On-field Performance Research Articles

Change Management in Professional Football Clubs--A Case Study of Liverpool Football Club

This paper aims to critically analyse Liverpool’s on-field performance and commercial value improvement in recent years through the change management of Liverpool Football Club and make some recommendations for future development. The author first has a brief introduction to the history of Liverpool and the story after Fenway Group took over. Then, the paper analyses the evolutionary change of the team based on the “variation-selection-retention” cycle and the revolutionary transformation of the team based on internal factors and the external environment (PESTEL analysis). At last, based on the above analysis, Liverpool’s strengths and weaknesses in change management are summarised in the conclusion section and put forward some recommendations for the future development of Liverpool.

Swinging for the Fences? Payroll, Performance, and Risk Behavior in the Major League Baseball Draft

This study examines the way competitive advantage and organization performance mediate the effect of potential slack—externally available resources—on organization risk behavior in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft. It tests the hypotheses that local market munificence provides payroll advantage and increases on-field performance and that payroll disadvantage and poor performance increase teams’ likelihood of selecting riskier high school players instead of college players. Consistent with risk sensitivity theory, results suggest that payroll disadvantage promotes risk-taking; however, on-field success encourages risk-taking early in the draft. Indeed, pick number appears to have a U-shape relationship with risk-taking where winning increases confidence earlier in the draft and low stakes promote risk-seeking later. This study contributes to the literature by suggesting that input- and outcome-based reference metrics have different effects on risk behavior and that managerial hubris may influence risk behavior through information availability rather than having a general effect.

Does Protest “Distract” Athletes From Performing? Evidence From the National Anthem Demonstrations in the National Football League

While there is a long tradition of activism within sport, a popular criticism of athlete protest is that it is a “distraction” that hinders on-field performance. The widespread demonstrations against racial injustice in 2017 among players in the National Football League (NFL) provided an opportunity to test this “distraction hypothesis.” Using data drawn from multiple sources, we first explored which factors predicted player protest, finding that Black players and those playing for underdogs were more likely to protest. Then, using a series of analyses at the player-game level ( n = 19,051) and the team-game level ( n = 512), we tested the assertion that protest is detrimental to individual or team performance, finding no evidence for a distraction effect. The results of this study allow us to better understand social factors that may affect athletic performance or constrain athlete activism.

Estimating player value in American football using plus–minus models

Abstract Calculating the value of football player’s on-field performance has been limited to scouting methods while data-driven methods are mostly limited to quarterbacks. A popular method to calculate player value in other sports are Adjusted Plus–Minus (APM) and Regularized Adjusted Plus–Minus (RAPM) models. These models have been used in other sports, most notably basketball (Rosenbaum, D. T. 2004. Measuring How NBA Players Help Their Teams Win. http://www.82games.com/comm30.htm#_ftn1; Kubatko, J., D. Oliver, K. Pelton, and D. T. Rosenbaum. 2007. “A Starting Point for Analyzing Basketball Statistics.” Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports 3 (3); Winston, W. 2009. Player and Lineup Analysis in the NBA. Cambridge, Massachusetts; Sill, J. 2010. “Improved NBA Adjusted +/− Using Regularization and Out-Of-Sample Testing.” In Proceedings of the 2010 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference) to estimate each player’s value by accounting for those in the game at the same time. Football is less amenable to APM models due to its few scoring events, few lineup changes, restrictive positioning, and small quantity of games relative to the number of teams. More recent methods have found ways to incorporate plus–minus models in other sports such as Hockey (Macdonald, B. 2011. “A Regression-Based Adjusted Plus-Minus Statistic for NHL players.” Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports 7 (3)) and Soccer (Schultze, S. R., and C.-M. Wellbrock. 2018. “A Weighted Plus/Minus Metric for Individual Soccer Player Performance.” Journal of Sports Analytics 4 (2): 121–31 and Matano, F., L. F. Richardson, T. Pospisil, C. Eubanks, and J. Qin (2018). Augmenting Adjusted Plus-Minus in Soccer with Fifa Ratings. arXiv preprint arXiv:1810.08032). These models are useful in coming up with results-oriented estimation of each player’s value. In American football, many positions such as offensive lineman have no recorded statistics which hinders the ability to estimate a player’s value. I provide a fully hierarchical Bayesian plus–minus (HBPM) model framework that extends RAPM to include position-specific penalization that solves many of the shortcomings of APM and RAPM models in American football. Cross-validated results show the HBPM to be more predictive out of sample than RAPM or APM models. Results for the HBPM models are provided for both Collegiate and NFL football players as well as deeper insights into positional value and position-specific age curves.

