Sport Employees Research Articles

Leveraging the cultural intelligence of sport employees in the globalized sports industry

PurposeIn the contemporary globalized sports industry, it is crucial for sport employees to cultivate an essential capability – cultural intelligence (CQ) – to excel in culturally diverse sport environments. The purpose of this study is to propose a comprehensive conceptual framework of sport employees' CQ for enhancing management practices in sport organizations.Design/methodology/approachBy conducting a thorough literature review of relevant business and sport management literature, this research offers a synopsis of CQ and advocates for the advancement of a developed conceptual framework for sport employees' CQ (CQ-SE).FindingsThe conceptual framework of CQ-SE is proposed to facilitate employees’ effective integration into diverse environments within sport organizations. This framework identifies predictors that enhance sport employees’ CQ, moderating factors to provide deeper insights into these relationships and outcomes at individual, group and organizational levels. We additionally elaborate on the anticipated benefits for stakeholders, given the services provided by sport practitioners.Originality/valueThis study is one of the initial endeavors to conceptualize the concept of CQ for sport employees. This study contributes to the literature on sport organizational culture and human resource management by emphasizing the pivotal role of sport employees’ CQ in promoting greater inclusivity in sport organizations. We encourage sport management researchers to explore the application of CQ in sport contexts and empirically test the relationships proposed in this framework.

Women collegiate sport employees: Organizational elements of workplace and engagement

This study investigated the representation of women collegiate sport employees in the United States. Previous job engagement research has not focused exclusively on women in collegiate sport organizations. Utilizing person-organization fit (P-O fit) and perceived organizational success to predict engagement, the relative neglect of identifying antecedents of job engagement for women sport employees was explored. The analysis revealed that American collegiate sport employees’ P-O fit influences job engagement; however, women’s perceived organizational success did not influence their engagement in the workplace. Moreover, the findings uncover how women sport employees’ fit influences their job engagement in the sport workplace. The implications of this study indicate the approach for enhanced organizational performance and capacity of women sport employees.

An Analysis of Sport Employee Identification of NCAA Division I Compliance Employees

The current study examined NCAA Division I compliance employees utilizing Sport Employee Identification (SEI; Oja et al., 2020). Little academic inquiry has focused on the various ways sport employees, like NCAA compliance employees, identify with their organization. The current study attempted to establish SEI as an applicable construct in sport scholarship and examine potential outcomes of SEI. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine if SEI contributes to organizational behavior outcomes of job satisfaction, lower turnover intentions, and organizational citizenship behaviors with NCAA Division I compliance employees. The researchers utilized a demographic form and a 24-item survey including the SEI instrument, job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and the relationship between SEI and organizational citizenship behaviors. Data analysis consisted of confirmatory factor analysis, multiple one-way analysis of variance to analyze the connection between demographic variables and SEI, and regression analyses to examine the relationship between SEI and potential organizational behavior outcomes. A total of 217 responses highlighted job satisfaction and lower turnover intentions as outcomes of SEI, while organizational citizenship behaviors lacked enough support as an outcome of SEI. The findings have the potential to assist intercollegiate executives in better managing their compliance personnel and understanding compliance identification processes.

Between Profit and Purpose: Employee Responses to Financial and Social Logics in Women’s Sport

Recent market growth in women’s sport has happened as fans increasingly support brands that embrace social issues, suggesting that women’s sport houses multiple logics (financial and social) that may be compatible. The purpose of this study is to explore employees’ perspectives of the logics in women’s sport and how these influence their workplace experiences. Using a case study design, we interviewed 15 women’s sport employees. We observed that they navigate both financial and social logics, which they see as compatible. This understanding of a complementary relationship has both behavioral (e.g., collaboration) and emotional (e.g., collective anxiety) consequences for employees. Notably, collective anxiety is simultaneously associated with negative effects and positive coping mechanisms, demonstrating its complexity in shaping individuals’ actions. This research advances understanding of how employees respond to multiple logics and the effects of this process. Insights from this study can help women’s sport managers better support workers.

