Table of Contents
Abstract 6
Introduction 7
Research Objective 7
Research Hypothesis 8
Literature Review 8
Athlete leadership and team cohesion 9
Team cohesion and team performance 9
Athlete leadership and team performance 10
Athletes leadership and passion 10
Passion and Team performance 11
Athlete leadership-OCB-Team performance 11
Methods 13
Measures 14
Data Analysis and Discussion 15
Demographic Analysis 15
Descriptive Statistics 16
Correlation Coefficients 17
Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) 18
Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) 18
Path Analysis 21
Moderating Effects 22
Finding and Results 23
Limitations, Implications and scope for future research 24
Conclusion 24
Bibliography 25
Athlete Leadership, Team Cohesion, Work passion and Organizational citizenship behavior impact on Team performance
Abstract
Purpose: It is believed that sports contribute to the most fundamental role in society. Therefore, its member needs to get direction from a leader in order to achieve their performance targets. This study emphasizes on various factors that contribute effectively towards achieving team performance in a group of team members related to sports activities.
Methodology: Athlete leadership, Team Cohesion, work passion and Organizational citizenship behavior are considered as essential variables due to lack of its study in previous research and its impacts are analyzed by using questionnaire to collect the qualitative data and hence converted to quantitative data by using Likert scale and further analysis were made by using SPSS as the tool for finding the results of these variables impacts on the team performance.
Findings: We found that the team performance has low impact on team cohesion, where else all other variable like Athlete leadership are showing strongest to moderate impact on team performance.
Limitations: The athlete leadership basically includes the major behaviors and attitudes (culture) of a member for becoming a team leader and perform better than others based on their difference in cultural values. This study has substantial amount of emphasis on male athlete hence there is an area to explore more by taking more population with female athletes.
Practical Implications: To create a positive sports environment and encourage the leadership behavior of sports leader and manager at different level. The research study shall contribute to the sports industry, especially to the sports club at Abu Dhabi.
Originality: This study discussed about the factors that are impacting the team performance that has important result on the behavior of team members and that has not studied before.
Introduction
Leadership is described as the behavioral process in which an individual is able to influence others to achieve desired set of goals[CITATION Cot l 1033 ] . In the case of sports, there is a requirement of effective leadership skills to make decisions, provide feedback, motivate, resolve conflict, and direct team. An athlete leadership is an individual who is able to occupy a formal or informal role as a leader within the group and motivate the team members to follow and achieve the common goal. The athlete leadership basically constitutes the major behaviors and attitudes that are required for becoming a team leader. According to [CITATION Fra17 l 1033 ] society perceives all the accolades as a type of role model that is capable of leading and influencing others. This is because it is believed that sports contribute to the fundamental role in promoting the members of the society. These members further become a necessary asset and leader in the future and are therefore considered as vital to the development of society [CITATION Gal17 l 1033 ]. When the leadership in context to sports and athletes is discussed, then it is required to analyze the key leadership skills to be possessed. In this frame of reference, the athlete leader must possess key leadership skills such as; communication skills, sports knowledge, self-knowledge, effective interpersonal relationship, mentoring and supporting skills, decision making, and preserving team culture [CITATION Lou16 l 1033 ]. In addition to leadership skills, it is also required to analyze the key behavioral qualities to be possessed by the athlete leader. The key behavioral qualities include hard work and dedication, respect to others, team-centered, self-esteem and confidence, knowledge of self-strength, and behave in a credible and reliable way[ CITATION Gom14 l 1033 ] .
Despite increasing evidence that supports the present understanding of athlete leadership, there still exist several gaps in the research. The past research work has not focused on the idea of shared athlete leadership considering the concept of informal leadership. The present research is only focused on the responsibility and leadership of the team captain. In addition to this, the basic challenges faced by the athlete leader and the requirement for developmental needs are not explored in detail. Lastly, it is also identified that most of the research work has emphasized the role of leaders before and after sports[CITATION Fer18 l 1033 ]. Therefore, more detailed research is required to identify the importance of athlete leadership for a sport team.
Research Objective
The primary objective of this research study is to examine the relationship between Athlete Leadership, Team Cohesion, Work passion and Organizational citizenship behavior impact on Team performance. In particular, the research work objective to analyze the key leadership skills in athletes and their influence on the sports team’s performance.
The study is based on six key research questions, which will be discussed in this report in upcoming sections:
- Does athlete leadership influence team cohesion?
- Does cohesive teams influence team performance?
- Does athlete leadership influence team performance?