Return to Professional Australian Rules Football After Surgery for Traumatic Anterior Shoulder Instability

Background: The treatment of traumatic anterior shoulder instability in professional Australian Football League (AFL) players is challenging, with an emphasis on early return to play and avoidance of instability recurrence. Purpose: To investigate return-to-sport (RTS) outcomes and complications after 2 different procedures for traumatic anterior shoulder instability in professional AFL players. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed our surgical database for professional AFL players who underwent capsulolabral stabilization or open Latarjet procedure by a single surgeon between 2006 and 2017. Outcomes included RTS, on-field performance, and complications. Between-group analyses for RTS and complications were estimated using Kaplan-Meier survival analyses. Within-group analyses for on-field performance data were performed using paired t tests with significance set at .05. Results: A total of 58 capsulolabral stabilization procedures in 54 players and 32 Latarjet procedures in 29 players were included in the analysis; 93.1% of capsulolabral patients and 96.9% of Latarjet patients returned to professional AFL. The median RTS time was 6.8 months for the capsulolabral group and 7.3 months for the Latarjet group. There was no significant difference in RTS rates between the 2 groups (P = .270). Of those undergoing surgery early in the season, 75% of the capsulolabral and 71% of Latarjet group were able to RTS within the same season, at a mean time of 16.9 weeks and 18.8 weeks, respectively. There was a significant difference in instability recurrence, with 19% for the capsulolabral group and no recurrence in the Latarjet group (P = .017). There was no significant reduction in player on-field performance in either group (P < .05). Conclusion: In this study, the median RTS in AFL players was approximately 7 months after capsulolabral and Latarjet surgery with no compromise to on-field performance. Instability-related complications occurred only in the capsulolabral group, and the incidence increased with time.

Association between Clinical Vision Measures and Visual Perception and Soccer Referees' On-field Performance.

The decisions taken by soccer officials are critically important to game management. Understanding the underlying processes that mediate expert performance in soccer refereeing may lead to a better standard of officiating. Vision is the dominant source of incoming information upon which officials rely to make their on-field decisions. We tested the hypothesis that performance on generic tests of vision and visual perception predicts domain-specific performance in elite-level soccer referees (R) and assistant referees (AR). We assessed the vision of R and AR who officiate at the highest level in Portugal. To be eligible for inclusion, R and AR had to have officiated for at least two consecutive seasons across the 2014/2015, 2015/2016, and 2016/2017 seasons. A single, rank-order list of the performance of eligible officials was created based on the rank-order list for each season that was made by the Portuguese Soccer Federation. Clinical vision measures included visual acuity and stereoacuity, and visual perception measures were gathered using the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills, Third Edition. A total of 59 officials participated (21 R, 38 AR), 17 of whom officiated at the international level. The R and AR groups did not differ in vision or visual perception measures. We found that better stereoacuity (P < .001) and visual memory (P = .001) are associated with a higher rank order of on-field performance after adjusting for the age, experience, the national/international status, and the regional affiliation of the officials. Together, these two measures explain 22% of the variance in rank-order performance. This is the first study to show a link between the vision of officials and their on-field performance. The origin and significance of these findings remain to be established, and further work is required to establish whether they are component skills in the domain of soccer refereeing.

