Motivational patterns as an instrument for predicting success in promising young football players

Psychological characteristics are crucial to identifying talents, which is why these are being incorporated in today’s multidimensional talent models. In addition to multidimensionality, talent studies are increasingly drawing on holistic theories of development, leading to the use of person-oriented approaches. The present study adopts such an approach by looking at the influence that motivational characteristics have on the development of performance, in a person-oriented way. For this purpose, it looks at how the constructs achievement motive, achievement goal orientation and self-determination interact with one another, what patterns they form and how these patterns are linked to subsequent sports success. 97 top young football players were questioned twice. Another year later, it was enquired which of these players had been selected for the U15 national team. At both measuring points, four patterns were identified, which displayed a high degree of structural and individual stability. As expected, the highly intrinsically achievement-oriented players were significantly more likely to move up into the U15 national team. The results point to the importance of favourable patterns of motivational variables in the form of specific types, for medium-term performance development among promising football talents, and thus provide valuable clues for the selection and promotion of those.

Climas motivacionales, liderazgo y cohesión grupal en contexto deportivo universitario

Objetivos: Conocer las interacciones entrenador-atleta y comprender las practicas de liderazgo, de generación de climas motivacionales y de comunicación entre líderes deportivos y jugadores. Metodología: Metodología de cohorte mixto. Se realizó correlación de variables cuantitativas y se analizaron las experiencias y los sentidos del contexto deportivo con una aproximación cualitativa. Se aplicaron a 31 deportistas universitarios los instrumentos: Clima Motivacional Percibido en el Deporte (PMCSQ-2), Clima en el Deporte (SCQ) y Orientación al Ego y a la Tarea en el Deporte. Para profundizar la información obtenida, se realizaron entrevistas semi-estructuradas a 6 deportistas y 2 entrenadores universitarios. RESULTADOS: Que el deportista sienta confianza en su entrenador se encuentra asociado a que se sienta comprendido y aceptado por él. Que el entrenador genere un clima motivacional orientado hacia el ego está relacionado con que los deportistas tengan orientaciones de meta ego. Los entrenadores utilizan dos estilos de liderazgo opuestos: liderazgo democrático (entrenamientos) y liderazgo autocrático (competiciones) Conclusiones: Cuando el atleta confía en la persona que lo dirige deportivamente, presenta mayor satisfacción deportiva. También, que el entrenador fomente un ambiente de comparación social propicia que los deportistas rivalicen con compañeros de equipo y basen su rendimiento en resultados deportivos obtenidos

Climas motivacionales, liderazgo y cohesión grupal en contexto deportivo universitario

Objetivos: Conocer las interacciones entrenador-atleta y comprender las practicas de liderazgo, de generación de climas motivacionales y de comunicación entre líderes deportivos y jugadores. Metodología: Metodología de cohorte mixto. Se realizó correlación de variables cuantitativas y se analizaron las experiencias y los sentidos del contexto deportivo con una aproximación cualitativa. Se aplicaron a 31 deportistas universitarios los instrumentos: Clima Motivacional Percibido en el Deporte (PMCSQ-2), Clima en el Deporte (SCQ) y Orientación al Ego y a la Tarea en el Deporte. Para profundizar la información obtenida, se realizaron entrevistas semi-estructuradas a 6 deportistas y 2 entrenadores universitarios. RESULTADOS: Que el deportista sienta confianza en su entrenador se encuentra asociado a que se sienta comprendido y aceptado por él. Que el entrenador genere un clima motivacional orientado hacia el ego está relacionado con que los deportistas tengan orientaciones de meta ego. Los entrenadores utilizan dos estilos de liderazgo opuestos: liderazgo democrático (entrenamientos) y liderazgo autocrático (competiciones) Conclusiones: Cuando el atleta confía en la persona que lo dirige deportivamente, presenta mayor satisfacción deportiva. También, que el entrenador fomente un ambiente de comparación social propicia que los deportistas rivalicen con compañeros de equipo y basen su rendimiento en resultados deportivos obtenidos

