Sport identification and employee pride: key factors in sport employee psychology
by Steve Swanson; Aubrey Kent
International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing (IJSMM), Vol. 17, No. 1/2, 2017

Abstract: The current study used a positive psychology approach to gain insight on employees working within the professional sports industry. While psychological fulfilment has been proposed as a critical area of distinction for managing in the sport environment, there is a need for empirical investigation relating to this proposition. The purpose of the current study was to address this gap in the literature and assess the role of psychological fulfilment in the form of sport employee pride. This study also addresses the role of identification with a specific sport and introduces this concept to the organisational behaviour literature more generally. More than 1,000 employees from five different professional sports leagues participated in the study, with structural equation modelling results providing support for sport identification and employee pride having a positive influence on satisfaction and organisational citizenship behaviour. Implications for sport managers are that employees working in this environment can have a psychological connection with a particular sport, which in turn augments employee pride and leads to positive attitudes and behaviours in the workplace. The results of this study are significant to sport managers in relation to human resource decisions and promoting positive psychology in the workplace.

Online publication date: Sun, 30-Apr-2017

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing (IJSMM):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com