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Research on sustainability and/in sport and, specifically, on the ecological aspects of participatory sporting events is still very scarce despite the recognition these topics have received by actors like, for instance, the European Commission and the United Nations. Against this backdrop, this paper sheds light on a field that is virtually uncharted in academic research, which is the environmental attitudes and willingness to pay for environmental sustainability of participants in participatory sporting events in Europe. In collaboration with the organizer of the Frankfurt Marathon, a study was conducted with a specific focus on German (speaking) marathon runners. In total 1764 data sets were collected with a German (1455 respondents) and an English (309 respondents) online questionnaire. Very insightful descriptive analyses showed that the awareness for the issue of sustainability and sport is still low and that ecological initiatives only have a medium influence on the evaluation of a marathon event. Nevertheless, particularly the German-speaking respondents indicated a high willingness to pay for environmental sustainability in general and for specific measures that can enhance the environmental friendliness of a marathon event, in particular. As will be discussed in the paper, these insights have important managerial implications and are a valuable basis for further research in this evolving field.

PurposeFor managers of sports leagues, it is crucial to produce an attractive competition. For that to happen, it is vital to consider that leagues frequently have more sub-competitions than “just” the championship. In European top football leagues, for instance, four sub-competitions are common (championship, qualification for Champions- or Europa League, avoiding relegation). This paper introduces a new method for measuring competitive intensity (CI) in round-robin sports leagues considering all relevant sub-competitions and applies it to Germany's Bundesliga.Design/methodology/approachThe newly developed model calculates a CI-Index for each sub-competition and the league as a whole. The application to the Bundesliga analyzes its viability and the development of the league's CI over the past 22 seasons.FindingsThe newly introduced CI-Indices prove to be a viable tool for evaluating a league's competitive intensity. The application to the Bundesliga shows that the seasonal CI dropped after 2009/10, which can mainly be attributed to a decline in the championship's CI.Practical implicationsThe results show that it is important to facilitate a high CI in each of Bundesliga's four sub-competitions. Efforts have to be made to ensure that especially the Europa League remains as attractive as possible for the participating teams and their fans because this sub-competition constantly makes the greatest contribution to the seasonal CI.Originality/valueThe new method measures competitive intensity by quantifying the different sub-competitions and their contribution to the seasonal CI. This allows the organizers of sports leagues to assess the intensity of the individual sub-competitions as well as the league as a whole.

Engineered Grinding Tools (EGT) are characterized by a predetermined and controlled arrangement of the abrasive grains. The distribution of the abrasive grains can be used to enhance the grinding process by improving space for coolant supply and for chip removal. This is especially interesting for grinding operations with high specific material removal rates. A numerical method was developed to optimize the grain pattern on EGT. This method consists of a stochastic tool model, a kinematic process model, a material removal model and a grain wear model. The tool model comprehends the relevant geometric properties of the abrasive layer. The material removal model is based on the assumption of a kinematic-geometrical cutting condition. The wear model is based on a grain load limit and the grains’ load is assumed to be proportional to its cutting area. Once the cutting area of one grain exceeds the limit value, wear takes place. The model validation is presented comparing the wear behavior of EGT and workpiece roughness achieved with numerical and experimental methods.