Do university sports function as advertising in the Japanese higher education market? An analysis of the Hakone Ekiden long‐distance relay road race

• Date: 01 December 2019
• Published date: 01 December 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0106.12316
• Author: Eiji Yamamura

ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT

Do university sports function as advertising in the

Japanese higher education market? An analysis of

the Hakone Ekiden long-distance relay road race

Eiji Yamamura

Department of Economics, Seinan Gakuin

University, Fukuoka, Japan

Correspondence

Eiji Yamamura, Department of Economics,

Seinan Gakuin University, 6-2-92 Nishijin,

Sawara-ku, Fukuoka 814-8511, Japan.

Email: yamaei@seinan-gu.ac.jp

Abstract

The Hakone Ekiden, a university-level long-distance relay

race, is the premier New Year's sporting event in Japan. It

is held immediately prior to the university application

period. Using panel data for 2001 to 2015, I examined

how this race influences the number of applicants for

university entrance examinations. The major finding is

that applicants per intake for a particular department in

a university was 0.7 points larger when that university

participated in the current year's race than when it did

not. However, the effect of participating in the previous

year's race was not observed. Furthermore, the effect

increased when the department of the university was

more difficult to enter or was located in Tokyo. This

reveals that prestigious universities participating in the

race give students a casual motivation to take an

entrance examination of the university without regard

for their chances of passing.

1|INTRODUCTION

In the process of economic development, demand for highly educated people increases. This, in turn,

causes demand for higher education to grow, which may influence the structure of the education

market. In response to the growth in demand for educated people, the number of higher educa-

tion institutions increases (Kwoka & Synder, 2004). It becomes important to analyse the higher

education market. From the viewpoint of economics and industrial organization, the performance

and strategy of higher education institutions have been examined, especially in developed coun-

tries (e.g., Getz & Siegfried, 2004; Getz, Siegfried, & Zhang, 1991; Siegfried, 2004; Warning,

2004; Winston, 2004).

Received: 9 January 2018 Revised: 30 July 2019 Accepted: 29 October 2019

DOI: 10.1111/1468-0106.12316

642 © 2019 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd Pac Econ Rev. 2019;24:642–658.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/paer

Most developed countries are thought to have entered an age of declining birthrates and ageing

populations. This inevitably has influenced the education market because of the decrease in potential

demand. Furthermore, a wave of globalization has led high school students to consider studying

abroad. This effect of globalization appears to be larger for universities in Japan than in other devel-

oped countries because the university market is more closed to students from other countries. Since

2010, universities in the United States and European countries have become rivals for universities in

Japan in attracting students. Accordingly, competitive pressure in the higher education market has

increased. This gives universities an incentive to reform to survive in the market (Kimura, 2012). A

number of researchers have accepted the importance of advertising for firm performance indicators

such as profit, revenue and efficiency (e.g., Butler, 1991; Esposito, Esposito, & Hogan, 1990; Nakao,

1993; Porter, 1976; Rogers & Tokle, 1995; Willis & Rogers, 1998). This also holds true for higher

education institutions such as universities. Advertising is an important factor in managing a univer-

sity. Among the media types, television has a great effect on consumer behaviour (Notta &

Oustapassidis, 2004).

1

The present paper considers the influence of the media on private university

applicants under the increasing competitive pressure in the university market in Japan.

University applicants can obtain various types of information concerning the quality of education

and academic research. In addition, universities’participation in sporting events increases their rec-

ognition in society, especially if a university is successful in major and popular sports.

2

Universities’

performance and success are thought to exert advertising effects (Bremmer & Kesserling, 1993).

“Athletic events provide opportunities for large numbers of prospective students and their parents—

some of whom may have only a passing interest in the athletic event—to visit campuses they might

not otherwise visit”(Goff, 2004, p. 72).

Since 1987, a university long-distance relay road race, the Hakone Ekiden, has been broadcast

throughout Japan every year on January 2 and 3, when most Japanese are enjoying the New Year

holiday. The race is broadcast for more than 10 hr. The race has become widely recognized as a spe-

cial event on the New Year holiday, mainly because the race has been publicized by the mass media,

especially by television stations. Furthermore, some of the universities that have participated in the

race are well-known and distinguished universities that attract students from all over the country.

The Hakone Ekiden is held immediately before the Japanese university application period; entrance

examinations for private universities are normally held from the beginning of February. Hence, a

university's participation in the Hakone Ekiden is thought to increase the number of applicants not

only from Tokyo and its outskirts but also from other regions (Mixton & Hsing, 1994). Using a panel

data set, the present paper aims to assess the extent to which participation in the Hakone Ekiden

influences the number of university applicants.

The structure of the paper is as follows. Section 2 provides an overview of the university market

in Japan and the Hakone Ekiden. Section 3 explains the data and the statistical method used in this

paper. Section 4 reports the estimation results and their interpretation. Section 5 concludes.

2|THE JAPANESE SETTING

2.1 |Overview of the higher education market in Japan

Japan has experienced rapid economic development, so demand for higher education is thought to be

increasing. Figure 1, illustrating the number of universities in Japan between 1949 and 2014, sug-

gests a constant increase in the number of universities. In contrast, as demonstrated in Figure 2, the

number of high school students generally increased from 1949 to 1990 and then decreased until

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