Title: Theory and evidence of social influence on NBA officials' decision making

Authors: Jiming Wu, Emery B.Q. Yao, Yong Li, Hongwei Du

Addresses: Department of Management, College of Business and Economics, California State University, East Bay, 25800 Carlos Bee Boulevard, Hayward, CA 94542, USA. ' HSBC School of Business, Peking University, Shen Zhen 518005, China. ' School of Management, State University of New York at Buffalo, 326K Jacobs Management Center, Amherst, NY 14260, USA. ' Department of Management, College of Business and Economics, California State University, East Bay, 25800 Carlos Bee Boulevard, Hayward, CA 94542-3066, USA

Abstract: The social facilitation theory suggests that the presence of others affects an individual|s behaviour. Aligned with this theory, this study theoretically investigates the impact of social influence on the decision making of sports officials, and empirically examines officials| decisions and their subsequent effects. Using archival data of 4,879 National Basketball Association games, we find that officials make decisions in favour of a home team by giving it fewer foul calls and awarding it with more free throws. This study contributes to the decision science not only by identifying a relevant social psychology theory and applying it to individuals| decision making, but also by transcending the boundaries of traditional decision-making studies and facilitating the community to conduct research in new frontiers.

Keywords: decision making; decision science; NBA; National Basketball Association; social facilitation theory; social influence; presence of others; individual behaviour; sports officials; home team decisions; social psychology; individuals decisions.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIDS.2010.037230

International Journal of Information and Decision Sciences, 2010 Vol.2 No.4, pp.340 - 351

Published online: 30 Nov 2010 *

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