Perceived organizational support as a mediator between distributive justice and sports referees’ job satisfaction and career commitment

ABSTRACT

The primary purpose of the current study was to examine the relationships between distributive justice and sports referees’ job satisfaction and career commitment through perceived organizational support (POS). Although sports officials are a key element of sports along with athletes and coaches, little research has empirically examined such officials’ psychological well-being as critical human resources based on a vocational approach. A sample of 212 part-time and full-time paid referees from 12 sports in Hong Kong, participated in a questionnaire pertaining to distributive justice, POS, job satisfaction, and career commitment. The results of this study revealed no direct effects of distributive justice on job satisfaction and career commitment. However, the results indicated that distributive justice could indirectly influence referees’ job satisfaction and career commitment via organizational support.

KEYWORDS:

• Sports referees
• distributive justice
• organizational support
• job satisfaction
• career commitment

Notes on contributors

Dr Seungmo Kim received MA in Sport and Exercise Management from The Ohio State University in 2005 and Ph.D. in Exercise and Sport Sciences (Specialization in Sport Management) from University of Tennessee in 2009. In 2011, he joined at the Department of Physical Education at the Hong Kong Baptist University as an assistant professor. His current research interests include organizational theory/behaviour and human resource management in sport and recreation organizations.