Impact of coach ethical leadership on athlete satisfaction and organizational commitment.

INTRODUCTION

This study examines how coach ethical leadership influences the organizational commitment of Chinese competitive athletes by investigating the psychological roles of trust in coach and athlete satisfaction, as well as the moderating role of Chinese traditionality. Drawing on social learning theory and social exchange theory, the study proposes a moderated serial mediation model.

METHODS

A cross-sectional quantitative research design was employed. Data were collected from 468 competitive athletes in Nanjing, Wuhan, Xi'an, and Hangzhou, China. The hypothesized relationships were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling in SmartPLS.

RESULTS

Coach ethical leadership was positively associated with athletes' organizational commitment and trust in coach. Trust in coach was positively related to athlete satisfaction, which, in turn, was positively associated with organizational commitment. Trust in coach and athlete satisfaction sequentially mediated the relationship between coach ethical leadership and organizational commitment. Chinese traditionality negatively moderated the relationship between coach ethical leadership and trust in coach, such that this relationship was weaker among athletes with higher levels of traditionality. The conditional serial indirect effect of coach ethical leadership on organizational commitment was also weaker at higher levels of Chinese traditionality.

DISCUSSION: The findings demonstrate that ethical coaching contributes to athletes' organizational commitment primarily by strengthening trust in coach and enhancing athlete satisfaction. By integrating ethical leadership, relational trust, athlete satisfaction, organizational commitment, and Chinese traditionality, this study extends sport leadership research and highlights the importance of culturally sensitive ethical coaching practices in Chinese competitive sport organizations.