title: Exploring institutional and managerial aspects in professional football
Creators: name: BATARFI, Meshael
Publisher: name: University of Reading
Year: 2023

description: This thesis is based on three papers, included as Chapters One, Three and
Four. It investigates a specific sports economics topic to gain a better understanding of the institutional factors that affect football performance and
gender variation in women’s football, especially in relation to risky decision-making and social pressure. First, the relevant institutions and national football performance were examined in men’s football, using data from 1872 onwards. Every competing football squad utilises similar production technology:
the players, a soccer pitch, goalposts, and a ball. However, at the top level,
there is wide variation between national football teams worldwide. Broad
trends in this diversity are outlined in this thesis, in an attempt to explain
why some nations do exceptionally well while others perform poorly. Macro-economic, demographic, and other hypotheses are analysed to try and explain
the observed historical volatility in football performance. High GDP was found
to contribute to the frequency of wins, but population often works against this.
Additionally, a longer established domestic football organisation tends to be
beneficial. In Chapter Two the focus shifts to women’s football, giving some
historical background to the game. This is followed in Chapter Three by an
analysis of male and female managers in women’s football, which is a highly
competitive and data-rich environment. In men’s football, there is minimal
gender variation in high-profile roles, unlike women’s football, where men often
occupy top management positions. Significant variation was found between
the risk preferences of male and female coaches, with male coaches being less
risk-averse. More experienced coaches can also contribute to a team’s success.
In Chapter Four, the relationship between social pressure and gender is subsequently explored. The question of decision-making under social pressure has been extensively researched in recent years, particularly in the arena of competitive sport. It is known that crowds can influence decision-making as part
of the commonly observed home advantage. Studies have exploited variation
in crowd size and intensity, as well as the complete absence of crowds during
the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the gender aspect of social pressure appears
to be relatively neglected. The gender of particular agents in the production
process could be expected to influence decisions and therefore, outcomes. Women’s football is studied because it provides a unique setting for observing
how gender could influence outcomes, given that only around 50% of head
coaches are female, even though all the players and 80% of the officials are
female in women’s football. Novel data were therefore collected and analysed
from across 67 nations for a 41-year period. It was considered whether the
variation in gender composition of important participants in women’s football
matches had an impact on the effect of social pressure on specific outcomes,
depending on attendance and the gender of head coaches and officials. The
outcomes consisted of goals scored and official yellow or red card decisions.
Evidence was found to support that different gender compositions can have
a varying impact on final outcomes. In addition, under social pressure, male
referees may respond differently from female referees.