Climas motivacionales, liderazgo y cohesión grupal en contexto deportivo universitario

Objetivos: Conocer las interacciones entrenador-atleta y comprender las practicas de liderazgo, de generación de climas motivacionales y de comunicación entre líderes deportivos y jugadores. Metodología: Metodología de cohorte mixto. Se realizó correlación de variables cuantitativas y se analizaron las experiencias y los sentidos del contexto deportivo con una aproximación cualitativa. Se aplicaron a 31 deportistas universitarios los instrumentos: Clima Motivacional Percibido en el Deporte (PMCSQ-2), Clima en el Deporte (SCQ) y Orientación al Ego y a la Tarea en el Deporte. Para profundizar la información obtenida, se realizaron entrevistas semi-estructuradas a 6 deportistas y 2 entrenadores universitarios. RESULTADOS: Que el deportista sienta confianza en su entrenador se encuentra asociado a que se sienta comprendido y aceptado por él. Que el entrenador genere un clima motivacional orientado hacia el ego está relacionado con que los deportistas tengan orientaciones de meta ego. Los entrenadores utilizan dos estilos de liderazgo opuestos: liderazgo democrático (entrenamientos) y liderazgo autocrático (competiciones) Conclusiones: Cuando el atleta confía en la persona que lo dirige deportivamente, presenta mayor satisfacción deportiva. También, que el entrenador fomente un ambiente de comparación social propicia que los deportistas rivalicen con compañeros de equipo y basen su rendimiento en resultados deportivos obtenidos

Climas motivacionales, liderazgo y cohesión grupal en contexto deportivo universitario

Objetivos: Conocer las interacciones entrenador-atleta y comprender las practicas de liderazgo, de generación de climas motivacionales y de comunicación entre líderes deportivos y jugadores. Metodología: Metodología de cohorte mixto. Se realizó correlación de variables cuantitativas y se analizaron las experiencias y los sentidos del contexto deportivo con una aproximación cualitativa. Se aplicaron a 31 deportistas universitarios los instrumentos: Clima Motivacional Percibido en el Deporte (PMCSQ-2), Clima en el Deporte (SCQ) y Orientación al Ego y a la Tarea en el Deporte. Para profundizar la información obtenida, se realizaron entrevistas semi-estructuradas a 6 deportistas y 2 entrenadores universitarios. RESULTADOS: Que el deportista sienta confianza en su entrenador se encuentra asociado a que se sienta comprendido y aceptado por él. Que el entrenador genere un clima motivacional orientado hacia el ego está relacionado con que los deportistas tengan orientaciones de meta ego. Los entrenadores utilizan dos estilos de liderazgo opuestos: liderazgo democrático (entrenamientos) y liderazgo autocrático (competiciones) Conclusiones: Cuando el atleta confía en la persona que lo dirige deportivamente, presenta mayor satisfacción deportiva. También, que el entrenador fomente un ambiente de comparación social propicia que los deportistas rivalicen con compañeros de equipo y basen su rendimiento en resultados deportivos obtenidos

A structural model of cognitive-motivational variables as explanatory factors of academic achievement in Spanish Language and Mathematics

In recent years, several explanatory models have been developed which attempt to analyse the predictive worth of various factors in relation to academic achievement, as well as the direct and indirect effects that they produce. The aim of this study was to examine a structural model incorporating various cognitive and motivational variables which influence student achievement in the two basic core skills in the Spanish curriculum: Spanish Language and Mathematics. These variables included differential aptitudes, specific self-concept, goal orientations, effort and learning strategies. The sample comprised 341 Spanish students in their first year of Compulsory Secondary Education. Various tests and questionnaires were used to assess each student, and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was employed to study the relationships in the initial model. The proposed model obtained a satisfactory fit for the two subjects studied, and all the relationships hypothesised were significant. The variable with the most explanatory power regarding academic achievement was mathematical and verbal aptitude. Also notable was the direct influence of specific self-concept on achievement, goal-orientation and effort, as was the mediatory effect that effort and learning strategies had between academic goals and final achievement.

