First Advisor

Morse, Alan

Document Type

Dissertation

Date Created

8-2021

Department

College of Natural and Health Sciences, Kinesiology Nutrition and Dietetics, KiND Student Work

Abstract

Major League Baseball (MLB) provides an optimal setting to investigate the effects of specific strategic organizational goals and decisions on various key performance indicators (KPIs). The choice to primarily pursue wins or profits (i.e., win maximization or profit maximization), along with how efficiently organizations spend their budgets (i.e., utility), have been shown to impact competitive balance, social welfare, and ticket pricing of sports leagues. The present research builds on the work of previous scholars by empirically examining MLB organizational management at the individual team level. Data collected for the current research included financial information and organizational KPIs for all 30 MLB teams from a ten-year period (2010-2019), which resulted in sample population of 300 team-year observations to be analyzed. Through the utilization of a two-way MANCOVA analysis, the current study was able to group teams by organizational goal and spending efficiency to determine differences between groups in terms of the identified KPIs. Results indicated that win-maximization teams were likely to experience relatively higher levels in most of the KPIs (e.g., wins, revenue, & franchise value), while the profit-maximizers were more likely to improve their bottom line through conservative and efficient spending. These findings were consistent with the theoretical frameworks associated with win, profit, and utility maximization. Furthermore, the current findings offer new context to the body of research, as well as a preliminary framework for deciphering the individual goals and decisions of sport organizations based on their financial statements.

Extent

101 pages

Rights Statement

Copyright is held by the author.

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