- Does athlete leadership influence work passion?
- Does work passion influences team performance?
- Does OCB influence team cohesion and athlete leadership?
Research Hypothesis
In this research study, the following hypothesis will be tested;
- Hypothesis 1: Athlete leadership positively influences team cohesion.
- Hypothesis 2: Team cohesion (cohesive teams) influences team performance.
- Hypothesis 3: Athlete leadership positively influence team performance.
- Hypothesis 4: Athlete leadership influence work passion.
- Hypothesis 5: Passion influences team performance.
- Hypothesis 6 a: OCB moderates between the relationship of athlete leadership and team cohesion.
- Hypothesis 6 b: OCB moderates between athlete leadership and team performance.
Literature Review
This section illustrates some of the past research work on the given topic irrespective of demographic criteria. It is because there exists limited research studies athlete leadership in the Arab context. The selection of literature in this section is conducted on the basis of publication date reaches mainly within the past 10 years of publication in reputed journals.
Leadership is considered as a fundamental requirement for sports performance, specifically for the team sport environment [CITATION Raz18 l 1033 ]. Considering the sports leadership, most of the researchers are more focused on identifying the role as well as the influence of the leader on the team. It is identified by culture [CITATION Lou16 l 1033 ] that athlete leaders have positive impact team cohesion, identification, confidence, satisfaction and motivation level.
Athlete leadership and team cohesion
The athlete leaders play a significant role in developing sufficient team cohesion through their leadership skills. According to the research conducted by [ CITATION Vin10 l 1033 ], the athlete leader’s behavior plays a significant role in developing team cohesion.
The authors, [ CITATION Vin10 l 1033 ] emphasized the substantial role in athlete leaders’ behavior, which results in creating team cohesion. The authors [ CITATION New18 l 1033 ] defined team cohesion in sports as, “a dynamic process that is reflected in the tendency for a group to stick together and remain united in the pursuit of its instrumental objectives and/or for the satisfaction of member affective needs”.
The authors [CITATION Lou l 1033 ] analyzed the role of athlete leaders in developing cohesion relationships among the team players by means of using the Social Network Analysis. The authors analyzed the leadership role in the context of tasks, social, motivational, and external roles and their impact on the players’ social cohesion. The results showed a positive and significant relationship between the leader’s role in developing cohesion among the team players.
The analysis of the literature on the athlete leadership and team cohesion highlight a positive impact between the athlete leadership and the cohesion between the team members. Therefore, our analysis supports the following research hypothesis.
- Hypothesis 1: Athlete leadership positively influences team cohesion.
Team cohesion and team performance
One of the most significant components in effective team performance in sports is cohesiveness. However, there has been minimal research on team cohesion and its impact on team performances in sports [CITATION Bra l 1033 ]. According to the author [ CITATION McL18 l 1033 ], intrateam communication plays a significant role in developing sports team cohesion, positively impacting the performance of the team players. The authors (McLaren & Spink, 2018) research was based on the analysis of the relationship between effective communication, which the authors have considered as the cosial property and team cohesion. The authors highlighted that the impact of team cohession in sports teams are significant on team performance as effective communication leads to a successful understanding of team objectives and strategies. The research conducted by the authors [ CITATION Ath16 l 1033 ] was also based on the importance of team cohesion in sport, the researchers research aimed to assess the impact of cohesiveness among team players in the basketball teams. The research results highlighted that the team cohesion in the sports field play a significant role in influencing the team performance positively.
- Hypothesis 2: Team cohesion (cohesive teams) influences team performance.
Athlete leadership and team performance
Effective leadership in sports strongly and significantly impacts not only a single team player, rather the performance of the entire team[ CITATION Fle16 l 1033 ]. According to the authors [ CITATION Tav17 l 1033 ] athletic leaders ensure a supportive environment that creates a win orientation among the team players who are able to perform on the sports ground. The researcher [ CITATION Fra171 l 1033 ] highlighted in their study the importance of athletic leadership in increasing team performance. The authors [ CITATION Fra171 l 1033 ] compared the performance and leadership of three sports teams where the aim was to study the impact of athletic leadership on motivation and performance of the team. The research results showed that athletic leaders who were focused on the task and motivation of employees were more efficient in increasing team performance. The commitment of the athlete leaders towards their team resulted in the efficient performance of the players[ CITATION Dav18 l 1033 ].
The above literature analysis supports the hypothesis that effective atheletic leadership has a positive and significant impact on the performance of the team players, where transformational leaderhsip in the sports field has been identified as one of the most inflential leadership styles in the sports.
