Impact of Met-Expectation on Work-Related Outcomes for Sport and Recreation Managers in Hong Kong

Abstract

The purposes of the current study were to assess sport and recreation managers’ perceptions of met-expectation regarding their careers and to examine the impacts of met-expectation on work-related outcomes. To do so, the current study’s conceptual model included five constructs: (a) met-expectation, (b) quality of work life, (c) job satisfaction, (d) employment commitment, and (e) turnover intention. A survey was completed by 273 sport and recreation management employees in Hong Kong to test the model. As hypothesized, the results revealed significant indirect paths from all three dimensions of met-expectation (i.e. comfort, reward, and responsibility) to employee commitment and job satisfaction through quality of work life. Further, two dimensions of met-expectation (reward and responsibility) had direct impacts on employee commitment and job satisfaction, while one dimension (comfort) had no direct impact on commitment and job satisfaction. The findings provide practical implications as well as academic contributions by extending existing knowledge of important work-related outcomes using the concept of met-expectation.