Sport Commitment, Occupational Commitment and Intent to Quit Among High School Sports Officials

Authors

  • Christopher R. Barnhill Louisiana State University
  • J. Michael Martinez Louisiana State University
  • Damon P. Andrew Louisiana State University
  • Wes Todd Auburn University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17161/jas.v4i1.6459

Keywords:

Sport officials, occupational turnover, occupational commitment, sport commitment

Abstract

This study sought to examine the issue of attrition among high school sport officials by exploring turnover intentions through the lenses of occupational and sport commitment. A questionnaire was distributed via email to high school sport officials in the southeastern United States. The data was analyzed via hierarchical multiple regression, revealing that affective occupational commitment and sport commitment are negatively correlated predictors of occupational turnover intentions. Implications for practitioners and avenues for future scholarship are conferred.

References

Associated Press. (2015, November 28). Referee shortage tied to lack of respect. The New York Times. Retreived from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/sports/

referee-shortage-tied-to-lack-of-respect.html

Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thoughts and actions: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Bernal, J. C., Nix, C., & Boatwright, D. (2012). Sport officials’ longevity: Motivation and passion for the sport. International Journal of Sport Management, Recreation & Tourism, 10, 28–39.

http://doi.org/10.5199/ijsmart-1791-874X-10b

Blau, G. (2003). Testing for a four-dimensional structure of occupational commitment. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 76(4), 469–488. http://doi.org/10.1348/096317903322591596

Cunningham, G. B., & Sagas, M. (2004). Work experiences, occupational commitment, and intent to enter the sport management profession. The Physical Educator, 61(3), 146–156.

Cunningham, G. B., Sagas, M., & Ashley, F. B. (2001). Occupational commitment and intent to leave the coaching profession: Differences according to race. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 36, 131-148.

Cunningham, G. B., Sagas, M., Dixon, M. A., Kent, A., & Turner, B. A. (2005). Anticipated career satisfaction, affective occupational commitment, and intentions to enter the sport management profession. Journal of Sport Management, 19, 43–57.

Cuskelly, G. (1995). The influence of committee functioning on the organizational commitment of volunteer administrators in sport. Journal of Sport Behavior, 18(4), 254.

Cuskelly, G., & Hoye, R. (2013). Sports officials’ intention to continue. Sport Management Review, 16(4), 451–464. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2013.01.003

Dingemans, E., & Henkens, K. (2014). Involuntary retirement, bridge employment, and satisfaction with life: A longitudinal investigation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35, 575-591.

Engelberg-Moston, T., Stipis, C., Kippin, B., Spillman, S., & Burbidge, K. (2009). Organisational and occupational commitment as predictors of volunteer coaches’ burnout. Austrailian Journal on Volunteering, 14(2), 1–9. http://doi.org/10.1016/

S0065-2113(08)60255-2

Gray, C. E., & Wilson, P. M. (2008). The relationship between organizational commitment, perceived relatedness and intentions to continue in Canadian track and field officials. Journal of Sport Behavior, 31(1), 44–63.

Hancock, D. J., Dawson, D. J., & Auger, D. (2015). Why ref? Understanding sport officials’ motivations to begin, continue, and quit. Movement & Sport Sciences, 87, 31–39.

http://doi.org/10.1051/sm/2014018

Irving, P. G., Coleman, D. F., & Cooper, C. L. (1997). Further assessments of a three-component model of occupational commitment: Generalizability and differences across occupations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(3), 444–452. http://doi.org/

1037/0021-9010.82.3.444

Jones, D. A., & McIntosh, B. R. (2010). Organizational and occupational commitment in relation to bridge employment and retirement intentions. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 77(2), 290–303. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2010.04.004

Koslowsky, M., & Maoz, O. (1988). Commitment and personality variables as discriminators among sports referees. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 10, 262–269.

