Development of elite athletes: An approach from the partial least square path modelling

Abstract

Literature about elite sports management tends to focus on the analysis of qualitative level of its success factors, especially among developed countries. In consequence, the aim of this study is to perform a predictive causal analysis that examines the factors influencing the development of elite athletes within the Valle del Cauca region in Colombia. 171 valid surveys were performed to direct stakeholders of elite sports. The goodness of fit, the composite reliability, the discriminant validity and the proposed structural model were examined by using the partial least square path modelling via ADANCO software. Empirical results show that for the population under study, competitions (p=.000), sports talent (p=.002), administration of the system (p=.02) and the cultural aspects (p=.002) are the factors that have a direct and positive influence on development of athletes; whereas hypothesis of funding, infrastructure, coaches and scientific research were rejected. This article contributes to the existing literature by providing knowledge of the factors influencing the development of elite athletes within a developing region from a quantitative approach. Keywords: Elite sports; Developing region; PLS path modeling; Sports development.