- Hypothesis 3: Athlete Leadership positively influence team performance.
Athletes leadership and passion
Sports passion leads to success in full performance and the team players’ positive attitude towards their team and performance on the ground[ CITATION Laf11 l 1033 ]. The author [ CITATION Gül18 l 1033 ] focused his research on the impact of coach and athlete relationship on enhancing the passion of the team players towards the sports. The research findings showed that the impact of the relationship between coach and player significantly and positively impact the player’s passion for the sport. Similarly, the research carried out by the authors [CITATION GUL18 l 1033 ] also highlighted a significant impact of coach and athlete relationship on the passion for sports among the individual players. The authors [ CITATION GUL18 l 1033 ] conducted their research on athletes belonging to multiple sports, and similar positive and high impact of the coach and athlete relationship was found in developing a passion for sports in the team players. The athlete leaders play a significant role in ensuring that each player in their team is motivated and develop a passion for the sport, which will help enhance the performance of the athletes in the sports field [ CITATION Vel13 l 1033 ].
The review of the literature supports a positive and significant relationship between athletic leadership and the passion for sports among the athletes. Therefore, the literature review supports the following hypothesis for the current research.
- Hypothesis 4: Athlete Leadership influence work passion.
Passion and Team performance
As highlighted before, the passion for sports among team players enhances their performance [ CITATION Swa17 l 1033 ]. The research carried out by the authors [ CITATION Sve19 l 1033 ] focused on the role of sports passion in enhancing the performance of the athlete during the sports performance. The research findings highlighted a strong correlation between the sports passion and dynamic passion of the athlete, especially during the last hours of the match when the expectations regarding the performance are set high. The authors [ CITATION Ver17 l 1033 ] carried out similar research in the similar domain where they highlighted that the passion for sports gives rise to the need for excelling in the sport played by the athlete. Therefore, the performance of the players is enhanced based on their desire and passion to win in the sports field.
The analysis of the literature regarding the impact and influence of passion for sports on team performance highlighted a significant and positive relationship between the two variables.
- Hypothesis 5: Passion Influences team performance.
Athlete leadership-OCB-Team performance
Similar to other fields and industries, organizational citizenship behavior is significant in the sports field too. The leaders in the sports, play vital role in developing organizational commitment among their players and creating a sense of ownership and team cohesion among the team players[ CITATION Wil17 l 1033 ]. In a recent research report by[ CITATION Meg17 l 1033 ],they identified that athlete leadership holds a positive impact on team dynamics and satisfaction. It is also identified to have a positive influence on team cohesion and performance [CITATION Cot l 1033 ]. Therefore, effective athlete leadership positively influences the confidence level of team players which in turn is reflected in team resilience and team functioning [CITATION Lou16 l 1033 ].The research conducted by the author [ CITATION Whi18 l 1033 ] focused on understanding the relationship between the role of leadership in sports in developing organizational commitment among the players and also developing team cohesion among the team players which leads to effective performance. The research found a significant and positive relationship between the two variables, in which the researchers highlighted the need for the athlete leaders to build a healthy relationship with players that boast the OCB among the players [ CITATION Whi18 l 1033 ].
The author[ CITATION Jia18 l 1033 ] also conducted research in the similar domain where their research focused on the mediating role of organizational citizenship among the variables of athlete leadership and team cohesion. The researchers carried out their research on soccer team players. They found out that the team players who developed OCB tend to have a positive relationship with their coaches resulting in team cohesion, where the players team performance was also enhanced based on the significance of the relationship between the coach and the team player. Hence, it is evident that organizational citizenship is developed through the positive relationship between athlete leadership and team cohesion, which ultimately impacts the team’s performance in sports.
- Hypothesis 6 a: OCB moderates between the relationship of Athlete Leadership and Team cohesion.
Oragnisational citizenship behavior impacts the perfoamcne of athletes during sports performance. The authors [ CITATION Art17 l 1033 ] conducted their research to evalaute the different style of leadership and their role in impacting the performance of the team players in the sports and development of organizational commitment behvior among the team players. The authors [ CITATION Art17 l 1033 ] highlighted that the sports leaders motivate the team players significantly impact the performance of the players. The authors [ CITATION Álv17 l 1033 ] also supported the findings of the other authors including [ CITATION Dar18 l 1033 ] and [ CITATION Kao16 l 1033 ] where they found a significant and positive relationship between role of leadership in developing OCB which tends to increase and enahnce sports team performance. Transformational leaders in the sports guide and shape the performance of the team players in a positive way, which strongly develops OCB among the team players where they play for the team and hence their performance on the field is imporved[ CITATION Dar18 l 1033 ]. Similar to the previous researchers, the author [ CITATION Gor19 l 1033 ] highlighted that transformational leaders play a significant role in developing sence of belongingness (OCB) among the team players and enahcing the performance of the players in the field. Similarly, [ CITATION Fla19 l 1033 ] also highlighted that these sports leaders work in close collaboration with the team players to develop a sense of winning and also the commitment towards their team to perform for the success.
