Search Results

Several studies in business and sport have noted systematic differences in leadership behavior between men and women. Many of these studies only examined leadership behavior from the perspective of the leader or the follower. This study’s purpose was to examine the impact that a coach’s gender may have on leadership behavior indicators as reported by leaders and followers. Collegiate women’s tennis coaches (M = 40; F = 71) and female collegiate tennis players (n = 167) participated in separate studies and completed the Revised Leadership Scale for Sports (Zhang, Jensen, & Mann, 1997), which assesses the following six leadership behaviors: training and instruction, democratic behavior, autocratic behavior, social support, positive feedback, and situation consideration. Study one examined self-reported leadership differences on the basis of sex from the leader’s perspective and found female coaches reported significantly less (p = .048) autocratic behavior than male coaches. Study two examined leadership differences from the female athletes’ perspective and found no significant differences in perceived leadership behavior based on the coach’s sex. These findings are subsequently discussed within the context of social role theory. The results of this study support the notion that perceived gender role orientations become linked to the social roles occupied rather than the leader’s gender.

Market pressures and external demands to sustain access, improve cost management and accountability, and increase productivity continue to persist in departments and schools of kinesiology. Confidence in the sustainability of an institution’s business model is eroding. To address these challenges, one possible approach for enhancing institutional performance, accountability, and stability is to revise an institution’s management process or budgeting model. Indicators suggest that many institutions are changing budget models to an incentive-based budgeting (IBB) system (i.e., responsibility-centered management [RCM]). The management strategies reviewed in this article are important for higher education budget administrators that implement, or are considering implementing, an IBB system as a means for assessing outcomes or institutional decision-making.

The importance of mentoring in the development of individual careers is noted in the business and higher education literature. However, prior research has given little attention to the development of mentoring relationships between junior and senior sport management faculty members. In addition to providing context-specific information, mentorship studies of sport management faculty provide insight on an emerging and gender-imbalanced discipline in the academy. This study reviews the literature on mentorship, and presents a hybrid framework on the mentor–protégé relationships established in the academic field of sport management. Specifically, the study identifies aspects of the relationships likely to yield positive perceptual outcomes, such as relationship effectiveness, trust, and job satisfaction. Data were collected from 161 sport management faculty members in the United States and Canada. The results provide support for the new hybrid framework and highlight mentoring as a valuable mechanism to support sport management faculty.

In today’s challenging economic climate at most universities, kinesiology administrators are becoming increasingly aware of the need to participate in activities that will generate alternative revenue sources related to their academic mission. The ways deans and development officers communicate with alumni, potential donors, upper administrative leaders, and legislatures will all impact how successful the efforts to develop funds and partnerships will be. Successful fundraisers are those who can generate strategic alliances, create and market a plan that relates needs to societal issues of public interest and university priorities, and are able to identify partnerships that will produce an increase in resources. This paper provides strategies for identifying and connecting with key donors, building partnerships, developing the plan and cultivating internal and external audiences, aligning needs with university priorities, and working with legislatures.

The purpose of this study was to measure U.S. National Governing Body (NGB) administrators’ perceptions of fairness of financial resource allocation within the U.S. Olympic Movement. This study extends previous research on distributive justice in the sport industry by examining a new setting and controlling for the potential moderating effect of procedural justice. Presidents and executive directors responded to a survey containing three resource allocation scenarios. Study participants most often identified need to be competitively successful as the most fair distribution principle, but believed equity based on medals won was the most likely to be used. Results also indicated significant differences in the perceived fairness of distribution principles based on the budget size of the NGB, the membership size of the NGB, and the NGB’s success in the Olympic Games. These results have implications for the evolving priorities of NGBs, how these priorities are being addressed, and possible reactions to resource distribution decisions.

Realistic job previews (RJPs) occur when both positive and negative information about a job is presented to a potential applicant. Because job seekers in the sport industry sometimes target opportunities based upon their personal affection for particular sports/sport organizations, the presentation of realistic information about the actual work could be key. The purpose of this two study, quasi-experimental research design was to examine the effect of RJPs on job seekers’ levels of attraction to sport job openings, perceptions of person-job fit, and job acceptance intentions. Study 1 results suggested job seekers’ acceptance intentions and attraction to the job changed after the job seeker encountered realistic information. Study 2 results suggested job seekers’ acceptance intentions and perceived job fit changed after encountering an RJP where perceived prestige was a factor. Thus, RJPs appear to influence the attractiveness, acceptability, and perceived fit of a job opening in sport.