКИЙ АНАЛИЗ РИСКА МОНОПОЛИЗАЦИИ РОССИЙСКОГО РЫНКА ОСГОП

The article analyzes the current situation in the Russian market of compulsory carrier liability insurance from the beginning of the adoption of the law in 2013 to mid-2023. The shares of all insurers were analyzed based on the results of 2022. In dynamics, statistics on the revocation of licenses from insurers in the context of reasons are chronologically considered. The fallacy of the strategy of using this type of insurance as a source of cross-sales of other types of insurance is considered. The Linda index, which characterizes the level of market monopolization, is analyzed. A correlation analysis was carried out between market indicators: the number of MTPL insurance companies, the average market share and the market concentration indicator - the dispersion of market shares. A forecast for 3 years is made on further prospects for the aggravation of the oligopoly in this segment of the Russian insurance market. A number of measures have been proposed to reduce barriers to entry into this market for new players and to keep companies already operating in this market from surrendering licenses.

University Misreporting of Student Metrics: Evidence from the Labor Market for Professional Football Players

University Misreporting of Student Metrics: Evidence from the Labor Market for Professional Football Players

ІНСТРУМЕНТАРІЙ СТРАТЕГІЧНОГО АНАЛІЗУ В ОЦІНЮВАННІ ІНВЕСТИЦІЙНОЇ ПРИВАБЛИВОСТІ ПІДПРИЄМСТВА

Background. The key criterion for choosing an investment object is the level of its investment attractiveness. In the presence of various methods of assessing the level of investment attractiveness, there is a risk of subjective assessment, which can lead to financial losses. The analysis of the enterprise using the methods of strategic and financial analysis provides the result, which helps to fully assess the prospect of investment in a selected object, industry, or territory. The purpose of the study is to determine the level of investment attractiveness of the enterprise in the field of television and to consider possible directions for its increase to ensure competitiveness in the domestic market. The object of the study is the process of determining the investment attractiveness of a media company. Methods. Methods of analysis and synthesis (analysis of the media market and identification of key players on it), strategic analysis for positioning the research object through the construction of a competitiveness polygon and a matrix of strategic orientations for the media market company, financial analysis methods for calculation were used to reveal the purpose and objectives of the research. integral indicator of the investment attractiveness of the company. Results. Approaches to the assessment of the investment attractiveness of the enterprise and the peculiarities of the application of the integral indicator in this process have been studied. The advantages and disadvantages of this method are highlighted. An integral indicator of the assessment of the investment attractiveness of the enterprise in the field of television is applied. The state of the media market was analyzed and the competitiveness of its main participants was assessed according to such factors as: personnel potential, resource potential, production capabilities, investment potential, recognition and adaptability to new conditions. Conclusions. The competitive advantages of the enterprise were determined and a matrix of strategies was developed to increase its investment attractiveness by identifying the main problems in the enterprise's activities in the following areas: human capital, innovation capital, production and technical capabilities. The work on eliminating the identified gaps in the company's activities will contribute to the promotion of the manufactured product on the domestic market and the promising Eastern European market, in accordance with the company's strategic plans.

Utländska spelare i allsvenskan 1974–2021. Globalisering, kommersialisering och migration

Since the late 1990s, professional football players moving across national borders in search of the best possible livelihoods constitute a form of transnational labour migration that has grown enormously in scale and scope. The Swedish Premier Division has gradually been incorporated into this global player market. The development began in 1974, when Swedish clubs for the first time were allowed to sign foreign players. However, it was only after the Bosman-ruling in 1995, and the removal of restrictions on the number of foreign players, that the league was forcefully globalized. In this article, this globalizing development between 1974 and 2019 is analysed. The study shows that the development took place in three different phases, with the last phase (2009-19) constituting a break in the trend in globalization. From this point on, the number of players from countries in the nearby geographical area increased rapidly.

Beyond performance? The importance of subjective and objective physical appearance in award nominations and receptions in football

Despite an extensive body of research indicating multifaceted advantages for employees deemed physically attractive, factors that limit or even negate the attractiveness premium have not been sufficiently investigated. In this paper, we are interested in whether a rich set of physical appearance factors matter when performance information is transparently available, rather than – as is mostly the case in the labor force – imperfect or costly to obtain. To this end, we explore the labor market of professional football players in one of the world's most prestigious football leagues, namely the German Bundesliga. We investigate whether a rich set of physical appearance factors (including subjective attractiveness, facial symmetry, facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR), and body gestalt) affect players’ chances of being nominated or receiving the prestigious Player of the Month award. This study offers a unique opportunity to explore selection heuristics among team captains who are responsible for the nomination of the players, and the public who votes on the three top selections by captains. Our results indicate that individual performance tends to be a stronger driver of award success than physical appearance. Interestingly, performance can moderate some physical appearance factors (e.g., beauty matters more for lower performing players) and some positive assortative effects between captains and players along physical appearance are observed (captains with higher fWHR scores are more likely to nominate players who also have higher fWHR scores). In general, heuristics for captains are easier to identify empirically than for the public. We also find some differences; for example, only the public demonstrates a bias towards domestic players.