The analysis of the literature highlighted that the athlete’s organizational commitment behavior does impact the performance of the athlete in the sports field. Therefore, the research provides evidence for the formation of the following hypothesis.
- Hypothesis 6 b: OCB moderates between athlete Leadership and Team Performance.
Fig. 1 Theoretical framework
Methods
The research is based on the exploratory research design where the research data has been used to find the relationship of Athlete leadership, team cohesiveness, Organizational citizenship behavior, and passion on team performance. The research would focus on quantitative data where the quantitative data would be gathered through the survey’s primary sources. The main aim would be to analyze the impact that the independent variables have on the research’s dependent variables, where the Independent Variable is Athlete leadership, the Mediating variables are Team Cohesion and passion, the Moderating Variable is OCB and the dependent Variable is Team performance.
The data sources reveal different elements and methods used in this research to find data and provide relevant deductions. The first source includes the primary data collection method in the form of a survey questionnaire method. This source was ideally selected because of its ability to increase research deductions and validity of the research as well. The second main source utilized in this research is secondary data. This data is collected from different credible sources, including authors who have researched similar contexts.
The data collection method used in this research includes both primary and secondary methods that have been applied in different ways. The secondary research was conducted using Boolean keyword search techniques. The primary data for the research would be collected by using the primary data collection method of the survey. The survey questionnaire would be distributed among the selected sample of research for the analysis purpose. The questionnaire for data collection has been carefully designed considering the variables of the research and the analysis of the impact that each independent variable has on the dependent variable. The questionnaire has been developed using the five-point Liker scale, where the respondents are asked to respond according to their degree of agreement with the question statement. Each section has questionnaire based on the research variables where the Independent Variable is Athlete leadership, the Mediating variables are Team Cohesion and passion, the Moderating Variable is OCB and the dependent Variable is Team performance.
In light of finding relevant sample size for the research, it is important to define samples and how they have been targeted. Sampling size shall be a count of individual samples or findings, such as a science experiment or a public opinion study, in any statistical setting. While a fairly simple concept, selecting the sample size is important for a project. Too small a sample gives unequal results, while too much time and energy are needed from a too large sample. In this case, the target population for the research will be taken from Abu Dhabi Sports Council, which has a total of 160 employees. ADSC deal with different Athlete members and Sport teams who are playing different types of sports. In order to deduce the ideal sample size for this research, the online sample calculator is used.
The calculator results show how a confidence interval of 6 implied with a total population of 160 people gives 100 as an ideal sample size. This shows how the research will ideally target 100 different respondents for the primary data collection process.
Measures
A translation and back-translation process is applied to ensure continuity of context in English and Arabic. The survey method included demographic questions. The questionnaire had sections based on the research variables where the Independent Variable is Athlete leadership, the Mediating variables are Team Cohesion and passion, the Moderating Variable is OCB and the dependent Variable is Team performance. The questionnaire has been developed on the previously set scales determined from the review of the literature.
The questionnaire has adopted scales of Team cohesive based on the research conducted by[CITATION Jen11 l 1033 ]. Similarly, the scale for Athlete leadership used in the research has been adopted from the research conducted by [ CITATION Che80 l 1033 ], the scale for Team performance has been adopted from[CITATION Sig13 l 1033 ], the scale for OCB has been adopted from [ CITATION Pod90 l 1033 ], and the scale for Passion has been taken from the research scale developed by[ CITATION Val03 l 1033 ] .
Data Analysis and Discussion
This chapter encompasses the details regarding various statistical tests and the results of those performed tests.
