Contributions published at Services & Operations Management (Helmut Max Dietl)

This study examines how running performance (intensive runs, total distance covered) of football teams in previous games impacts betting markets as it relates to expected win probability. Theoretically, bookmakers could interpret team’s running performance as effort or fatigue, with sports science studies suggesting that distance covered reflects effort and intensive runs signal fatigue. Using data from the 2011/12-2018/19 seasons of the German Bundesliga, beta regression models reveal that bookmakers interpret team’s running performance in previous games contrary to physiological explanations in sports sciences. Tests of market efficiency incorporating these findings do not find a profitable betting strategy for bettors.

Profound knowledge of the behavioural response to sponsorship messages is sparse. In an effort to provide a better understanding of the relationship between sponsorship investments and the consumer’s brand choice, an online experiment was conducted focusing on the role of the sponsorship portfolio size. In the context of sponsorship activities in the English Premier League, the study investigates how brand decision making can be influenced by the number of sponsored players wearing a particular footwear brand. Based on a microeconomic perspective, additional factors influencing the brand decision-making process, such as the overall brand status and prior brand experience, are considered. Logit regression models reveal that brand-choice behaviour is sensitive to the extent of sponsorship portfolio size, however, in a non-linear way. The results can be regarded as a next step in predicting the behavioural outcomes from sponsorship activities as the basis to estimate the economic efficiency of sponsorship investment.

Background: The adaption of individuals to adverse life events such as bereavement which reduce their subjective well-being is referred to as the hedonic treadmill. This study examined whether previous physical activity moderates the negative impact of bereavement on subjective well-being and how quickly such adaption occurs. Methods: The analysis uses data from 13 waves (1996–2015) of the German Socio-Economic Panel (n = 139 097). Subjective well-being is captured with respondents’ life satisfaction. Individual fixed effects regression models with three-wave lagged effects and interaction effects for bereavement and previous physical activity were estimated for females and males. Results: The significant reduction in life satisfaction is partly offset for individuals who were physically active prior to the adversity, suggesting moderation effects of previous physical activity. These effects are larger in absolute value for females, but females also suffered more severely from bereavement. Males’ partial adaption through previous physical activity is closer to the pre-event level, while females adapt earlier. More frequent previous physical activity allows both genders to partially adapt more. Conclusions: Previous physical activity helps individuals suffering bereavement to partially adapt faster to such adversity, suggesting that physical activity accelerates the hedonic treadmill, though at a different pace for each gender.

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Schach-Weltmeister Magnus Carlsen ist ein Genie in Sachen Eigenvermarktung. Seine Firma Play Magnus ist sogar börsenkotiert. Sollte er seinen WM-Titel verteidigen können, wird sein Vermarktungsimperium noch lukrativer.

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Taking advantage of football’s popularity, a field experiment was conducted on immigrants’ access to social activities. The experiment consisted of posing as football fans applying to take part in a trial training session for an amateur team and sending emails to coaches at over twenty thousand clubs all over Europe. Despite the applications being identical, those sent as if from footballers with local names obtained more affirmative responses than those sent with names of a foreign origin. In the case of Spain, the preference in favour of native players was evident: the difference was of thirteen points, standing above the European average. The results reveal difficulties for social integration that, subsequently, may also lead to barriers relating to labour and economic integration.

Decisions often reflect implicit biases. Ethnic, racial, and gender traits are associated with stereotypes that may influence the decision-making process. Previous research shows that referees’ decisions in men’s professional sports are often biased in favor of racial and nationalistic in-groups. This study examined if similar biases exist in women’s professional sports. Additionally, this study analyzed the potential influence of the gender composition of referee teams on rapid decisions. We gathered data on referee foul calls in women’s professional basketball in Spain, 2014–2019 and defined important decisions (fifth fouls) and stressful situations (one-possession matches). The main finding is that out-groups based on racial (i.e., Black players) and nationalistic (i.e., foreign players) criteria did not differ in number of foul calls received. In stressful situations, foreign players actually received fewer fouls than Spanish players. Similarly, there was no evidence of bias due to the gender composition of referee teams: foul calls did not differ between all-male and mixed teams. Implications for race and nationality as dynamic social constructs within ethnocentric and social identity theories are discussed.

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This study analyzes how the number of Black coaches in college basketball has evolved since 1947. The analysis puts a focus on the time period after 1973 when regulatory requirements changed and a new Division was established. The change in the number of Divisions created distorted conditions and led to a significant difference in the number of Black coaches within Divisions. We trace a significantly lower number of Black coaches in Division 3 which is still visible 40 years later. The results are time consistent, not clustered geographically, and unrelated to specific institutions. Our results have policy implications for college sports as well as other industries with similar working conditions.

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The ranking of countries in the Olympic Games generates a great deal of interest among analysts, academics, and fans. This article proposes an innovative approach to provide Olympic medals (gold, silver, and bronze) with different weights based on metrics of popularity and media visibility and create an alternative historical ranking. The analysis uses “Google Trends” and “MERIT” appraisals to capture content and news articles on the Internet that relate to the different types of metals. Figures on weekly relative search intensity in Google and content in the Internet registered monthly are used to track changes over time and thus to control for differences between Summer and Winter Olympic Games. The results show that gold medals gather far more attention than silver and bronze medals. By applying the estimated multiplying factors, we create an alternative historical ranking of countries that shows some relevant changes. The use of weights based on popularity and visibility has managerial implications and opens new avenues for future research.