Review: Vision and On-field Performance: A Critical Review of Visual Assessment and Training Studies with Athletes.

Sports vision is an emerging field that seeks to establish the relationships between visual function and sports performance. Here we provide the first critical review of empirical studies that attempt to link visual assessments and vision training to competitive game performance.Vision is essential to producing controlled movement, and therefore, it is intuitive that better visual abilities should relate to better sporting performance. This notion has been central to the field of sports vision, an area of study that seeks to determine the visual skills that underlie optimal sports performance and investigate approaches to train these abilities to improve sports performance. Although this field now contains hundreds of published articles addressing visual assessment and training in athletes, relatively few have attempted to directly link these capabilities to on-field production statistics from competitive matches. The objectives of this article are both to describe the theoretical and experimental framework necessary for such research and to critically review the empirical literature that has attempted to directly link visual assessments and/or training to athletic performance. We begin by describing why such associations are important and then provide an evidence-based framework for evaluating the quality of research in this domain. This is followed by a summary and review of the qualified literature that has addressed either relationships between baseline assessments and game performance or the effects of visual training interventions on game performance. Based on this review, it is concluded that, despite promising evidence supporting the role of vision in sports performance and improvements due to training, the specialty is still in need of methodological improvements. It is recommended that studies aim for larger better-powered studies, consistent and precise outcome measures, and greater scientific rigor such as obtained through randomized placebo-controlled designs with pre-registration of hypotheses.

The Uses of Vision Data in Selecting Players for the Major League Baseball Draft.

This report illustrates the potential uses of vision data in helping teams select players during the draft. Visual performance has gradually gained recognition in baseball as a tool that can optimize on-field performance. It also may be useful in player development programs that gradually move players toward the major league. Recently, over the past 5 years, vision data from six different major league teams were used by the authors to assess prospective players before the annual Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. One thousand three hundred forty-three vision forms were evaluated representing 759 different players. Their vision data were retrospectively analyzed using a novel grading method to advise teams on the visual readiness of prospects for success in MLB. On a one (best)-to-six (worst) vision scale, the average vision score was 2.080 ± 1.171. Sixty-eight percent (320/473) of the players with good vision scores were drafted, 66% (185/281) of the players with moderate vision scores were drafted, and only 1 player with a poor vision score was drafted. There was a statistically significant difference in the amount of signing bonus received by draftees with better vision scores compared with those with lower vision scores (P < .003 to P < .001). Draftees with the highest vision scores also received the highest signing bonuses as they entered MLB. For both potential draftees and teams, the vision score seems to be a valuable tool in selecting players for the MLB draft. Adding the pre-draft visual assessment score to a team's projection model could help reduce the uncertainty surrounding the player draft and future service to the team.

The novelty effect and on-field team performance in new sports facilities: the case of the Canadian Football League

ABSTRACT When advocating for public funding assistance for new stadiums, franchise owners often employ the rationale of higher attendance and enhanced on-field team performance among other arguments. The Canadian Football League (CFL) has seen a number of large publicly funded facilities open over the last decade. In the present study, we empirically analyze seasonal attendance and on-field performance data from 1996 to 2019 to see whether these assertations can be supported. Results from a Tobit estimation (n = 203) reveal an increase in teams’ regular season home game attendance attributed to a 5-year long novelty effect. The results of Stochastic Frontier Model analysis (n = 136) indicate playing in new stadiums does not significantly affect team production efficiency. The findings of this study further contribute to our understanding of direct stadium impact for fans along with furthering our evidence in relation to owner behavior after moving into a new facility.

