Managerial Efficiency in German Top League Soccer : A Stochastic Frontier Analysis of Club Performances on and Off the Pitch

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