The paper investigates the variety of peer effects on individual performance in a team sport. The individual performance of more than 5,000 soccer players, from 234 teams, between 2010 and 2015, is measured with the help of the FIFA video game simulator developed by EA Sports. The study reveals positive peer effects on individual performance although the marginal benefit decreases. Additionally, team cohesion contributes to an improvement of players’ ranking.
AntonakisJ.AtwaterL. (2002). Leader distance: A review and a proposed theory. The Leadership Quarterly, 13(6), 673–704.
2.
BermanS. L.DownJ.HillC. (2002). Tacit knowledge as a source of competitive advantage in the national basketball association. Academy of Management Journal, 45(1), 13–31.
3.
BuechelB.MechtenbergL.PetersenJ. (2018). If I can do it, so can you! Peer effects on perseverance. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 155, 301–314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2018.09.004
4.
CampbellB. A.SaxtonB. M.BanerjeeP. M. (2014). Resetting the shot clock: The effect of comorbidity on human capital. Journal of Management, 40(2), 531–556. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206313516679
5.
CarrellS. E.FullertonR. L.WestJ. E. (2009). Does your cohort matter? Measuring peer effects in college achievement. Journal of Labor Economics, 27(3), 439–464. https://doi.org/10.1086/600143
6.
ChenG.SharmaP. N.EdingerS. K.ShapiroD. L.FarhJ. L. (2011). Motivating and demotivating forces in teams: Cross-level influences of empowering leadership and relationship conflict. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(3), 541–557.
7.
CoatesD.NaidenovaI.ParshakovP. (2020). Transfer policy and football club performance: Evidence from network analysis. International Journal of Sport Finance, 15(3), 95–109.
8.
CoatesD.ParshakovP.ZavertiaevaM. (2018). Is diversity good or bad? Evidence from eSports teams analysis. Applied Economics, 50(47), 5064–5075.
9.
CornelissenT.DustmannC.SchönbergU. (2017). Peer effects in the workplace. American Economic Review, 107(2), 425–456.
10.
DalalR. S.BhaveD. P.FisetJ. (2014). Within-person variability in job performance: A theoretical review and research agenda. Journal of Management, 40(5), 1396–1436.
11.
DepkenC. A.HaglundL. E. (2011). Peer effects in team sports: Empirical evidence from NCAA relay teams. Journal of Sports Economics, 12(1), 3–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527002509361192
FalkA.IchinoA. (2006). Clean evidence on peer effects. Journal of Labor Economics, 24(1), 39–57. https://doi.org/10.1086/497818
14.
FranckE.NüeschS. (2010). The effect of talent disparity on team productivity in soccer. Journal of Economic Psychology, 31(2), 218–229.
15.
FranckE.NüeschS. (2011). The effect of wage dispersion on team outcome and the way team outcome is produced. Applied Economics, 43(23), 3037–3049. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036840903427224
16.
FrickB.SimmonsR. (2008). The impact of managerial quality on organizational performance: Evidence from German soccer. Managerial and Decision Economics, 29(7), 593–600.
17.
GibsonB.SachauD.DollB.ShumateR. (2002). Sandbagging in competition: Responding to the pressure of being the favorite. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28(8), 1119–1130.
18.
HaasH.NüeschS. (2012). Are multinational teams more successful?The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23(15), 3105–3113.
19.
HartenianL. S. (2003). Team member acquisition of team knowledge, skills, and abilities. Team Performance Management: An International Journal, 9(1/2), 23–30.
20.
HuckmanR. S.PisanoG. P. (2006). The firm specificity of individual performance: Evidence from cardiac surgery. Management Science, 52(4), 473–488. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1050.0464
21.
HuckmanR. S.StaatsB.UptonD. (2009). Team familiarity, role experience and performance: Evidence from Indian software services. Management Science, 55(1), 85–100.
22.
JaneW.-J. (2015). Peer effects and individual performance: Evidence from swimming competitions. Journal of Sports Economics, 16(5), 531–539. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527002514521429
23.
ManskiC. F. (1993). Identification of endogenous social effects: The reflection problem. The Review of Economic Studies, 60(3), 531. https://doi.org/10.2307/2298123
24.
MarksA.LockyerC. (2004). Producing knowledge: The use of the project team as a vehicle for knowledge and skill acquisition for software employees. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 25(2), 219–245.
25.
MartinH. J. (2010). Workplace climate and peer support as determinants of training transfer. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 21(1), 87–104. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.20038
MatsuoM. (2018). How does managerial coaching affect individual learning? The mediating roles of team and individual reflexivity. Personnel Review, 47(1), 118–132.
28.
ParboteeahK. P.HoeglM.MuethelM. (2015). Team characteristics and employees’ individual learning: A cross-level investigation. European Management Journal, 33(4), 287–295.
29.
PazzagliaF.FlynnS.SonparK. (2012). Performance implications of knowledge and competitive arousal in times of employee mobility: “The immutable law of the ex.” Human Resource Management, 51(5), 687–707. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21495
30.
PorterP. K.ScullyG. W. (1982). Measuring managerial efficiency: The case of baseball. Southern Economic Journal, 48(3), 642–650. ecn.
31.
RodanS.GalunicC. (2004). More than network structure: How knowledge heterogeneity influences managerial performance and innovativeness. Strategic Management Journal, 25(6), 541–562.
32.
SherifS. (2016). EA explains how FIFA player ratings are calculated. VG247. Com
33.
TriplettN. (1898). The dynamogenic factors in pacemaking and competition. The American Journal of Psychology, 9(4), 507–533. https://doi.org/10.2307/1412188