Psychological processes connecting team identification and social well-being for middle-aged and older adults: moderated mediation of subjective and objective on-field performance

ABSTRACT To cultivate the potential of sport spectatorship to enhance social well-being, a greater understanding of underlying psychological processes is essential. Using the social identity approach as a theoretical framework, we investigate how identification with a sport team interacts with subjective and objective measures of on-field team performance to affect social well-being. Data from 790 U.S. middle-aged and older adults were analysed through a path model combining mediation and moderation. The results indicate that the relationship between team identification and social life satisfaction – a measure of social well-being – is fully mediated by subjective perceptions of a favourite team’s on-field performance. In addition, this mediating effect increases as the objective on-field performance decreases. These findings reveal that team identification drives spectators to subjectively judge their favourite team’s performance, which serves as a coping strategy to enhance their social well-being when the team is performing poorly. Our evidence implies that sport organisations with middling to poor performance records may leverage social and community events to promote consumer social well-being.

The Effects of Menstrual Cycle Phase on Elite Athlete Performance: A Critical and Systematic Review.

Background: In elite athletes, training individualization is widely recommended to optimize competitive performance. Previous studies have evidenced the impact of hormonal fluctuations on different performance parameters among female athletes. While consideration of menstrual cycle (MC) phases as a parameter in training individualization strategies is necessary, systematic evidence identifying such impacts in elite athletes should be evaluated.Objective: Systematically review publications that have investigated the link between MC phases and performance in elite female athletes. The overarching aim is to identify whether a consensus across studies exists enabling evidence-based recommendations for training individualization depending on menstrual cycle phases.Methods: This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Three major scientific publication databases were searched from inception until November 3, 2020. Studies included focused on the influence of physiological or psychological parameters throughout at least one phase of the menstrual cycle of elite athletes.Results: A total of 780 search results were yielded and 26 references from a past bibliography were added manually. About 662 papers were reviewed of which 218 studies were assessed for eligibility. Of these, only seven (1%) precisely investigated the influence of a performance or physical parameter during at least one menstrual cycle phase. These seven studies included a total of 314 elite female participants (20.58 ± 1.91 years). Three used interviews, questionnaires or prospective analyses of reports. Four conducted several performance tests or included physical measures although only two performed tests during training or before/during competition. Among the seven studies, five performed hormonal testing through sampling of blood, saliva, or urine. The remaining relied on athletes’ menstruation diaries. The current evidence suggests a variable association between menstrual cycle and a few performance-related outcomes, such as endurance or power resistance, ligament stiffness, decision making skills, psychology, or competitiveness.Conclusion: Different sports performance-related parameters are affected during the menstrual cycle among elite athletes, but the parameters themselves and the magnitude and the direction of the effects are inconclusive. Additional longitudinal and prospective studies to systematically monitor on-field performance parameters are urgently required in order to enable recommendations and training individualization in female elite athletes.

A Benchmark to Analyze On-Field Performances: A Case From an Irrigation Scheme in Tunisia

Irrigation systems entail interacting processes that should be considered when analyzing the performances of irrigated areas. When analyzing the cause of performance gaps, one may consider the effect of one factor without taking into account the effect of other influential ones. This study addresses the performance of irrigated areas using a global approach. The analysis includes different factors of the production process and examines the relationship between irrigation and the economic performances of farmers&amp;rsquo; irrigated fields. Results showed that technical efficiency (TE), considered as our economic indicator, evaluating the degree to which the inputs are used efficiently, was about 0.85 for fruit orchards, tomato, wheat and 0.66 for olive trees. The on-farm water distribution efficiency (Efarm) that evaluates water lost during its transport to plots was poor and can decrease to 36%. A great potential for improving water management exists. Efarm was not a significant factor for TE. So, Efarm causing substantial water waste has no significant impact on economic performance, the main concern of the farmer. However the easy access to water was a significant factor for TE (p-value &amp;lt; 0.032 in all the cases). The easy access to water is a possible lever for improvement.&amp;nbsp; We pointed out that irrigation performance in the studied area has no significant impact on economic performance. There is a divergence between the farmer&amp;rsquo;s interest (the economic efficiency) and the community&amp;rsquo;s objective to save water through better irrigation performance. Government efforts to provide incentives for farmers for better water management seem to have born no fruit. This study argues for the use of a bechmarking in building global representation adapted to the actual local context. The analysis approch suggests that more attention should be paid to the &amp;ldquo;water saving program&amp;rdquo; of Tunisia, by subsidising irrigation investments in a better way and focusing on subsidies that create the most of economic growth.

