The influence of legitimacy on career trajectories of individuals in leadership positions: NCAA basketball

In this paper I investigate the importance of various types of legitimacy on the career trajectories of individuals in leadership positions. I propose a method to operationalize sources of individual legitimacy to determine predictive factors of career promotion using Cox regression survival analysis. Using data from NCAA College basketball coaches, I propose that pragmatic legitimacy (performance) is the strongest predictor of likelihood of career advancement. This analysis separates practical measures of quality from cognitive measures of status. Results from survival analysis suggest that pragmatic legitimacy is a significant positive predictor of the likelihood of promotion. However, among all variables, affiliation with high status actors, a measure of cognitive legitimacy, is the strongest positive predictor of likelihood of career advancement (even when controlling for performance). Results also indicate that minorities advance at a slower rate regardless of actual performance. These findings highlight the unique role of cognitive factors in influencing career progression.