ABSTRACT

Resource Dependence Theory suggests that organizations faced with high resource dependency on actors in their external environment will take action to manage or minimize the dependence. In the early twentieth century, the Negro Leagues were faced with such a resource dilemma. At the same time, the ability to achieve competitive balance is another important predictor of success for sports leagues. Five empirical tests of competitive balance were applied to data from the seasons were the Negro National League, Eastern Colored League, and Negro American League were in operation to ascertain its presence. The results support the presence of competitive balance in Negro Leagues, as measured by both within-seasons and across-seasons. Further, the competitive balance achieved within the three Negro Leagues was comparable to that of two Major Leagues. While there are many books, essays and research studies about the Negro Leagues, there is a paucity of empirical work within this rich body of literature. The present study seeks to add to this subset of research and provide further evidence of the reasons the leagues were well positioned to experience success (albeit short-lived).

摘要

资源依赖理论认为，组织在外部环境中对参与者的资源依赖很高，将采取行动来管理或最小化依赖。在二十世纪初，黑人联盟面临着这样的资源困境。同时，达到竞争平衡的能力是体育联盟成功的另一个重要指标。对五个季节的竞争性平衡进行了经验检验，这些数据来自黑人国家联盟，东部有色联盟和黑人美国联盟，以确认其存在。结果表明，根据季节内和季节间的不同，黑人联赛中存在竞争平衡。此外，在三个黑人联赛中所达到的竞争平衡可与两个主要联赛相媲美。尽管有许多关于黑人联盟的书籍，论文和研究报告，但在这一丰富的文学作品中，实证研究很少。本研究旨在增加这部分研究，并提供进一步的证据证明联盟能够很好地体验成功的原因（尽管是短暂的）。