By Alexandra Richter

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Hickory High Huskers in Hoosiers. The U.S. Olympic hockey team in Miracle. Some of the most memorable sports stories show that the right combination of players can matter more than individual talent.

As the NFL season kicks off and fans debate whether their team has the right lineup of players to make a playoff run, new evidence suggests that team chemistry is more than a feeling: it can be measured with data, according to research from the University at Buffalo School of Management.

Recently published in the Research Handbook on Group Decision Making, the study finds that the right combination of similarities and differences can help a group of players perform better than individual talent alone would predict.

“A group of high performers is not automatically a high performing team. Many ‘superteams’ stacked with star players have failed to meet expectations, while less-celebrated rosters have captured championships,” says study co-author Kate Bezrukova, PhD, associate professor of organization and human resources in the UB School of Management. “Strong team chemistry can develop when a lineup has both differences among players as well as smaller groups of players who have things in common that can provide support.”

To examine whether team chemistry could be measured, the researchers analyzed archival NBA data from the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, focusing on teams that made the playoffs and on the five players on the basketball court at the same time (five-player lineups), rather than the entire team at once. Then, in the more than 41,000 lineups, the researchers identified faultlines that sorted players into smaller groups based on such things in common as age, race, country of origin, time in the NBA, salary and more. Some lineups had definable faultlines while others did not, which shaped team chemistry on the court. They then measured how well each lineup performed by how many points that group scored against the opposing team when they were on the basketball court.

The researchers found that team chemistry can be measured and that the composition of a team matters most early in the season when the pressure is lower, players are still learning to work together and supportive subgroups can help foster resilience. For coaches, lineup chemistry deserves particular attention early in the season when it has the greatest opportunity to make an impact, while strategy may become more important during the playoffs.

And, the findings could offer lessons beyond sports. Managers may be able to use observable employee characteristics and team composition data to make more thoughtful decisions about who works together and when. The research also underscores the importance of team formation, onboarding and early relationship-building, when the foundations for effective collaboration are still taking shape.

“Managers need to think about how people fit together — where shared backgrounds or experiences can create connection and where different perspectives and expertise can make the team stronger,” says Bezrukova. “Chemistry is a measurable, dynamic resource that coaches and managers can strategically leverage.”

Bezrukova collaborated on the study with Chester Spell, PhD, professor of human resources and organizational behavior at Rutgers University School of Business, Camden; and Alex Lindsey, associate professor of management at the University of Memphis Fogelman College of Business and Economics.