Work

From star player to star coach? The longitudinal validity of performance-based promotion in the National Basketball Association

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Most organizations make promotion decisions based on employees’ prior performance. Despite the prevalence of this performance-based promotion strategy, its validity remains unclear. With this constructive replication, we extend past research by testing competing hypotheses on the relationship between employee performance and future leader performance as derived from three theoretical perspectives (i.e., performance requirements perspective, follower-centric perspective, and Theory of Expert Leadership). We examined our hypotheses in the context of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and gathered data on the entire career of all NBA coaches until 2020 (N = 329), including their prior performance as basketball players. We tested our hypotheses using Bayesian structural equation modelling with latent variables. Overall, our analyses indicated a weak relationship between employee (i.e., player) and leader (i.e., coach) performance that remained stable over time. Overall, our results are in line with the performance requirements perspective. Hence, we recommend to reconsider the use of the performance-based promotion strategy.

Source: Journal of Management Scientific Reports

DOI: 10.1177/27550311261438046

Authors: Joyce Elena Schleu, Kai N. Klasmeier, Jens Mazei, Joachim Hüffmeier

Institutions: Radboud University Nijmegen, Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, TU Dortmund University

Language: English

Topic: Human Resource and Talent Management

Subfield: Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,400