Social Networks and Professional Success: Evidence from Foreign Newcomers on the PGA Tour

Abstract

How do social networks matter for professional success? Are they a source of information and support, both of which could be beneficial? We provide an answer using a unique data set of foreign athletes migrating to the PGA Tour. We construct a nationality-based network of newcomers when they first begin to play in the PGA TOUR, and examine the impact of this initial social network on the newcomers probability of surviving (i.e., keeping their license) at the end of their first PGA TOUR season. We find that social cohesion within a nationality cluster has a sizable positive effect on newcomers’ probability of surviving, but no evidence that the centrality of a nationality cluster in the overall PGA TOUR network has an impact on survival. If we consider social cohesion as indicative of the support an individual receives from the network and centrality in the network as a measure of information transmission, then this suggests that support has a more robust impact on performance than information.