When calling and overwork climate collide: the effect on burnout and intention to change careers

ABSTRACT Research Question Working within one’s calling provides individuals with several work-related benefits, while an overwork climate negatively impacts employees’ work experience. How do the concepts interact, especially within an industry where both exist within the workplace? The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of living a calling and experiencing overwork climate on negative work-related behaviors of sport employees. Additionally, the study examined how overwork climate mitigated these relationships. Research Methods Data were collected from employees working in NCAA Division I, II, and III athletic departments (n = 4522). Our survey included instruments assessing vocational calling, overwork climate, burnout, and intention to change careers. The data were then analyzed utilizing simple and multiple linear regression. Results and Findings Results indicated that sport employees living their calling are more career committed and resistant to burnout. However, when those who are living their calling are faced with an overwork climate, they experience increased burnout and intent to change careers. Implications These findings support the dual outcomes of calling proposed in the Work As Calling Theoretical Model. The findings also provide practical implications for sport employers and organizations in high-calling, high-demand settings. Particularly, sport managers are faced with employing a high number of called employees within the industry but resisting the urge to push their work commitment beyond an acceptable threshold, therefore exposing employees to greater burnout and willingness to change their careers.

Exploring Sport Employees’ Conceptualizations of Meaningful Work

Modern sport management scholars have paired the fields of positive organizational behavior and human resource development with sport management to enhance the productivity of sport organizations through their employees. One area of study receiving increased attention is meaningful work, an emerging employee well-being metric whose definition is debated. The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which sport employees conceptualize meaningful work. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 32 sport employees. The following themes were identified: meaningful work is work that serves, meaning gained from sport organizations, and individual meaningful work experiences. Discussion offers valuable implications for practitioners of sport management, as well as the emerging scholarly field of human resource development in sport management, and the evolving discourse surrounding meaningful work.

Applied Improvisation in the Sport Management Curriculum

Despite the incorporation of a range of engaged learning strategies within sport management education, many sport industry employers still perceive sport management graduates as lacking the soft skills needed to be successful in such a dynamic industry (Keiper et al., 2019). The authors suggest applied improvisation (improv) as a pedagogical tool to address this skills gap. “Applied improv” describes the application of improvisation principles outside of the theatre setting (Dudeck & McClure, 2018). Applied improv in the classroom has been presented as an emerging learner-centered approach to instruction (Skinner et al., 2022) that has the potential to meet classroom objectives while simultaneously developing students’ communication and soft skills. Many proponents of applied improv in the classroom environment tout its ability to facilitate communication and collaboration while building participant confidence, especially in human services disciplines (e.g., Chan, 2021; Gao et al., 2019; Hoffmann-Longtin et al., 2018). Using constructivism as a theoretical lens, this commentary explores the existing body of applied improvisation literature to provide recommendations for pedagogical applications within the sport management curriculum to address the employability skills gap of entry-level sport employees. The application of the current review will assist sport management educators in developing curricula and coursework while providing a foundation for future empirical studies on the efficacy and outcomes of applied improv within the sport management curriculum.

Innovation is the key: identifying factors to increase career satisfaction and psychological well-being in millennial and generation Z sport employees

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate how to generate innovative work behaviors among Millennial and Generation Z sport employees and its impact on their career satisfaction and psychological well-being.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used structural equation modeling to examine the relationships among predictors of job engagement, innovative work behaviors, career satisfaction and psychological well-being. The model was tested across managerial sport employees of Division I athletics departments (N = 224).FindingsThe highlights of the study include job engagement's positive relationship with innovative work behaviors and the positive influence of innovative work behavior on career satisfaction and psychological well-being.Originality/valueThese findings signify the importance of considering job engagement and innovative work behaviors to develop a positive work experience for Millennial and Generation Z sport employees. Doing so is thought to be a critical step in cultivating an organizational competitive advantage via younger generations of sport employees.

Attitudes of campus recreational sport employees toward LGBTQ+ participants: does targeting training make an impact?