Concussion in National Football League Athletes Is Not Associated With Increased Risk of Acute, Noncontact Lower Extremity Musculoskeletal Injury.

Background:Impaired neuromuscular function after concussion has recently been linked to increased risk of lower extremity injuries in athletes.Purpose:To determine if National Football League (NFL) athletes have an increased risk of sustaining an acute, noncontact lower extremity injury in the 90-day period after return to play (RTP) and whether on-field performance differs pre- and postconcussion.Study Design:Cohort study, Level of evidence, 3.Methods:NFL concussions in offensive players from the 2012-2013 to the 2016-2017 seasons were studied. Age, position, injury location/type, RTP, and athlete factors were noted. A 90-day RTP postconcussive period was analyzed for lower extremity injuries. Concussion and injury data were obtained from publicly available sources. Nonconcussed, offensive skill position NFL athletes from the same period were used as a control cohort, with the 2014 season as the reference season. Power rating performance metrics were calculated for ±1, ±2, and ±3 seasons pre- and postconcussion. Conditional logistic regression was used to determine associations between concussion and lower extremity injury as well as the relationship of concussions to on-field performance.Results:In total, 116 concussions were recorded in 108 NFL athletes during the study period. There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of an acute, noncontact lower extremity injury between concussed and control athletes (8.5% vs 12.8%; P = .143), which correlates with an odds ratio of 0.573 (95% CI, 0.270-1.217). Days (66.4 ± 81.9 days vs 45.1 ± 69.2 days; P = .423) and games missed (3.67 ± 3.0 vs 2.9 ± 2.7 games; P = .470) were similar in concussed athletes and control athletes after a lower extremity injury. No significant changes in power ratings were noted in concussed athletes in the acute period (±1 season to injury) when comparing pre- and postconcussion.Conclusion:Concussed, NFL offensive athletes did not demonstrate increased odds of acute, noncontact, lower extremity injury in a 90-day RTP period when compared with nonconcussed controls. Immediate on-field performance of skill position players did not appear to be affected by concussion.

Bang the Can Slowly: An Investigation into the 2017 Houston Astros

This article is a statistical investigation into the 2017 Major League Baseball scandal involving the Houston Astros, the World Series championship winner that the same year. The Astros were alleged to have stolen their opponents’ pitching signs in order to provide their batters with a potentially unfair advantage. This work finds compelling evidence that the Astros on-field performance was significantly affected by their sign-stealing ploy and quantifies the effects. The three main findings in the article are (i) the Astros’ odds of swinging at a pitch were reduced by approximately 27% (OR: 0.725, 95% CI: (0.618, 0.850)) when the sign was stolen, (ii) when an Astros player swung, the odds of making contact with the ball increased roughly 80% (OR: 1.805, 95% CI: (1.342, 2.675)) on non-fastball pitches, and (iii) when the Astros made contact with a ball on a pitch in which the sign was known, the ball’s exit velocity (launch speed) increased on average by 2.386 (95% CI: (0.334, 4.451)) miles per hour.

