Aim: Previous research documented a positive effect of physical activity on subjective well-being (SWB). Yet, mainly broad activity measures (e.g. resulting from yes–no questions) were used and the effect of different participation intensities and durations has been largely neglected. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of physical activity on SWB by focusing on participation intensity and duration. Methods: Survey data from 28 European countries are used for the analysis ( n = 22 971). Two regression models (Generalized Method of Moments) are estimated which analyze the effect of participation intensity and duration on SWB (measured by life satisfaction). Given the endogeneity of the participation measures, instrumental variables are used (sport opportunities, club membership, time spent sitting). The models also control for other factors that could affect SWB (e.g. age, occupation). Results: The results for participation intensity show that the number of days people practised at moderate intensity in the week prior to the interview have a significant and positive effect on SWB, while the number of days with vigorous-intensity activity has a significant and negative impact. Similarly, the models for duration indicate that the minutes spent on moderate-intensity activity significantly add to SWB, while the minutes spent on vigorous-intensity activity significantly reduce the level of SWB. Conclusions: The findings challenge the World Health Organization’s recommendation in the sense that activity at moderate and vigorous intensity is not interchangeable if the aim is to also improve SWB (and not only physical health).

Research question: This study examines the effect of board gender diversity and a critical mass of women on the board on organizational problems of non-profit sport clubs. It relies on theories from social categorization and information/decision-making perspectives and on critical mass theory. Research methods: Four waves of data from a German sport club panel (2009–2015; n = 6504) are used which allow analyzing causal effects with lagged variables. Gender diversity was measured with the share of women on the board, the Blau index, and the number of women on the board. The perceived severity of human resource, financial, facility, and development problems represent the dependent variables. Results and findings: The results of regression analyses show that board gender diversity significantly reduces human resource and financial problems. Human resource problems are even smallest in clubs with an overbalanced board (≥60% women), while facility problems are perceived as bigger in such clubs. The results provided evidence for critical masses of one or at least three women for reducing human resource problems and of at least four women for perceiving bigger facility problems. Development problems are not impacted by board gender diversity or critical masses. Implications: The findings for human resource and financial problems support the information/decision-making perspective, suggesting that board gender diversity benefits the organization because of diversity in resource access, human and social capital, and improved quality of decision-making. Thus, increasing gender diversity of the board can be a way to reduce problems in these areas.

Research question: Monetary valuation of non-market goods has become increasingly important to inform sport managers and policy makers. This article set out to conduct a literature review, describe empirical applications within sports, and present a typology and conceptual discussion of valuation approaches. Research methods: A literature review, synthesis, and critical assessment of existing monetary valuation research in sports were performed. Results and findings: The review identified 113 articles which employed eight different valuation approaches. The contingent valuation method (CVM), hedonic pricing (HP), and the travel cost method (TCM) were the most frequently applied approaches. The most popular research contexts were professional team sports, sport tourism, and sport events. Valuation research was mainly conducted in the United States, Germany, and the UK. Altogether, 179 different scholars have contributed to this body of research, with 15 scholars having published at least three papers on this topic. The valuation approaches were assigned to three main categories: revealed preference approaches, including HP, opportunity cost approach (OCA), replacement cost approach (RCA), compensating variation approach (CVA), and TCM; stated preference approaches, including CVM, contingent behavior method (CBM), and choice modeling (CM); and hybrid approaches combining revealed and stated preference approaches. Implications: Future valuation research should exploit the advantages of hybrid approaches and provide comparisons of monetary values obtained by different valuation approaches.

Environmental sustainability and climate change have become increasingly important in public debates and politics. This study examines the determinants of sport club members’ pro-environmental behavior in Germany. Theoretically, we draw on the theory of planned behavior, ecofeminism, and the luxury good hypothesis to explain the effects of individuals’ environmental consciousness, gender, and income on their pro-environmental behavior, respectively. Data collection took place in 2019 and 2020 via a nationwide online survey of active sport club members in five team/racket sports (n = 3038). Regression analyses were estimated to examine the determinants of two indicators of pro-environmental behavior, i.e., the monthly carbon footprint resulting from traveling to training sessions and pro-environmental actions. The results reveal that environmentally consciousness members behave more environmentally friendly, supporting the theory of planned behavior. Women have a significantly higher carbon footprint, but only in the model including the interaction with environmental consciousness, indicating that female gender only works in conjunction with environmental attitudes. Income is associated with a significantly higher carbon footprint for training, while it has no effect on pro-environmental actions related to club sport. The findings have implications for sport managers and policy makers.

Revenue volatility hinders the planning within nonprofit organizations, and as a consequence, it can influence the organization’s contribution to public welfare. To analyze the extent of revenue volatility and its determinants, this paper uses a comprehensive, longitudinal, data set of German nonprofit sports clubs (n = 724). It distinguishes between systematic volatility and club-specific volatility, and argues that a complete understanding of the sources and impacts of volatility requires one to clearly distinguish between the two components. Empirical results indicate that revenue diversification can significantly reduce club-specific volatility, but has more minimal benefits for lowering systematic volatility. It also reveals that clubs that rely more heavily on membership fees, and less on subsidies, appear to have reduced levels of systematic and club-specific volatility, with the impact being much greater for the latter.