Ruud H. Koning

Balance in competition in Dutch soccer

We estimate an ordered probit model for soccer results in the Netherlands. The result of a game is assumed to be determined by home ground advantage and differences in quality between the opposing teams. The parameters of the model are used to assess whether the balance in competition in Dutch professional soccer has changed over time. Contrary to popular belief, we find that the balance has not changed much since the mid-1970s.

An econometric evaluation of the effect of firing a coach on team performance

Firing the manager is a drastic measure employed by firms to deal with poor performance. However, data on within-firm dynamics are scarce, and the firing of individual managers is rarely recorded in the firm level data currently available. This makes the value of firing a manager difficult to assess. Data on sports offer a unique opportunity to study this phenomenon because the firing of a coach is usually well-publicized. Using data on soccer, the author evaluates the effect of the firing of a coach on team performance. As teams do not face the same opponents before and after a coach is fired, the issue of sample selectivity is addressed.

BLOCK KRONECKER PRODUCTS AND THE VECB OPERATOR

This paper is concerned with two generalizations of the Kronecker product and two related generalizations of the vec operator. It is demonstrated that they pairwise match two different kinds of matrix partition, viz. the balanced and unbalanced ones. Relevant properties are supplied and proved. A related concept, the so-called tilde transform of a balanced block matrix, is also studied. The results are illustrated with various statistical applications of the five concepts studied.

Testing the Normality Assumption in the Sample Selection Model With an Application to Travel Demand

In this article we introduce a test for the normality assumption in the sample selection model. The test is based on a flexible parametric specification of the density function of the error terms in the model. This specification follows a Hermite series with bivariate normality as a special case. All parameters of the model are estimated both under normality and under the more general flexible parametric specification, which enables testing for normality using a standard likelihood ratio test. If normality is rejected, then the flexible parametric specification provides consistent parameter estimates. The test has reasonable power, as is shown by a simulation study. The test also detects some types of ignored heteroscedasticity. Finally, we apply the flexible specification of the density to a travel demand model and test for normality in this model.

Statistical thinking in sports

According to popular belief, competitive balance in national soccer competitions in Europe has decreased due to the Bosman ruling and the introduction of the Champions League. We test this hypothesis using data from 7 national competitions, for a host of indicators. We find some evidence for competitive balance having decreased in England, and weak evidence for it having decreased in Netherlands and Belgium. For Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, we find no consistent change whatsoever. We use factor analysis to examine whether our measures of competitive balance can be condensed in a limited number of factors.

Home advantage in speed skating: evidence from individual data

Home advantage is a well-documented phenomenon in many sports. Home advantage has been shown to exist for team sports (soccer, hockey, football, baseball, basketball) and for countries organizing sports tournaments like the Olympics and World Cup Soccer. There is also some evidence for home advantage in some individual sports, but there is a much more limited literature. This paper addresses the issue of home advantage in speed skating. From a methodological point of view, it is difficult to identify home advantage, because skaters vary in their abilities and the conditions of tournaments vary. There is a small but significant home advantage using a generalized linear mixed model, with random effects for skaters and fixed effects for skating rinks and seasons. Even though the home advantage effect exists, it is very small when compared to variation in skating times due to differences of rinks and individual abilities.

Discrete Choice and Stochastic Utility Maximization

Discrete choice models are usually derived from the assumption of random utility maximization. We consider the reverse problem, whether choice probabilities are consistent with maximization of random utilities. This leads to tests that consider the variation of these choice probabilities with the average utilities of the alternatives. By restricting the range of the average utilities we obtain a sequence of tests with fewer maintained assumptions. In an empirical application, even the test with the fewest maintained assumptions rejects the hypothesis of random utility maximization.

Home advantage in professional tennis

Abstract Home advantage is a pervasive phenomenon in sport. It has been established in team sports such as basketball, baseball, American football, and European soccer. Attention to home advantage in individual sports has so far been limited. The aim of this study was to examine home advantage in professional tennis. Match-level data are used to measure home advantage. The test used is based on logit models, and consistent specification is addressed explicitly. Depending on the interpretation of home advantage, restrictions on the specification of the model need to be imposed. We find that although significant home advantage exists for men, the performance of women tennis players appears to be unaffected by home advantage.

Dynamic Effects of Sponsoring: How Sponsorship Awareness Develops Over Time

This study takes a longitudinal perspective to investigate sponsorship awareness in a multiple-year, international context pertaining to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League, a prestigious European soccer competition for club teams with worldwide exposure. A logit model aims to predict sponsorship awareness for one of the main sponsors of the league using data pertaining to more than 25,000 consumers from five countries, over the period 2005 to 2009. The findings provide an empirical argument for building long-term relationships. Sponsorship awareness levels increase over the measurement period, and the highest increase occurs in the second year of sponsorship.

The effects of sports sponsorship: A review and research agenda

Investments in sponsorship strongly increased during the last decades. Therefore, it is valuable to determine which factors determine sponsorship effectiveness. This paper presents a literature review that forms the foundation for the development of an integrated framework of sponsorship outcomes. This paper extends previous conceptual work in that all kinds of sponsorship effects are considered, not only brand equity effects. Furthermore, recent findings and insights are incorporated. It can be concluded that although empirical research on sponsorship’s effects advanced, several areas remain unexplored, in particular the effects of sponsorship on the relations between sponsor and stakeholders. Opportunities for further research have been translated in specific research propositions.