Protective Football Headgear and Peripheral Visuomotor Ability in NCAA Football Athletes: The Role of Facemasks and Visors

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of varying facemask reinforcement and visor tint on peripheral visuomotor abilities in collegiate football players. Division I NCAA football players (n = 14) completed two peripheral visuomotor experiments: (1) Varying facemask reinforcement, (2) Varying visor tinting. In experiment 1, participants were tested under the following conditions: baseline (no helmet; BL), helmet + light (HL), helmet + medium (HM), helmet + heavy (HH), and helmet + extra heavy (HXH) reinforced facemasks. In experiment 2, participants were tested under the following conditions: baseline (no helmet; BL), helmet only (HO), helmet + clear (HCV), helmet + smoke-tinted (HSV), and helmet + mirror-tinted (HMV) visors. For each condition, a 60 s peripheral visuomotor test was completed on a Dynavision D2 visuomotor board. For experiment 1, the BL peripheral reaction time (PRT) was faster than all facemask conditions (p < 0.05). Furthermore, PRT was impaired with the HXH compared to HL (p < 0.001), HM (p < 0.001), and HH (p = 0.001). Both HH and HXH resulted in the potentiation of PRT impairments in the outermost and inferior peripheral visual areas (p < 0.05). In experiment 2, BL PRT was faster than all helmeted conditions (p < 0.05). Additionally, PRT was slower in HSV (p = 0.013) and HMV (p < 0.001) conditions compared to HO. HMV resulted in slower PRT in all peripheral areas (p < 0.05) while PRT was impaired only in outer areas for HSV (p < 0.05). Wearing protective football headgear impairs peripheral visuomotor ability. Lighter reinforced facemasks and clear visors do not appear to exacerbate impairment. However, heavier reinforced facemasks and tinted visors further decrease visuomotor performance in outer and inferior visual areas, indicating a potential need for considerations of on-field player performance and safety.

Communication as Commodity Exchange: Mapping the Media Ecology of Fantasy Sport

This research applies an ecological lens to examine how ‘media’ impacts both fantasy sport and the stock market through the translation of statistical data by way of new technologies. The core content offered rarely changes (e.g. sport statistics, stock market prices) but can be altered, so attention is on the medium itself and how it fits into the spectacle of consumption and becomes an extension of human consciousness. The conversion of on-field performance to numerical point values in the fantasy space created an analytical and gestured language, shifting emphasis from team performance to player performance and transforming players into numerical possessions to be acquired, manipulated, and potentially sold or transferred. The Internet provided an asynchronous and interactive application that signaled a demassification of relevant information and created a centralized ‘global village’ of fantasy sport participation. In this process of relinquishing control, the fantasy sport participant is commodified in a statistical space through the consuming of information. The statistical language at the root of fantasy sport tapped a deep well of information once tangibly useless to sport fans, and through its manipulation and analytical conversion created a socially-meaningful industry.

NFL total quarter back rating (QBR) is not decreased following sport related concussion injury

Our hypothesis was that NFL quarterbacks, due to the high-risk nature of the position and social and financial pressures to return to play following SRC, return to play prematurely and, thus, their on-field performance suffers due to the nature of their injury. This study was a case–control study of a retrospective cohort of all NFL quarterbacks who were placed on the injury report for a concussion from 2006 to 2019. The data were compiled using publicly available information extracted from NFL transactions. Reportable injuries were based on the criteria that the injury necessitated a team physician referral or emergent care and resulted in scheduled team practice time being missed. Athletes injured in the pre-season or athletes who were injured and did not return to play during the regular were excluded from the study. There were 4 quarterbacks included in the study who suffered repeated concussions during separate seasons; repeated concussion in the same player was treated as two different data points. No quarterback included suffered multiple concussions within the same season. All active NFL quarterbacks injured during a regular season game were eligible for inclusion as age-matched controls. Quarterbacks included in the concussion injury cohort were excluded from the control group. The MEDCALC case–control matching procedure was used to randomly match cases and controls with a 1:1 allocation ratio, respectively, based on age (matching). There was no significant difference in age at injury, years in the NFL when injured, and weeks missed due to injury between the concussion and control groups. There was no statistically significant difference between average season QBR and weekly QBR for the first 6 weeks following return to play after an injury when comparing the concussion to control group. QBR in NFL quarterbacks’ did not decrease in the weeks returning from concussion when compared with age-matched control group. This finding was contrary to our hypothesis and suggests that a quarterback’s functional skill is not significantly affected by an SRC incident by the time he returns to play. Level III prognostic study, case–control study.