ABSTRACT This study examined the impact of an LGBTQ+ diversity training on the attitudes of employees within a campus recreational sports setting. Diversity trainings are a common component of inclusive management, but little empirical research examining their efficacy exists. Specifically, a training program consisting of one in-person training session and four monthly inclusion guides detailing the promotion of LGBTQ+ participant inclusion was implemented and evaluated. A retrospective pretest-posttest design measured attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ population for both individuals who underwent the training and a control group of employees who did not participate in the training. Results indicate that there were significant differences in the pre- and post-training aggregated attitudinal sub-scale mean scores reported by campus recreational sports employees after participating in the training and no such differences were reported in the control group. Guided by previous research and pro-diversity theory, this study provides management implications for recreational sporting spaces.

Agency in institutionalized sport organizations: examining how institutions suppress agency

ABSTRACT Research question This study was designed to better understand how institutionalized work practices in sport organizations influence employee agency. We fill a gap in the literature by reaffirming the roles of institutional structures and the agents themselves when examining how institutions suppress agency and resist change from within. Research methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 full-time sport employees working in the U.S. collegiate sport industry, which is a highly institutionalized sport environment. Thematic analysis was employed to gain insight into agency experiences in institutionalized sport organizations. Results and findings Two themes were identified that detailed how institutionalized sport organizations impacted agency. Influential workplace prioritization norms and a bureaucracy effected participants’ agency to enact change. Participants enabled these conditions as they preserved their standing within the institution despite its constraining effect on their agency. Implications From a theoretical standpoint, the results offer a nuanced understanding of embedded agency in sport by demonstrating how sport institutional maintenance work occurs through the ‘silent work’ of institutionalized routines and practices. Further, this study relied on agents’ perspectives of institutional constraints, which aids the understanding of micro perspectives of embedded agency in sport. From a practical perspective, the results indicate that the status quo of institutionalized sport organizations may not be sustainable and could be difficult to modify and improve. This calls into question the viability of current work arrangements in sport.

An Investigation Into Voluntary Occupational Turnover of Sport Employees Using the Transtheoretical Model of Change

Voluntary occupational turnover is rampant within the economy and, thus, a timely line of inquiry within sport management. However, sport management literature has primarily explored turnover intentions rather than the realized experience of voluntary occupational turnover. Thus, the purpose of this study was to understand sport management employees’ experiences of voluntary occupational turnover using the Transtheoretical Model of Change as a guiding theoretical framework. Interpretative qualitative inquiry guided the research design with 12 former Division I swimming coaches. Findings illustrated themes aligning with the Transtheoretical Model of Change. However, an additional theme was identified: the tipping point, occurring between contemplation and preparation when a discernible event occurred which prompted the participant to move from contemplation to preparation. This study further extends the Transtheoretical Model of Change and its applicability within sport while providing implications regarding the retention of sport management employees.

The Effect of Remote Work on Family and Work Dynamics Within the Sport Industry

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of required remote work on work–family spillover within U.S. college sport. In particular, we examined the changes in work–family spillover (positive and negative), job commitment, and workaholism as employee’s work environment changed from traditional work expectations to work from home, and if these changes were, at least partially, due to parental responsibilities. Data were collected from full-time, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletic department employees (n = 1,139) in November 2019 and again in May 2020 following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and after the transition to remote work. Results showed that sport employees found a number of benefits associated with working remotely, including a significant decrease in negative work–family spillover. However, employees with children at home reported higher levels of negative family–work spillover after going to remote work. Workaholism was also higher after the move to remote work. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Evaluating The Organizational Health of Students' Activities Departments at Iraqi Universities from the Sport Employees' Point of View