Demographic Analysis
Demographic information comprises the personal details of respondents including their age, gender, their education, experience and some other necessary information prior to collecting their responses about latent variables. Table 1 contains all the information about demographic characteristics. According to this table, firstly age is divided into few ranges from minimum of 18 years to maximum of more than 55 years. Out of 100 participants, 13 (13%) belong to the age range of 18-24 years; while, 42 (42%) respondents fall under 25-34 years of age. Similarly, 36, 7 and 2 respondents fall in the age range of 35-44, 45-54 and 55 or more, respectively.
| Table 1. Demographic Characteristics | |||||
| Frequency | Percent | Valid Percent | Cumulative Percent | ||
| Age | 18-24 Years | 13 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| 25-34 Years | 42 | 42.0 | 42.0 | 55.0 | |
| 35-44 Years | 36 | 36.0 | 36.0 | 91.0 | |
| 45-54 Years | 7 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 98.0 | |
| 55 or older | 2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 100.0 | |
| Total | 100 | 100.0 | 100.0 | ||
| Gender | Male | 79 | 79.0 | 79.0 | 79.0 |
| Female | 21 | 21.0 | 21.0 | 100.0 | |
| Total | 100 | 100.0 | 100.0 | ||
| Education | Below High School | 8 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| High School | 38 | 38.0 | 38.0 | 46.0 | |
| Higher Diploma/Bachelor | 46 | 46.0 | 46.0 | 92.0 | |
| Master Degree and Above | 8 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 100.0 | |
| Total | 100 | 100.0 | 100.0 | ||
| Sports | Football | 67 | 67.0 | 67.0 | 67.0 |
| Cricket | 6 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 73.0 | |
| Basketball | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 74.0 | |
| Volleyball | 10 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 84.0 | |
| Tennis | 3 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 87.0 | |
| Others | 13 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 100.0 | |
| Total | 100 | 100.0 | 100.0 | ||
| Leading Team | Yes | 56 | 56.0 | 56.0 | 56.0 |
| No | 44 | 44.0 | 44.0 | 100.0 | |
| Total | 100 | 100.0 | 100.0 | ||
| Sports Experience | Below 5 Years | 23 | 23.0 | 23.0 | 23.0 |
| 5-10 Years | 27 | 27.0 | 27.0 | 50.0 | |
| 11-20 Years | 34 | 34.0 | 34.0 | 84.0 | |
| 21 Years & Above | 16 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 100.0 | |
| Total | 100 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Secondly, out of 100 respondents, 79 were males and 21 were females. It means males are about three times more compared to females in this study. Out of these respondents, 8 have their education below the high school level; while, 38 completed their high school. In addition, 46 respondents passed their higher diploma/bachelors while, few participants are included with master or above qualification. These respondents have selected various sports according to their preferences. Amongst these respondents, 67% are associated with football, while, 6% and 1% are associated with cricket and basketball, respectively. 10% respondents selected volleyball, while only 3% were associated with tennis.
Conversely, 13% respondents expressed their association with some other sports. Moreover, they were asked about their captaincy to analyze whether they have led any team ever; thus, 56% responded in ‘Yes’, while 44% responded in ‘No’. In order to take experts responses about athlete sportsmanship, there was a dire need to take responses from experienced persons. Thus, participants were asked about their sports experience. Out of 100 respondents, 23 had an experience of below 5 years, while, 27 had their experience between 5 to 10 years. Similarly, 34 participants of this study were had an experience between 11-20 years. While only 16 possessed either 21 years or more experience.
Descriptive Statistics
In order to summarize information about constructs, descriptive statistics is useful. Table 2 provides important details regarding mean and standard deviation of the variables. Athlete leadership has a mean value of 4.006 with standard deviation of 0.596. Similarly, Team Cohesion has an average value of 3.980 with standard deviation of 0.7297 while, Passion has an average value of 3.597 (SD=0.773). Moreover, organizational citizenship behavior and team performance have mean and standard deviation as 4.133 (SD=0.579) and 4.037 (SD=0.525), respectively.
| Table 2. Descriptive Statistics | |||||
| N | Minimum | Maximum | Mean | Std. Deviation | |
| Athlete Leadership | 100 | 2.14 | 5.00 | 4.0057 | .59612 |
| Team Cohesion | 100 | 1.75 | 5.00 | 3.9800 | .72967 |
| Passion | 100 | 1.13 | 5.00 | 3.5975 | .77272 |
| Organizational Citizenship Behavior | 100 | 2.00 | 5.00 | 4.1325 | .57948 |
| Team Performance | 100 | 2.29 | 5.00 | 4.0371 | .52464 |
| Valid N (listwise) | 100 |
Correlation Coefficients
Following table 3 encompassed information about correlation coefficient, which is utilized to evaluate the association between various latent constructs[CITATION LyA18 l 1033 ]. All the correlation values are only acceptable if the value of significance is less than 0.05 as it denotes that results are presented with 95% confidence interval [ CITATION Sch18 l 1033 ] .Firstly, Athlete leadership has no significant association with team cohesion as the significance value is 0.153, which is greater than 0.05. Conversely, athlete leadership has 22.8% positive correlation with passion at significance level p<0.01. Moreover, Athlete leadership has positive and significant correlation with organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) (r=31%, p<0.01) and team performance (r=71.2%, p,0.01).
