A1204
Title: The honeymoon effect in team performance: Evidence from Counter-Strike
Authors: Jan Rejthar - Prague University of Economics and Business (Czechia) [presenting]
Petr Krautwurm - Prague University of Economics and Business (Czechia)
Abstract: Teams are believed to perform above expectations after a change in their roster, temporarily. The presence of the honeymoon effect within teams is investigated using data from the entire history of professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Semiparametric generalized additive mixed-effects models are utilized to analyze team performance trajectories following lineup changes. It is shown that teams tend to overperform immediately after a lineup change, but performance dips afterward. Furthermore, performance does not recover after the initial dip but plateaus at a lower level. Over the average lifespan, team performance declines by about 16 percent of the interquartile range. These results challenge theories predicting post-dip recovery, suggesting instead that established teams suffer from stagnation. The findings indicate that new members tend to bring fresh stimuli that temporarily boost performance, and imply that roster adjustments may revitalize stagnant teams and combat inertia in broader labor markets.