ر The study aims at the following: Modify and apply the organizational health scale of the student' activities departments in the Iraqi Universities.Identifying the level of the organizational health of the student' activities departments managers in the Iraqi Universities from the sport employees' point of view. The researchers used the descriptive method by surveying. The samples of preparation and final application involved (249) and (166) of sport employees respectively who are working at the department of students' activities at the Iraqi government universities. To obtain the data, a questionnaire form was built, which included dimensions represented by (the clarity of goals, organizational confidence, morales, adaptation, resources exploitation, authority balance, communication convenience, innovation, problem solving and independence). The researchers applied the scale after verifying its scientific requirements. Data was processed statistically using some statistical tools like: the arithmatic average, percentage, simple correlation and Alpha Kronbach coefficient. The researchers concluded the following: Building up a scale of organizational health for students' activities departments in accordance with the conditions, which are relevant for developing it.Departments of students' activities enjoy a (high) level of organizational health from their sport employees' point of view, and the following indicators were observed:A- The students' activities departments are characterized with the dimension of goals clarity, which was (very high) and that was accomplished because these departments set achievable goals and compatible with the goals of their sport employees.B- There is a (high) level of the rest of dimensions of the organizational health, which is compatible with the level of all their components.

Human capital generative potential: cultivating intrapreneurial employees in sport and recreation organizations

ABSTRACT Rationale/purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships among recreational sport organization employees’ engagement, resilience, and the ability to design creative mechanisms to overcome work challenges. Employees in this study all faced similar challenges and uncertainty, which provided an opportunity to explore psychological well-being, innovation, and levels of engagement with intrapreneurship. Design/methodology/approach In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 campus sport and recreation center employees across 13 organizations from 10 states in the United States. Findings Findings and discussion focus on the importance of interpersonal interactions, the ways in which personal challenges enabled adaptation and intrapreneurship, and the generative potential of recreation and sport employees in relation to psychological well-being, innovation, and intrapreneurship. Practical implications In adapting to new, challenging work situations, employees can have a heightened sense of self-determination and growth. The self-renewal sub-component of intrapreneurship is closely associated with reimagined organizational strategy when facing change and organizational obstacles. Research contribution Employees serve an important role in improved internal operations in sport and recreation organizations via innovation and intrapreneurship.

“It’s a fine balancing act”: exploring the effects of managing competing sponsorship responsibilities on sport employees

ABSTRACT Rationale/purpose This study explores the effects of competing team and event sponsorship programs on employees hosting the CFL Grey Cup. Specifically, we examine the influence of competing team and event sponsorship responsibilities on host team employees’ perceptions of and experiences with stress. Research design Data collection was composed of two phases: first, participant observation of event employees throughout event staging; then, a series of semi-structured interviews with employees following the event’s conclusion. Findings Our findings indicate that host team employees experienced stress when faced with conflicting sponsorship responsibilities incurred by individuals’ dual roles servicing team and event partners. This stress was mitigated through experience, task cohesion, and strong internal group identification, illustrative of the important role internal sponsee management plays in partnership delivery. Practical implications This study outlines the role that experience, group cohesion, and task clarity play on employee stress and well-being when managing sponsorship programs. The findings provide important insight into sponsorship management and servicing for different team and event sponsors, and host team employee well-being and intra-departmental management. Research contribution The findings advance sponsorship servicing scholarship and expands upon our understanding of stress, group cohesion, and sponsorship servicing from theoretical and practical perspectives.

Evaluating the Managerial Excellence Characteristics of students' Activities Departments Managers at Iraqi Universities from the Sport Employees' Point of View

The current research aims at : - Build a scale of the managerial excellence characteristics for the managers of students' activities departments in the Iraqi Universities from the sport employees' point of view. - Identifying the level of the managerial excellence characteristics of the student' activities departments managers in the Iraqi Universities from the sport employees' point of view. The researchers used the descriptive method by surveying. The samples of building and final application included (249) and (166) individuals respectively, who are staff working at the department of students' activities at the Iraqi government universities. In order to obtain the data, a scale was constructed for the managerial excellence characteristics, represented by (innovative vision, self-confidence, & confidence in others, change, the courage to demonstrate the opinions and suggestions and the managerial independence). The two researchers applied the scale after verifying its scientific requirements. Data was processed statistically using some statistical tools like: the arithmatic average, percentage, simple correlation and T test for two independent samples in addition to Alpha Kronbach coefficient. The researchers concluded the following: - Obtaining the scale of managerial excellence characteristics for the managers of students' activities departments at the Iraqi government Universities and this scale is effective in terms of measurement. - Managers of students' activities departments at the Iraqi government universities enjoy a high level of most of the managerial excellence characteristics from the sport employees' point of view who work in these departments except for the change characteristic that was of moderate level.