| Table 3. Correlation Matrix | ||||||
| 1-A.L | 2-T.C | 3-P | 4-OCB | 5-T | ||
| 1) Athlete Leadership | Pearson Correlation | |||||
| Sig. (2-tailed) | ||||||
| 2) Team Cohesion | Pearson Correlation | .153 | ||||
| Sig. (2-tailed) | .129 | |||||
| 3) Passion | Pearson Correlation | .228 | -.037 | |||
| Sig. (2-tailed) | .023 | .712 | ||||
| 4)Organizational Citizenship Behavior | Pearson Correlation | .310 | .368 | .240 | ||
| Sig. (2-tailed) | .002 | .000 | .016 | |||
| 5) Team Performance | Pearson Correlation | .712 | .216 | .134 | .442 | |
| Sig. (2-tailed) | .000 | .031 | .184 | .000 | ||
| *. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). |
In addition to above mentioned relationships, table 3 revealed that team cohesion has 15.3% correlation with Athlete leadership whereas, Passion, Organizational Citizenship and Team performance has 22.8%, 31.0%, and 71.2% correlation with Athlete leadership. Passion has no correlation with team cohesion whereas, Organizational Citizenship and Team performance has 36.8% and 21.6% correlation with team cohesion respectively. Organizational Citizenship Behavior has 24.0% correlation with Passion and Team performance has 13.4% and 44.2% correlation with passion and Organizational Citizenship Behavior respectively.
Structural Equation Modelling (SEM)
SEM technique is usually utilized in order to test the developed research hypotheses. It is comprised upon different sub-tests including confirmatory factor analysis, and hypotheses testing.
Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)
CFA is specifically important to investigate the factor loadings and model fit indices. Following table 4 shows information about model fitness including their standard threshold values and our calculated values. All the values of model fit indices are according to standard values; therefore, data is valid for further analysis.
Table 4. Model Fitness
| Fit Indices | Full Form | References | Standard Values | Calculated Values | |
| χ2/df | Chi-square | (Wheaton and Muthen, 1977) | 1-3 | 1.777 | |
| NFI | Normed fit index | (Byrne, 1994, Schumacker and Lomax, 2004) | NFI ≥ 0.9 | 0.901 | |
| TLI | Tucker-Lewis coefficient | (Bentler and Bonett, 1980) | TLI ≥ 0.9 | 0.929 | |
| GFI | Goodness of fit index | (Tanaka and Huba, 1985) | GFI ≥ 0.9 | 0.911 | |
| CFI | Comparative fit index | (Bentler, 1990) | CFI ≥ 0.9 | 0.952 | |
| RMSEA | Root mean square error of approximation | (Steiger, 1980) | RMSEA ≤ 0.08 | 0.079 |
Table 5 contains important information about factor loadings, reliability and validity. Previous studies have highlighted that items with lower than 0.3 factor loadings should be removed from analysis – as they do not have enough correlation to measure the latent constructs [ CITATION She98 l 1033 ].Therefore, all the items which had factor loadings below 0.3, they are removed. These items were involved in all the variables; therefore, they are removed, and final included items are expressed in table 5 and figure 1 below.