An examination of learning processes during critical incident training: Implications for the development of adaptable trainees

Three experiments are reported that examined the process by which trainees learn decision-making skills during a critical incident training program. Formal theories of category learning were used to identify two processes that may be responsible for the acquisition of decision-making skills: rule learning and exemplar learning. Experiments I and 2 used the process dissociation procedure (L. L. Jacoby, 1998) to evaluate the contribution of these processes to performance. The results suggest that trainees used a mixture of rule and exemplar learning. Furthermore, these learning processes were influenced by different aspects of training structure and design. The goal of Experiment 3 was to develop training techniques that enable trainees to use a rule adaptively. Trainees were tested on cases that represented exceptions to the rule. Unexpectedly, the results suggest that providing general instruction regarding the kinds of conditions in which a decision rule does not apply caused them to fixate on the specific conditions mentioned and impaired their ability to identify other conditions in which the rule might not apply. The theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of the results are discussed.

An examination of the dynamic relationship between self-efficacy and performance across levels of analysis and levels of specificity

This research used resource allocation theory to generate predictions regarding dynamic relationships between self-efficacy and task performance from 2 levels of analysis and specificity. Participants were given multiple trials of practice on an air traffic control task. Measures of task-specific self-efficacy and performance were taken at repeated intervals. The authors used multilevel analysis to demonstrate differential and dynamic effects. As predicted, task-specific self-efficacy was negatively associated with task performance at the within-person level. On the other hand, average levels of task-specific self-efficacy were positively related to performance at the between-persons level and mediated the effect of general self-efficacy. The key findings from this research relate to dynamic effects - these results show that self-efficacy effects can change over time, but it depends on the level of analysis and specificity at which self-efficacy is conceptualized. These novel findings emphasize the importance of conceptualizing self-efficacy within a multilevel and multispecificity framework and make a significant contribution to understanding the way this construct relates to task performance.

Benefits of all work and no play: The relationship between neuroticism and performance as a function of resource allocation

The authors evaluate a model suggesting that the performance of highly neurotic individuals, relative to their stable counterparts, is more strongly influenced by factors relating to the allocation of attentional resources. First, an air traffic control simulation was used to examine the interaction between effort intensity and scores on the Anxiety subscale of Eysenck Personality Profiler Neuroticism in the prediction of task performance. Overall effort intensity enhanced performance for highly anxious individuals more so than for individuals with low anxiety. Second, a longitudinal field study was used to examine the interaction between office busyness and Eysenck Personality Inventory Neuroticism in the prediction of telesales performance. Changes in office busyness were associated with greater performance improvements for highly neurotic individuals compared with less neurotic individuals. These studies suggest that highly neurotic individuals outperform their stable counterparts in a busy work environment or if they are expending a high level of effort.

Comparing different approach and avoidance models of learning and personality in the prediction of work, university, and leadership outcomes

Jackson (2005) developed a hybrid model of personality and learning, known as the learning styles profiler (LSP) which was designed to span biological, socio-cognitive, and experiential research foci of personality and learning research. The hybrid model argues that functional and dysfunctional learning outcomes can be best understood in terms of how cognitions and experiences control, discipline, and re-express the biologically based scale of sensation-seeking. In two studies with part-time workers undertaking tertiary education (N=137 and 58), established models of approach and avoidance from each of the three different research foci were compared with Jackson's hybrid model in their predictiveness of leadership, work, and university outcomes using self-report and supervisor ratings. Results showed that the hybrid model was generally optimal and, as hypothesized, that goal orientation was a mediator of sensation-seeking on outcomes (work performance, university performance, leader behaviours, and counterproductive work behaviour). Our studies suggest that the hybrid model has considerable promise as a predictor of work and educational outcomes as well as dysfunctional outcomes.

