Managerial efficiency in German top league soccer

This study applies stochastic frontier analytic techniques in the estimation of sporting production functions. As ex ante input factors, we use pre-seasonal estimates of wage bills of players and coaches that are transformed during the production process of a season into ex post pecuniary revenues and sporting success. While in the case of athletic output we find a robust pattern of technical efficiency over subsequent seasons, the estimates based on economic output highlight the instability of the German soccer industry.