| Table 5. Factor Loadings (λ), Reliability (α and CR) and Average Variance Extracted (AVE) | |||||
| Variables | Items | Λ | α | CR | AVE |
| Athlete Leadership | AL3 | .60 | .810 | .811 | .527 |
| AL6 | .50 | ||||
| AL9 | .67 | ||||
| AL10 | .68 | ||||
| AL11 | .63 | ||||
| AL12 | .59 | ||||
| AL13 | .64 | ||||
| Team Cohesion | TC1 | .65 | .732 | .739 | .502 |
| TC2 | .54 | ||||
| TC5 | .55 | ||||
| TC6 | .82 | ||||
| Passion | PN6 | .61 | .877 | 884 | .560 |
| PN7 | .64 | ||||
| PN8 | .63 | ||||
| PN9 | .75 | ||||
| PN10 | .69 | ||||
| PN11 | .84 | ||||
| PN12 | .73 | ||||
| PN13 | .68 | ||||
| Organizational Citizenship Behavior | ALT2 | .69 | .871 | .872 | .511 |
| ALT5 | .70 | ||||
| C2 | .71 | ||||
| C5 | .66 | ||||
| CV1 | .71 | ||||
| CV5 | .71 | ||||
| CV9 | .74 | ||||
| Team Performance | TP2 | .53 | .801 | .807 | .509 |
| TP3 | .60 | ||||
| TP4 | .56 | ||||
| TP6 | .54 | ||||
| TP9 | .64 | ||||
| TP10 | .76 | ||||
| TP11 | .64 |
Table 5 shows that all the items have factor loadings above 0.3. From these factor loadings, we have calculated the reliability and validity of the scale. The existing literature highlights two important methods to find out the internal consistency of the scale including Cronbach’s alpha (α) and Composite reliability (CR) [ CITATION Pet13 l 1033 ] [ CITATION Ray98 l 1033 ]. Usually Cronbach’s alpha is more prominent and extensively utilized; however, CR is considered more authentic and accurate.
Figure 1. Confirmatory Factor Analysis
We have included both methods’ results in table 5. In both tests, the threshold value is 0.7; thus, any value below 0.7 is not acceptable. Table 5 reveals that all the values of Alpha and CR are above 0.7; thus, prove the internal consistency of the scale. In addition to this, table 5 also involves Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values, which is utilized to evaluate the convergent validity. The convergent validity states that the items which should be correlated are actually related to each other [CITATION AbH17 l 1033 ].Its threshold value is 0.5; thus, any value below 0.5 does not contain convergent validity. Table 5 shows that all the values of AVE are greater than 0.5; therefore, the convergent validity is approved.
Path Analysis
| Table 6. Path Analysis | ||||||
| Hypotheses | Estimate | S.E. | C.R. | P | Label | |
| Athlete Leadership | Team Cohesion | .187 | .122 | 1.539 | .124 | par_2 |
| Athlete Leadership | Passion | .295 | .127 | 2.328 | .020 | par_4 |
| Athlete Leadership | Team Performance | .616 | .064 | 9.672 | .01 | par_1 |
| Team Cohesion | Team Performance | .078 | .051 | 1.531 | .126 | par_3 |
| Passion | Team Performance | -.015 | .049 | -.303 | .762 | par_5 |
Above table 6 shows direct effects of predictors on dependent variable. Both mediators are also considered as dependent variables for path analysis. While the independent variable is athlete leadership (AL). According to this table, athlete leadership has 18.7% significant impact on Team cohesion; therefore, the first alternative hypothesis of this study is rejected. Secondly, this table suggests that athlete leadership has 29.5% positive impact on passion with significance value p<0.01. Thus, the fourth hypothesis of this study is accepted. Moreover, athlete leadership has 61.6% positive influence on team performance and this relationship is significant at p<0.01, and denotes the third hypothesis of this study, which is accepted. Furthermore, fourth in table team cohesion has no significant influence on team performance, and it refers to the second hypothesis of this study; thus, the second alternative hypothesis is rejected. Similarly, passion has no significant impact on team performance; therefore, the fifth hypothesis of this study is also rejected. The positive influences explain that if predictor is increased, the outcome will also increase and vice versa. These relationships are also presented in figure 2 below.
Figure 2. Path Analysis
Moderating Effects
In moderation analysis, we have used interaction term of athlete leadership and organizational citizenship behavior. And the combined effect of these two variables has analyzed on team cohesion and team performance. Also, the effects of athlete leadership are presented separately to examine what difference arises after combining effect of moderation with athlete leadership.
| Table 7. Moderation Analysis | ||||||
| Estimate | S.E. | C.R. | P | Label | ||
| Int | Team Cohesion | .110 | .031 | 3.536 | .009 | par_1 |
| Int | Team Performance | .047 | .016 | 2.919 | .004 | par_2 |
| Athlete Leadership | Team Performance | .383 | .102 | 3.742 | .005 | par_3 |
| Athlete Leadership | Team Cohesion | -.379 | .197 | -1.925 | .054 | par_5 |
According to table 7 above, athlete leadership has no significant impact on team cohesion; however, after combining effect of moderator (OCB), the athlete leadership(int) has 11% positive effect on team cohesion with significance level of p<0.01. It means organizational citizenship behavior positively moderates the relationship between athlete leadership and team cohesion and increases the positive strength of athlete leadership on team cohesion. Thus, our 6th (a) hypothesis is accepted.
