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Does Versatility Matter in Match-Play Sports? Evidence from Sumo Wrestling

Author

Listed:
  • Sang-Hyop Lee

    (Department of Economics, University of Hawaii at Manoa & Sea Grant)

  • Sumner La Croix

    (Department of Economics, University of Hawaii at Manoa)

Abstract

In match-play sports, the best players seem to be both versatile and unpredictable in their use of techniques during play. Our analysis extends empirical work on player versatility and unpredictability to the Japanese sport of sumo wrestling. While earlier studies of tennis serves and football penalty kicks were motivated by game-theoretic analysis of choices made by players to start a match, our study is motivated by labor market theories that tie the success of workers to their portfolio of skills and its application to particular situations. We analyze panel data on tournament records of top sumo wrestlers participating in Japan’s grand sumo tournaments over the 1995-2004 period to test whether players with better physical attributes and a balanced, unpredictable portfolio of winning techniques are more likely to win matches. Our econometric results show that better physical attributes, a diverse portfolio of techniques to finish a match, and unpredictable use of techniques are all associated with more wins per tournament.

Suggested Citation

  • Sang-Hyop Lee & Sumner La Croix, 2014. "Does Versatility Matter in Match-Play Sports? Evidence from Sumo Wrestling," Working Papers 201411, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hai:wpaper:201411
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    File URL: http://www.economics.hawaii.edu/research/workingpapers/WP_14-11.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    6. Robert Gibbons & Michael Waldman, 1998. "A Theory of Wage and Promotion Dynamics in Internal Labor Markets," NBER Working Papers 6454, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    sumo; match play; tournament; belief learning;
    All these keywords.

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