A Political Perspective of Leadership: Examining the Political Skill of Sport Managers

The purpose of this study was to examine the political skill of sport managers to assess its influence, along with P-O fit, on sport employees’ job engagement and organizational identification. The study’s sample consisted of American collegiate sport employees (N = 312) and findings revealed a positive influence of leaders’ political skill on employees’ job engagement and organizational identification when mediated by P-O fit. Two advancements are brought forth: (a) the value of political skill within the sport workplace and (b) the significance of P-O fit in supporting positive behaviors amongst sport employees. Additionally, sport leaders who employ politically skilled behaviors and enable P-O fit are likely to stimulate a competitive advantage for their sport organization. This study marks an early application of the political skill paradigm to the managerial element of sport and illustrates that sport managers who utilize political skill are able to cultivate positive employee-based outcomes.

Autonomy in design: reconciling sport employee experiences with forced job design alterations

ABSTRACT Rationale/Purpose: This study adopted the frameworks of human resource management and development to explore how forced adjustments to job designs influenced sport employees’ psychological well-being. Job design reflects the work environment and employee tasks as designed by managers. The pandemic context emphasized the prominence of job design within human resource management models and the need to proactively manage factors related to job design to enable employee well-being. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 sport employees regarding their direct experience with job design, the resulting influences on their psychological well-being, and future job designs in the sport workplace. Findings: The findings of the study included a discussion of how participants altered their job designs to realize improved psychological well-being. A significant factor in connecting job design with psychological well-being was increased autonomy. Practical Implications: The agency to engage in positive alterations to job designs provided enhanced psychological well-being by helping participants grow personally and professionally. Improved psychological well-being could benefit sport employees and organizations. Research Contribution: This study adds to the growing literature concerning strategic human resource management that can be used to provide improved experiences for sport employees and improve the functionality of sport organizations through enhanced job design.

Leading for multidimensional sport employee well-being: the role of servant leadership and teamwork

ABSTRACT The personal well-being of sport industry employees has received little attention in the literature. The current investigation addresses this gap by developing a hypothesized model of servant leadership for well-being, positing that such an approach can shape psychological, social, and physical outcomes in the sport workplace. As servant leadership is known to create an environment where employees are awakened, engaged, and developed, this approach is positioned as a key influencer of employee well-being in the sport context. Using data from 489 employees working in professional sports, structural equation modeling analyses indicated servant leadership is predictive of employee life satisfaction and teamwork, with the latter mediating servant leadership’s influence on both life satisfaction and physical health. A holistic approach to leadership for multidimensional well-being is henceforth proposed along with management implications for creating environments where sport employees can thrive both inside and outside the workplace.

Exploring employees’ perceptions of micro corporate social responsibility in non-profit sport organizations: the mediating role of psychological capital

ABSTRACT Research question This study explores non-profit sport employees’ perceptions of micro-corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives’ influence on their engagement, job satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behaviors. The study fills a critical gap in research concerning micro-CSR and non-profit sport organizations which is meaningful as micro-CSR has the potential to improve individual and organizational performance. Research method Drawing on the positive organizational behavior literature, the study tests the mediating role of employees’ psychological capital (PsyCap) using conditional process analyses and the bootstrap method to estimate the significance of indirect effects. To test these relationships, a cross-sectional survey was administered to 120 non-profit sport employees from state and regional golf associations across the United States. Results and findings The findings indicate that PsyCap mediates the relationship between the employee perceptions of CSR and job engagement, job satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behaviors. Implications This study expands the micro-level CSR literature by examining the importance of employees’ positive perceptions of CSR. The study also contributes to the understanding of PsyCap as an underlying mechanism linking CSR with positive outcomes at the individual level.