Lee, K., Carswell, J. J., & Allen, N. J. (2000). A meta-analytic review of occupational commitment: Relations with person-and work-related variables. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(5), 799–811. http://doi.org/10.1037//0021-9010.85.5.799

Lirgg, C. D., Feltz, D. L., & Merrie, M. D. (2016). Self-efficacy of sports officials: A critical review of the literature. Journal of Sport Behavior, 39(1), 39–50.

Martinez, J.M., Miller, J., & Koo, G.Y. (2016). Organizational commitment among frontline intercollegiate athletics employees: An application of the Meyer and Allen three-component model. International Journal of Sport Management, 17(4), 539-560.

Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. (1991). A three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment. Human Resource Management Review, 1(1), 61–89.

Meyer, J. P., Allen, N. J., & Smith, C. A. (1993). Commitment to organizations and occupations: Extension and test of a three-component conceptualization. Journal of Applied Psychology. http://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.78.4.538

National Federation of State High School Associations (2016, September 12). High school sport participation increases for 27th consecutive year. Retreived from https://www.nfhs.org/articles/high-school-sports-participation-increases-for-27th-consecutive-year/

Parsons, T., & Bairner, A. (2015). You want the buzz of having done well in a game that wasn’t easy: A sociological examination of the job commitment of English football referees. Movement & Sport Sciences, 87, 41–52. http://doi.org/10.1051

/sm/2014017

Ryan, T. D., Sosa, J. P., & Thornton, M. A. (2014). Influences of training on individual outcomes for high school sports officials. SAGE Open, 1–6. http://doi.org/10.1177/2158244014532475

Scanlan, T. K., Carpenter, P. J., Schmidt, G. W., Simons, J. P., & Keeler, B. (1993). An introduction to the sport commitment model. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 15(1), 1–15. http://doi.org/10.5539/ijps.v3nlp90

Scanlan, T. K., Chow, G. M., Sousa, C., Scanlan, L. A., & Knifsend, C. A. (2016). The development of the Sport Commitment Questionnaire-2 (English version). Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 22, 233–246. http://doi.org/10.1016/

j.psychsport.2015.08.002

Smart, R., & Peterson, C. (1997). Super’s career stages and the decision to change careers. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51, 358-374.

Snape, E., & Redman, T. (2003). An evaluation of a three-component model of occupational commitment: dimensionality and consequences among United Kingdom human resource management specialists. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(1), 152–159. http://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.1.152

Solutions to Referee Shortage (2016, January 12). Athletic Management Retreived from: http://athleticmanagement.com/content/solutions-referee-shortage

Turner, B. A., & Chelladurai, P. (2005). Organizational and occupational commitment, intention to leave, and perceived performance of intercollegiate coaches. Journal of Sport Management, 19, 193–211.

VanYperen, N. W. (1998). Predicting stay/leave behavior among volleyball referees. The Sport Journal, 12, 427–439.

Warner, S., Tingle, J. K., & Kellett, P. (2013). Officiating attrition: The experiences of former referees via a sport development lens. Journal of Sport Management, 27(4), 316–328.

Warsaw, P. R., & Davis, F. D. (1985). Disentangling behavioral intention and behavioral expectation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 21, 213-228.

Wayne, S. J., Liden, R. C., Kraimer, M. L., & Graf, I. K. (1999). The role of human capital, motivation and supervisor sponsorship in predicting career success. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20(5), 577-595.

Wicker, P., & Frick, B. (2016). Recruitment and retention of referees in nonprofit sport organizations: The trickle-down effect of role models. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 27(3), 1304–1322. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-016-9705-4

Wolf, J. (2015, July 28). As budgets dwindle, high schools and youth sports teams turn to crowdfunding. USAToday. Retreived from: http://usatodayhss.com/2015/as-budgets-dwindle-high-schools-and-youth-sports-teams-turn-to-crowdfunding

Downloads

Published

2018-05-15

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Barnhill, C. R., Martinez, J. M., Andrew, D. P., & Todd, W. (2018). Sport Commitment, Occupational Commitment and Intent to Quit Among High School Sports Officials. Journal of Amateur Sport, 4(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.17161/jas.v4i1.6459