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ABSTRACT
Research question: This study advances two research questions: what factors affect emigration, immigration, and job migration of high performance coaches? And how does the push–pull framework apply to coach migration in high performance sport? The focus of the examination is on less commercialized and publicly funded sports in Germany.
Research methods: High performance coaches who have been employed in Germany between 2000 and 2016 were surveyed online and asked about their job history. Based on this information, a coach-year panel was created (n = 2586) and the determinants of coach migration were analyzed using probit models.
Results and findings: Higher income represented a significant pull factor for emigration, while having school-age children and being a former high performance athlete were retention factors. Immigrated coaches earned significantly less in Germany. Higher income and a permanent contract were significant pull factors for job migration, while a sport science degree was a push factor. Particularly qualified and successful coaches migrated to non-coaching jobs during the observed period.
Implications: The findings imply that not only coach emigration, but also job migration should be of concern to policy-makers. To reduce coach emigration and job migration, the working conditions of high performance coaches need to be reconsidered.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.