PURPOSE This study theoretically explains the relationship between Keirin players’ core competencies and their performances. It also analyzes the impact of interaction between objectively identifiable core competencies and players’ efficiency toward their results, that is, the ability to convert their resources into performance. METHODS Using Python 3.11.1, 20,185 race records were collected of cyclists who competed at Gwangmyeong Velodrome in 2022 and 2023, and player efficiency was estimated using the R 4.3.1 package. Subsequently, the impact of players’ physical abilities (200 m records) on performance and player efficiency’s influence on the relationship between physical ability and performance were analyzed using Model 1 of PROCESS 4.1 Macro installed in SPSS 26.0. RESULTS First, players’ physical ability had a statistically significant impact on their performance. Specifically, the 200 m record significantly influenced the likelihood of finishing in the top 1 (coef = –.68 , p<.01 ), top 2 (coef = –.56, p<.01), and top 3 (coef = –.46, p<.01). Second, player efficiency moderated the relationship between players’ 200 m record and the likelihood of finishing within the top ranks. Specifically, the interaction term’s influence was empirically demonstrated between 200 m records and player efficiency on the likelihood of finishing within the top 1 (coef = –.47, p<.05), top 2 (coef = –.28, p<.05), and top 3 (coef = –.28, p<.05) for players with similar speeds, in that it significantly increased. CONCLUSIONS This study pioneers research that explains the relationship between players’ key competencies and performance based on resource-based theory, and it empirically demonstrates that player efficiency serves as a moderating variable in the relationship between key competencies and performance.
