Effects of leadership style on coach-athlete relationship, athletes' motivations, and athlete satisfaction

Hao Jin; Seungmo Kim; Adam Love; Yun Jin; Jie Zhao

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1012953

Effects of leadership style on coach-athlete relationship, athletes' motivations, and athlete satisfaction

Front Psychol. 2022 Dec 12:13:1012953. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1012953. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Hao Jin¹, Seungmo Kim², Adam Love³, Yun Jin⁴, Jie Zhao⁴

Affiliations

¹ FIBA China, Beijing, China.
² Department of Sport and Physical Education, Faculty of Social Sciences, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
³ Department of Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies, College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States.
⁴ College of Physical Education, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.

Abstract

Introduction: The current study investigated the impacts of autocratic and democratic leadership styles on the coach-athlete relationship, athletes' motivations, and athlete satisfaction.

Methods: Survey data were collected from 298 student-athletes (male = 157; 52.7%, female = 141; 47.3%) from 20 different Chinese collegiate sports. The Structural Equation Model was used to test the hypothesized model.

Results: The results indicated democratic leadership had a direct positive influence on the coach-athlete relationship, while autocratic leadership had no direct effect. Both leadership styles did not influence autonomous motivation. The coach-athlete relationship, meanwhile, had a full mediation effect between democratic leadership and athletes' motivation and satisfaction. In addition, autonomous motivation had a partial mediation effect between the coach-athlete relationship and athlete satisfaction.

Discussion: Ultimately, the findings of the current study underscore the need for coaches and administrators to understand the impact of different leadership styles and highlight the importance of democratic leadership in improving athletes' psychological outcomes.

Keywords: athlete satisfaction; autocratic leadership; coach-athlete relationship; democratic leadership; motivation.