Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42207828›Full record

ArticlePloS one2026

Exploring the impact of specialist and generalist stars on organizational performance.

Georgios Nalbantis, Christian Manger, Tim Pawlowski, Philip Yang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Georgios NalbantisFaculty of Economics and Social Sciences, Institute of Sports Science, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3748-9295
Christian MangerFaculty of Economics and Social Sciences, School of Business and Economics, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany.
Tim PawlowskiFaculty of Economics and Social Sciences, Institute of Sports Science, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany.
Philip YangFaculty of Business Administration and Economics, University of Paderborn, Paderborn, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We analyze the impact of specialist and generalist stars on organizational performance by linking the literature on star employees and specialization. Our adaptive role framework allows stars to switch roles over time. We develop a game-theoretical model to derive hypotheses and to empirically test them using basketball data. Consistent with theoretical predictions, the results show that teams with generalist stars outperform those with specialists. While a generalist switching to a specialist role always worsens performance, a specialist switching to a generalist role may improve performance. Additional estimations suggest that these findings hold for teams relying on a unique star rather than multiple stars.

Indexed as

SpecializationBasketballGame TheoryHumansModels, Theoretical

Identifiers

PMID42207828
PMCPMC13218541

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.