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Managerial Objectives: A Retrospective on Utility Maximization in Pro Team Sports

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  • Rodney Fort

Abstract

type="main" xml:id="sjpe12061-abs-0001"> This is an essay review of the literature on utility maximization as a managerial objective in pro team sports. It ends up that there is a heretofore-unrecognized parallel development of the idea, in English football by Sloane [Scottish Journal of Political Economy (1971), 17 , 121] and in North American pro sports by Quirk and El Hodiri, presented in that same year but not published as a conference proceeding until 1974. I review these works and place the rest of the extant literature chronologically, noting their level of generality along a couple of dimensions. I also observe a lack of a clear reference lineage in this literature and suggest one. Adopting it should aid future researchers who are trying to place their work in the context of this literature. [It would have helped me, for example.]

Suggested Citation

  • Rodney Fort, 2015. "Managerial Objectives: A Retrospective on Utility Maximization in Pro Team Sports," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 62(1), pages 75-89, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:scotjp:v:62:y:2015:i:1:p:75-89
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/sjpe.2015.62.issue-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Stefan Késenne, 2014. "The Economic Theory of Professional Team Sports," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 15211.
    2. Paul Madden & Terry Robinson, 2012. "Supporter Influence on Club Governance in a Sports League; a “Utility Maximization” Model," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 59(4), pages 339-360, September.
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    25. John Vrooman, 2007. "Theory Of The Beautiful Game: The Unification Of European Football," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 54(3), pages 314-354, July.
    26. Rodney Fort & James Quirk, 2010. "Optimal Competitive Balance in Single-Game Ticket Sports Leagues," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 11(6), pages 587-601, December.
    27. Michael A. Leeds, 2002. "Collegiate Athletic Directors as Entrepreneurs," Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, Pepperdine University, Graziadio School of Business and Management, vol. 7(2), pages 33-44, Summer.
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    31. Rodney Fort & Jason Winfree, 2009. "Sports Really are Different: The Contest Success Function and the Supply of Talent," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 34(1), pages 69-80, February.
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    3. Rohde, Marc & Breuer, Christoph, 2018. "Competing by investments or efficiency? Exploring financial and sporting efficiency of club ownership structures in European football," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 563-581.
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    5. Daniel Plumley & Rob Wilson & Robbie Millar & Simon Shibli, 2019. "Howzat? The Financial Health of English Cricket: Not Out, Yet," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-17, February.
    6. Garcia-del-Barrio, Pedro & Agnese, Pablo, 2021. "Does Compliance with Financial Fair Play Rules Improve the Football Clubs' Sport Performance and Their Chances to Reach UEFA Competitions?," IZA Discussion Papers 14474, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Hayley Jang & Young Hoon Lee, 2016. "A Business Analysis of Asian Baseball Leagues," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 11(1), pages 95-112, January.
    8. Nicolas Scelles & Saeed Khanmoradi, 2023. "Impact of Market Value, Roster Size, Arrivals and Departures on Performance in Iranian Men’s Football," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-19, June.
    9. Philip L. Hersch & Jodi E. Pelkowski, 2019. "The Consequences (and Nonconsequences) of Ownership Change: The Case of Major League Baseball," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(1), pages 72-90, January.
    10. Budzinski, Oliver & Feddersen, Arne, 2022. "Should organizing premier-level European football be a monopoly? And who should run it? - An economists' perspective," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 166, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    11. Rodney Fort, 2018. "Modeling Competitive Imbalance and Self-Regulation in College Sports," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 52(2), pages 231-251, March.
    12. Cedric Duvinage & Peter-J. Jost, 2019. "The Role of Referees in Professional Sports Contests," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(8), pages 1014-1050, December.

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