Book Review: Moneyball as Sport Finance in Action: But are the Lessons from Baseball More Generally Applicable?

Richard Wolfe (), Kathy Babiak, Kim Cameron (), Robert Quinn (), Dennis Smart, James Terborg and Patrick Wright
Additional contact information
Richard Wolfe: University of Michigan
Kathy Babiak: University of Michigan
Kim Cameron: University of Michigan
Robert Quinn: University of Michigan
Dennis Smart: Texas State University
James Terborg: University of Oregon
Patrick Wright: Cornell University

International Journal of Sport Finance, 2007, vol. 2, issue 4, pages 249-262

Abstract: Moneyball (Lewis, 2003) is a book about baseball. The book describes how a small-market Major League Baseball team, the Oakland Athletics, has been able to compete with large-market teams by being innovative in a tradition-laden industry. However, when read through a business management lens, one discerns that this baseball book, in fact, has general management lessons in a variety of areas including leadership, innovation, overcoming resistance to change, and creating a sustainable competitive advantage. In this article, we outline and illustrate the valuable lessons for business that emerge from the Moneyball story. More specifically, we provide a brief overview of the book; summarize arguments for applying Moneyball ideas to management as presented in the popular media as well as in academia; determine the underlying management themes contained in the Moneyball story; and propose Moneyball lessons for managers.

Keywords: competition; innovation; resistance to change; innovation diffusion; competitive advantage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L83 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007

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International Journal of Sport Finance is edited by Rob Simmons, Brad Humphreys and Bernd Frick

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