COMMENTARY ON 'RADICAL HRM INNOVATION AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: THE MONEYBALL STORY'-WHY ORGANIZATIONAL SCIENTISTS CARE ABOUT MONEYBALL

摘要

Different strands of evidence suggest that Michael Lewis's (2003) book, Moneyball, has attracted the attention of management scholars. Thaler and Sunstein (2003) gave it a glowing review in the New Republic, the fine article by Wolfe, Wright, and Smart (2006) in this issue grew out of a well-attended session at the 2005 Academy of Management meetings, and Roberto (2005) recently wrote a Harvard Business School case on this topic. Moreover, our own informal conversations with colleagues indicate that the book has caught their eye. Some of the reasons for scholars' growing interest in Moneyball may be independent of its implications for management. After all, baseball is the great American pastime, and many of us have deep connections to the game. We played it as kids and we are longtime fans. Indeed, one of us has been an ardent Yankees fan for about 50 years, whereas the other has been a loyal Red Sox fan for approximately 30, living proof that coauthorship conquers all. Aside from having an affinity for the sport, management scholars are sympathetic to the sabermetrics method, a data-driven approach to making decisions that is consis- tent with the scientific enterprise in which many of us are engaged.