Leader-member exchange and turnover intention among collegiate student-athletes: the mediating role of psychological empowerment and the moderating role of psychological contract breach in competitive team sport environments

Research question In the extant literature, little is known about how athletes' perception of leader-member exchange with their coach affects their negative consequences (e.g. turnover intention). Therefore, this study examined the relationship between leader-member exchange and turnover intention among collegiate student-athletes. Moreover, the current study investigated the mediating effect of psychological empowerment and the moderating effect of psychological contract breach. Research methods A total of 220 student-athletes were recruited from four major universities in South Korea. CFA and SEM analyses were conducted using Amos 20.0. Also, frequency analysis, reliability analysis, correlation, and regression analysis were employed using SPSS 20.0. Results and findings This study found a negative influence of leader-member exchange on student-athletes' turnover intention and significant mediating effects of two dimensions of psychological empowerment (i.e. meaning and self-determination) on the relationship. Furthermore, the results suggested that psychological contract breach negatively moderated the relationships between leader-member exchange and three dimensions of psychological empowerment (i.e. meaning, competence, and impact). However, psychological contract breach did not moderate the relationship between leader-member exchange and turnover intention. Implications This study confirms the significant association between the quality of the coach-athlete relationship and student-athletes' intention to leave. Moreover, student-athletes' psychological sense of gaining power and control, or psychological empowerment may enhance their self-esteem in the team and reduce their intention to quit. In addition, coaches and collegiate athletics administrators should pay attention to the psychological contracts between student-athletes and their team as it may weaken the role of leader-member exchange in strengthening their psychological states.