Data analysis of financial burden index through KBO league FA pitcher's performance and contract amount size

Due to the recent pandemic of COVID-19, sports events around the world are being hit hard in 2020. However, with the KBO league having been opened even though it is late, it has attracted the attention of baseball fans around the world as it becomes an overseas broadcast. However, since the Republic of Korea is also affected by the global economic crisis, the financial burden of professional baseball teams that rely on their parent company has become a hot topic. Therefore, in this study, we collected records such as IP, ERA, and WAR of KBO league FA pitchers and news related to FA contracts. Then, we preprocessed the data and analyzed it. To this end, we analyzed the performance and financial burden indicators according to the pitcher's age and contract years. In addition, it was found that the performance of athletes was maintained until their mid 30’s, and through rational FA contracts, the team and athletes were able to suggest win-win strategies. And with this basic data analysis in the sports industry, the possibility of utilizing these strategies was confirmed.

Performance Evaluation of Teams in Chinese Professional Baseball League

In this article, a performance evaluation of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) was conducted from a human resources (HR) perspective. Two important aspects were included: (1) a comprehensive evaluation of the competition performance of the professional baseball teams in international games and regular season games; and (2) the data envelopment analysis (DEA) and “two-stage” methodologies, which were employed to process truncated data to resolve the factors that affect the efficiency of the decision-making unit (DMU). By applying DEA and truncated regression analysis with bootstrapping, the performances of CPBL teams in games of different intensities were investigated. The number of foreign coaches and native players both were the key factors to affect the competitive efficiency of CPBL teams, and the Uni President 7-ELEVEN Lions had the best performance efficiency team. This interdisciplinary investigation provided the most appropriate references and recommendations for professional baseball teams on HR management so that baseball fans' expectations are met.

Cause-Related Marketing and Purchase Intention toward Team-Licensed Products: Moderating Effects of Sport Consumers’ Altruism

Cause-related marketing (CRM) has been a crucial concept of sport marketing literature in the professional sport context. However, there is little evidence available to address the effectiveness of CRM when the levels of sport fans’ embedded psychological characteristics helping others are considered. The present study aimed to investigate the influence of sport fans’ perceived CRM motive of a sport team on fan attitude and purchase intention for the team-licensed products, and the moderating effects of sport fans’ altruism on the relationships among these variables in the context of the Korean professional baseball league. A total of 164 Korean baseball fans participated in the present study. Results revealed that sport fans’ perceived CRM motive significantly affected fan attitude and purchase intention for the team-licensed products, and fan attitude also had a significant impact on purchase intention. Moreover, sport fans’ altruism had significant moderating effects on the relationships between perceived CRM motive and purchase intention, as well as team attitude and purchase intention for the team-licensed products. Consequently, the present study might demonstrate that professional sport fans with high altruism are more likely than fans with low altruism to evaluate the motive of a team’s CRM campaign as cause-oriented and show their support for the campaign.