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Team Vs. Individual Tournaments: Evidence From Prize Structure In Esports

Author

Listed:
  • Dennis Coates
  • Petr Parshakov

    (National Research University Higher School of Economics)

Abstract

This study tests the implications of tournament theory using data on eSports (video game) competitions. We incorporate team production with the theory of rank order elimination tournaments since in our analysis, competitors in an elimination tournament are groups rather than individuals. In this setting, the issue of proper incentives becomes more complicated than in the normal tournament model. Our findings demonstrate that the prize structure is convex in rank order which means that the contestants in eSports tournaments are risk averse. The results for the team games are more consistent with the tournament theory than the results for individual games. From the practical point of view, we provide decision-makers in both sports and business with the insights about the compensation design with respect to importance of the competition and its type.

Suggested Citation

  • Dennis Coates & Petr Parshakov, 2016. "Team Vs. Individual Tournaments: Evidence From Prize Structure In Esports," HSE Working papers WP BRP 138/EC/2016, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hig:wpaper:138/ec/2016
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael R. Ward & Alexander D. Harmon, 2019. "ESport Superstars," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(8), pages 987-1013, December.
    2. Jaume Garcia-Villar & Carles Murillo, 2018. "eSports: Profile of Participants, Complementarity with Sports and its Perception as Sport. Evidence From Sports Video Games," Working Papers 1059, Barcelona School of Economics.
    3. Dennis Coates & Petr Parshakov & Sofia Paklina, 2020. "Do Managers Matter: Evidence From E‐Sports," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 38(2), pages 304-312, April.
    4. Dong, Zhi-Long & Ribeiro, Celso C. & Xu, Fengmin & Zamora, Ailec & Ma, Yujie & Jing, Kui, 2023. "Dynamic scheduling of e-sports tournaments," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    5. Parshakov, Petr & Naidenova, Iuliia & Barajas, Angel, 2020. "Spillover effect in promotion: Evidence from video game publishers and eSports tournaments," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 262-270.
    6. Nicolas Scelles & Qi Peng & Maurizio Valenti, 2021. "Do the Peculiar Economics of Professional Team Sports Apply to Esports? Sequential Snowballing Literature Reviews and Implications," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-18, March.
    7. Eric Mao, 2023. "The Incentive Effects of Tournaments and Peer Effects in Team Production: Evidence from Esports," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 24(2), pages 174-192, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    tournament theory; eSports; video games; team production.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Z20 - Other Special Topics - - Sports Economics - - - General
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

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