Transformational Leadership, Task-Involving Climate, and Their Implications in Male Junior Soccer Players: A Multilevel Approach

Octavio Álvarez, Isabel Castillo, Vladimir Molina-García and Inés Tomás
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Octavio Álvarez: Department of Social Psychology, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
Isabel Castillo: Department of Social Psychology, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
Vladimir Molina-García: Postgraduate and Continuing Education Centre, University of Almeria, 04120 Almeria, Spain
Inés Tomás: Department of Methodology of the Behavioral Sciences, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-11

Abstract: Despite the well-known positive consequences of transformational coaches in sport, there is still little research exploring the mechanisms through which coaches’ transformational leadership exerts its impact on athletes. Multilevel SEM was used to examine the relationship between coaches’ transformational leadership style, a task-involving climate, and leadership effectiveness outcome criteria (i.e., players’ extra effort, coach effectiveness, and satisfaction with their coach), separately estimating between and within effects. A representative sample of 625 Spanish male soccer players ranging from 16 to 18 years old and nested in 50 teams completed a questionnaire package tapping the variables of interest. Results confirmed that at the team level, team perceptions of transformational leadership positively predicted teams’ perceptions of task climate, which in turn positively predicted the three outcome criteria. At the individual level, players’ perceptions of transformational leadership positively predicted teams’ perceptions of task climate, which in turn positively predicted teams’ extra effort and coach effectiveness. Mediation effects appeared at the team level for all the outcome criteria, and at the individual only for extra effort. Transformational leadership is recommended to enhance task climate, in order to increase players’ extra effort, their perceptions of the effectiveness of their coach, and their satisfaction with his/her leadership style.

Keywords: transformational leadership; motivational climate; soccer; junior players; multilevel SEM (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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