Figure 3. Moderation Analysis
Furthermore, table 7 shows that athlete leadership has 38.3% effect on team performance with significance value of p<0.01; however, moderator has decreased the effect of athlete leadership on team performance. According to table 7, athlete leadership has 4.7% positive impact on team performance in the moderating effects of organizational citizenship behavior and this relationship is significant at p<0.01. Thus, the 6th (b) hypothesis of this study is accepted which states that OCB moderates the relationship of athlete leadership and team performance. However, here the moderating effect is negative because owing to OCB influence, the effect of athlete leadership on team performance has reduced. These moderating effects are also presented in figure 3 above.
Finding and Results
In this section, it will be analyzed whether all the research questions and research objectives are discovered by using the selected research methodology. It will be analyzed then each goal of the research study has been completed thoroughly. More specifically, this section illustrates the type of results that will be retrieved and the requisite interpretation to be made in the analysis section. The results are expected to be sound statistical evidence which will be often through is a logical and fair manner.
As the coefficient of variation in variable Athlete leadership is 0.148, which shows that our results are closer to mean and the data dispersion is close to an average from the mean. Similarly, team cohesion has coefficient of variation of 0.183, whereas passion, organizational citizenship and team performance has coefficient of variation of 0.214, 0.140 and 0.130 respectively.
Table1. Finding & Discussions
| Mean | Std. Deviation | C.V(CV<1) | |
| Athlete Leadership | 4.006 | 0.596 | 0.148 |
| Team Cohesion | 3.980 | 0.7297 | 0.183 |
| Passion | 3.597 | 0.773 | 0.214 |
| Organizational Citizenship Behavior | 4.133 | 0.579 | 0.140 |
| Team Performance | 4.037 | 0.525 | 0.130 |
Further analysis of correlation coefficient depicts the relationship of team performance, organization citizenship behavior, passion and team cohesion as 71.2%, 31.0%, 22.8% and 15.3% respectively. Hence team performance has highest and strongest correlation with Athlete leadership at a significance level of <0.1. Another measure of comparing p-values to the significance level, goodness to model fitness test was conducted. It shows that athlete leadership has 38.3% effect on team performance with significance value of p<0.01; however, moderator has decreased the effect of athlete leadership on team performance. According to table 7, athlete leadership has 4.7% positive impact on team performance in the moderating effects of organizational citizenship behavior. Table 4, model fitness test showed all test results with in the standard values. Chi-squared test calculated value was 1.777 where as standard value showed as range between 1-3. Normed fit index showed 0.901 calculated values where as standard value is set to >0.9, TLI Tuker lewis coefficient test calculated value was 0.929 where as standard value is TLI>0.9. Goodness of fix index calculated values was 0.911, whereas standard value is >0.9. also comparative fix index calculated values was 0.952, whereas standard value is CFI>0.9 and RMSEA Root mean square error showed calculated value 0.079 where as standard value is <0.08. Hence all value showed relation among variable as they were under standard range. Path analysis showed positive relation of Athlete leadership with team cohesion, passion, team performance with 0.187, 0.295, 0.616 values respectively whereas team cohesion and team performance has very low correlation as value was 0.078.
Limitations, Implications and scope for future research
This study has identified the relationship of Athlete leadership, OCB, team cohesion and passion on team performance; however, role of both formal e.g. the captain and informal motivators’ e.g. culture can also have significant impact upon team performance. Hence culture aspects of leaders with associated team members are significant area of further study. Also there is range of other factors like team dynamics and its impact on leadership and team members also needs to be explored. Further important area of coach development programs also has immense knowledge to explore with regards to Athlete leadership. Moreover, the sample populations for the study were limited to ADSC employees in the Abu Dhabi. The study has substantial amount of emphasis on male athlete as the majority of Athletes in ADSC were men.
Conclusion
The research concludes the exploratory research design results, where the research data has been used to find the relationship and impact of team performance on team cohesiveness, leadership, Organizational citizenship behavior, and passion. The research focused on quantitative data where the quantitative data was also gathered through the survey’s primary sources. The main goal was achieved by analyzing the independent variables impact on the research’s dependent variables, where the Independent Variable is Athlete leadership, the Mediating variables are Team Cohesion and passion, the Moderating Variable is OCB and the dependent Variable is Team performance.
This study proved to explain & explore various aspects of relations between athlete leadership, team cohesion, passion and OCB on team performance with various results obtained through qualitative as well as quantitative data showed the significance relationship of these variables on team performance. However, team cohesion showed low impact on team performance.
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