Scheduled for Sport Management, Special Populations, Leisure and Recreation Posters, Thursday, April 3, 2003, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM, Convention Center: Exhibit Hall A


An Empirical Investigation of the Satisfaction, Commitment and Performance of NCAA Division III Coaches

Marlene A. Dixon, Rice University, Houston, TX and Donna L. Pastore, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

As non-profit organizations become increasingly accountable for their performance, more impetus is placed on measuring both individual and organizational effectiveness. Effectiveness frameworks such as stakeholder and multiple constituency theories (Cameron, 1978; Herman & Renz, 1997, 1998, 1999; Quinn & Rohrbaugh, 1983), argue that objective goals (e.g., win/loss record) must be combined with subjective measures (e.g., employee satisfaction and commitment) in order to give the most accurate picture of effectiveness at the individual level. Further, in spite of human relations proponents who argue for a strong positive relationship between both satisfaction and performance and commitment and performance, these relationships have not held in empirical studies (Ostroff, 1992; Iaffaldano & Muchinsky, 1985; Lee et al., 2001). The purpose of this study was to investigate the satisfaction, commitment, tenure, and performance of Division III coaches. The second purpose was to examine the relationship between these effectiveness measures including potentially influential demographic variables (gender and age) to make research and practical recommendations regarding the appropriate use of these measures. Coaches (n=701) from NCAA Division III schools completed a mailed questionnaire (response rate=40.7%) regarding their job attitudes and performance. The gender breakdown of the respondents was 73.6% males, and 26.4% females. The respondents ranged in age from 23-75, with a mean of 42 years. Job satisfaction (M=6.09), was measured using 5 items from Brayfield and Rothe’s (1951) job satisfaction scale (7-point Likert scale). Commitment (M=5.03) was measured using Allen and Meyer’s (1991) affective commitment scale (7-point Likert scale). Performance (M=0.55, Range=0-1.00) was measured as win/loss record for the past three years. Finally, tenure (M=8.97, Range=1-49 years) was measured as years employed at the current institution. Results showed no differences between the outcome variables based on gender. However, age was positively associated with satisfaction (r=.10, p<.05), commitment (r=.24, p<.05) performance (r=.13, p<.05), and tenure (r=.61, p<.05). Satisfaction showed a weak, positive relationship with performance (r=.17, p<.05), but not with tenure. Commitment showed a weak, positive relationship with both performance (r=.18, p<.05) and tenure (r=.17, p<.05). First, data indicated that satisfaction and commitment were very high among these coaches. Further, findings support previous research that satisfaction and commitment are weakly related to performance and tenure, which suggests that these measures carry different information (Chelladurai & Haggerty, 1991) and that job attitudes do not necessarily predict coaching performance. In conclusion, results indicate that researchers and practitioners should utilize both types of measures when evaluating individual-level effectiveness.

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