Today’s guest column is from professors John Cairney and Rick Burton.
Let’s admit it, the sports industry loves a familiar script.
A Hall of Fame player retires and becomes an owner. A championship-winning coach moves into the front office. A celebrated team executive becomes league commissioner. A former elite athlete transitions into a leadership role managing or running a governing body.
The logic seems obvious. Success should breed success. After all, who better to lead than someone who excelled at the highest level?
A recent study by Joyce Schleu and colleagues, published in the Journal of Management Scientific Reports, suggests the answer may be more complicated.
