Research

 

Dr. Fizel has published 24 refereed articles, two edited books, and four book chapters. In addition, he has three papers submitted to journals and proposals for another edited book, a textbook, and a new academic journal under review for future publication. Dr. Fizel has also been very active in serving as session organizer and discussant at many professional meetings. He has presented 43 papers at these conferences. He has served as a manuscript reviewer for several journals and an external reviewer for promotion and tenure candidates at other universities. These accomplishments attest to the positive regard Dr. Fizel's professional colleagues hold for him. Dr. Fizel has received grants from the Joint Council on Economic Education, Ben Franklin Partnership, Erie Community Foundation, Coleman Foundation, Kaufmann Foundation, and Penn State University Office of Undergraduate Education. These final three grants have helped the School of Business achieve a desired focus on small business and entrepreneurship in its instructional and outreach programs.

Recent reviews of Dr. Fizel's research and scholarship consistently state that Dr. Fizel has published in well-respected journals of high quality. They also agree that the individual articles are of high quality and that Dr. Fizel has maintained a very active program of research. It is also evident that Dr. Fizel has established a national, perhaps international, reputation in the economics of sports. Recently, he has been asked to serve on the editorial board of a United Kingdom publication entitled The Journal of Sports Economics and Finance.

Dr. Fizel has established himself in other areas of research and scholarship, too. He has participated in many media interviews both at the national and local level. These activities bring important public visibility to the School of Business and the College. Dr. Fizel has also been a leader in involving undergraduate students in research. Some of these efforts have resulted in co-authored conference presentations and journal articles. Finally, Dr. Fizel has aided junior faculty in their research activities, serving as a mentor and/or collaborator.

 

Research Interests

To write it, it took three months; to conceive it -- three minutes; to collect the data in it -- all my life.

--F. Scott Fitzgerald-
  • Applied Microeconomics: Economics provides a rigorous and concise framework for analyzing problems. Fortunately, this framework is appropriate for assessing a broad range of business and social issues. Although my research interests appear eclectic, the common theme is applied microeconomics principles.

  • Sports Economics: The integration of sports and economics is useful for two reasons. First, the basis of economic analysis is decision-making motivated by individual self-interest. In sports, one can easily collect detailed measures of player and team productivity, identify individual decisions (e.g., player, manager, or arbitrator decisions), and determine how judgments and productivity change when incentive structures are altered. Second, economic analysis of sports marketing, employee productivity, compensation, labor relations, and profitability often parallel the analysis of business in general. The wealth of data available in sports makes the industry a laboratory in which we can observe economic behavior and test business theories. This often is not possible in many other industries because of limited access to data.

  • Efficiency and Compensation: Ascertaining the determinants of efficiency in industries facing increased global competition (i.e. manufacturing) and industries facing changing market rules (i.e. health care) is a critical step in the development of competitive strategies for these firms. Of course, the efficiency level of the firm is dependent on the behavior of employees which, in turn, is dependent on the incentive structures created by managers. Once the level of efficiency is determined, the research then turns to creating a compensation system that best promotes behavior consistent with the vision of the firm.

  • Pricing Strategies: A new line of inquiry addresses pricing and antitrust issues in the information economy. The "new" economy was thought to need a "new" economic vision. Increasingly, however, traditional economic principles are proving useful for developing profitable pricing strategies in the information industry.

 
Selected Research
(A complete curriculum vita is available upon request)
  • Recent Books
    Sports Economics: Current Research. Edited by John Fizel, Elizabeth Gustafson, and Lawrence Hadley. Praeger Publishers, 1999.
    Baseball Economics: Current Research. Edited by John Fizel, Elizabeth Gustafson, and Lawrence Hadley. Praeger Publishers, 1996.

  • Market Efficiency
    Fizel, J.L., M.P. D'Itri. Forthcoming 1999. The Firing and Hiring of Managers: Does Efficiency Matter? Journal of Management.
    Fizel, J.L., M.P. D'Itri. 1997. Managerial Efficiency, Managerial Succession and Organizational Performance. Managerial and Decision Economics 18(1):295-308.
    Fizel, J.L. 1996. "Bias in Arbitration: The Case of Major League Baseball." Applied Economics, 28, 255-265.
    Fizel, J.L. and T.S. Nunnikhoven. 1993. "The Efficiency of Nursing Home Chains," Applied Economics, 25, 49-55.
    Fizel, J.L. and T.S. Nunnikhoven. 1992. "Technical Efficiency of For-Profit and Non-Profit Nursing Homes." Managerial and Decision Economics, 13, 429-439.

  • Market Pricing
    Fizel, J.L., B.R. Weller, T.D. Coyne, K.M. Rehmeyer and E. Sanchez. 1996. "Pricing Asymetry in Pennsylvania Gasoline Markets." Pennsylvania Economic Review, 6(1), 23-32.
    Smaby, T. and J.L. Fizel. 1995. "Fund Closings as a Signal to New Investors: Investment Performance of Open-End Mutual Funds that Close to New Investors." Financial Services Review, 4(2), 1995, 71-80.
    Doran, D.T., T.R. Smaby and J.L. Fizel. 1995. "A Methodological Note on Earnings Evaluation: The Case of ValueLine." American Business Review, 13(2), June, 65-71

  • Currently Under Review
    Fizel, J.L. "The Decision to Negotiate or Arbitrate Under Final Offer Arbitration."
    Fizel, J.L., Cunningham, R.P. and M.P. D'Itri. "Search Theory and the 'Exploitation' of Major League Baseball's Free Agents."
    Fizel, J.L., Cunningham, R.P. and M.P. D'Itri. "Potential Salaries of Free Agent Pitchers and Reasons for Underpayment."

 

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