Leadership challenges experienced by elite South African rugby coaches

Orientation: As the leaders of teams that compete at the highest level, elite South African rugby coaches face constant pressures to consistently lead their teams to successful on-field performances. An understanding of the leadership challenges they face may highlight actions that could equip them to achieve this more effectively.Research purpose: To investigate the leadership challenges experienced by the head coaches of elite South African rugby teams that compete on an international level.Motivation for the study: The leadership challenges faced by elite South African coaches could become clearly known only through investigation, and subsequently they could be properly addressed.Research approach/design and method: A qualitative approach with a phenomenological design was utilised, which collected data by means of in-depth interviews with the head coaches of elite South African rugby teams. Eleven teams were considered to be elite South African rugby teams for this study given that they competed on an international level. Ultimately, six participants were included, representing 54.5% of the total population. The general systems theory was also used as a theoretical basis to present findings.Main findings: The data revealed three main themes, namely environmental, relationships and personal leadership challenges. The data revealed that these coaches experience significant leadership challenges, some of which are unique to the South African context.Practical/managerial implications: It is believed that the implementation of suggested recommendations will assist in ensuring both the economic survival and overall leadership improvement of coaches and the teams they lead.Contribution/value add: Theoretically the study added to the limited literature on leadership in elite South African sport and practically it provided recommendations to address the findings as well as for further research.

Identifying factors affecting the value of advertisements on football clubs' and players' social media: a discrete choice analysis

PurposeAdvertisers frequently use social media for interactive and customer-oriented relationship marketing (RM) purposes. Moreover, sports clubs and players have been using their social media accounts to post content of their sponsors and other advertising companies. Such posts create visibility and have value for these advertising companies, something which has not been empirically quantified in the existing literature. Hence, this paper's purpose is to identify the factors or attributes that influence the value of such advertisement posts.Design/methodology/approachA discrete choice approach is used to empirically estimate the utility that sponsorship managers derive from a post advertising their company or product on football clubs' and players' social media.FindingsThe results indicate that more followers, better on-field performance and a lower price significantly increase the advertising company's utility. Moreover, the used social media channel has a significant influence too, since Facebook and Instagram are preferred over Twitter, due to the latter's limited degrees of freedom for advertisers.Research limitations/implicationsConsidering additional factors such as the image fit between sponsor and sponsee and presence on the Chinese social media market offers an interesting avenue for future research.Practical implicationsThe empirical estimates allow commercial managers of clubs and players to derive companies' relative willingness to pay (WTP) for changes in characteristics of advertisements on their social media from the calculated utilities. This information can be used in the pricing decision when social media posts are sold or included in sponsorship packages.Originality/valueThis is the first study applying discrete choice modelling to link social media marketing (SMM) and sports marketing.

Chinese Super League stock prices and team performance

PurposeUtilizing the capital asset pricing model (CAPM), the purpose is to analyze whether the stock prices of the corporation that owns sport teams fluctuate based on team performance in the Chinese Super League (CSL).Design/methodology/approachSeveral CSL teams are publicly owned corporations. As such, the authors look to see if on-field performance impacts the stock price of the firms. Using the news model from previous research, seemingly unrelated regressions are estimated on CSL games from 2014 through 2017.FindingsThe results from the main models indicate some evidence of a statistical relationship between on-field team performance and stock price. Furthermore, the findings for individual teams across markets did not hold consistent across different markets. More specifically, the authors found some instances where successful on-field performance led to a decline in stock prices.Originality/valueThe present study further contributes to the growing literature related to on-field performance and stock prices. Unlike previous research, the use of the CSL as the empirical setting provides the opportunity to use multiple stock markets which provides an opportunity to further examine this relationship. Finally, the study contributes broadly to the literature on professional sports ownership structures around the world.