Abstract
PurposeThis study sought to understand how having a calling influenced engagement, work–life balance and career satisfaction for Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA) and Golf Course Superintendent of America (GCSA) professionals.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual model was used to examine callings among golf course supervisors and its impact on their engagement, work–life balance and career satisfaction. This study also explored the moderation effect of employees’ generalized or specialized role on the calling–engagement relationship. Surveys were collected from a single golf management company and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for data analysis.FindingsThe results revealed significant relationships among all of the variables, with the exception of the impact of having a calling on work–life balance. Additionally, the more having a calling increased, the more important it was for supervisors to have specialized roles to increase their engagement.Originality/valueThis study identifies important differences in factors that promote career satisfaction for golf course supervisors and extends current understanding of role theory.
Highlights
The golf industry, like many segments of the hospitality and tourism industry, comprises myriad independently owned operations as well as thousands of operations that are overseen by management companies
Work-life balance positively increased career satisfaction significantly for superintendents (β 5 0.40, p < 0.010), but did not significantly predict career satisfaction for general managers (β 5 0.19, p 5 0.359). This exploratory study confirmed the findings of previous literature and identified callings as a positive predictor of employee engagement (Bunderson and Thompson, 2009; Cain et al, 2018)
This study found a positive link between employee engagement and work–life balance, which is in keeping with prior research (Cain et al, 2018; Duffy et al, 2011, 2015)
Summary
The golf industry, like many segments of the hospitality and tourism industry, comprises myriad independently owned operations as well as thousands of operations that are overseen by management companies. The five largest golf course management companies (i.e. Troon Golf, ClubCorp, Pacific Golf Management, Accordia Golf Co., Ltd., and Billy Casper Golf) operate approximately 945 golf courses worldwide (Statista, 2017). The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
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