Electronic commerce adoption:a study of business-to-business practice in Saudi Arabia

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) has become an increasingly important initiative among organisations. The factors affecting adoption decisions have been well-documented, but there is a paucity of empirical studies that examine the adoption of e-commerce in developing economies in the Arab world. The aim of this study is to provide insights into the salient e-commerce adoption issues by focusing on Saudi Arabian businesses. Based on the Technology-Organisational-Environmental framework, an integrated research model was developed that explains the relative influence of 19 known determinants. A measurement scale was developed from prior empirical studies and revised based on feedback from the pilot study. Non-interactive adoption, interactive adoption and stabilisation of e-commerce adoption were empirically investigated using survey data collected from Saudi manufacturing and service companies. Multiple discriminant function analysis (MDFA) was used to analyse the data and research hypotheses. The analysis demonstrates that (1) regarding the non-interactive adoption of e-commerce, IT readiness, management team support, learning orientation, strategic orientation, pressure from business partner, regulatory and legal environment, technology consultants‘ participation and economic downturn are the most important factors, (2) when e-commerce interactive adoption is investigated, IT readiness, management team support, regulatory environment and technology consultants‘ participation emerge as the strongest drivers, (3) pressure from customers may not have much effect on the non-interactive adoption of e-commerce by companies, but does significantly influence the stabilisation of e-commerce use by firms, and (4) Saudi Arabia has a strong ICT infrastructure for supporting e-commerce practices. Taken together, these findings on the multi-dimensionality of e-commerce adoption show that non-interactive adoption, interactive adoption and stabilisation of e-commerce are not only different measures of e-commerce adoption, but also have different determinants. Findings from this study may be valuable for both policy and practice as it can offer a substantial understanding of the factors that enhance the widespread use of B2B e-commerce. Also, the integrated model provides a more comprehensive explanation of e-commerce adoption in organisations and could serve as a foundation for future research on information systems.

An investigation into the adoption of electronic business in Saudi Arabia using technology-organisation-environment framework

Despite the proliferation of e-business adoption by organisations and the world-wide growth of the e-business phenomenon, there is a paucity of empirical studies that examine the adoption of e-business in the Middle East. The aim of our study is to provide insights into the salient e-business adoption issues by focusing on Saudi Arabian businesses. We developed a conceptual model for electronic business (e-business) adoption incorporating ten factors based on the technology-organization-environment framework. Survey data from 550 businesses were used to test the model and hypotheses. We conducted confirmatory factor analysis to assess the reliability and validity of constructs. The findings of the study suggest that firm technology competence, size, top management Support, technology orientation, consumer readiness, trading partner readiness and regulatory support are important antecedents of e-business adoption and utilisation. In addition, the study finds that, competitive pressure and organisational customer and competitor orientation is not a predictor for e-business adoption and utilisation. The implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions for future inquiry are presented.

E-business adoption in Saudi Arabian private sector

Despite the proliferation of e-business adoption by organisations and the world-wide growth of the e-business phenomenon, there is a paucity of empirical studies that examine the adoption of e-business in the Middle East. The aim of our study is to provide insights into the salient e-business adoption issues by focusing on Saudi Arabian businesses. We developed a conceptual model for electronic business (e-business) adoption incorporating nine factors. Survey data from 550 businesses were used to test the model and hypotheses. The findings of the study suggest that firm's technological readiness, top management Support, technology orientation, consumer readiness, trading partner readiness and regulatory support are important facilitators of e-business adoption. In addition, the study finds that, competitive pressure and organisational customer and competitor orientation is not a predictor for e-business adoption. The implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions for future inquiry are presented.

Knowledge workers and their relationships with organisations

The programme of research examines knowledge workers, their relationships with organisations, and perceptions of management practices through the development of a theoretical model and knowledge worker archetypes. Knowledge worker and non-knowledge worker archetypes were established through an analysis of the extant literature. After an exploratory study of knowledge workers in a small software development company the archetypes were refined to include occupational classification data and the findings from Study 1. The Knowledge Worker Characteristics Model (KWCM) was developed as a theoretical framework in order to analyse differences between the two archetypes within the IT sector. The KWCM comprises of the variables within the job characteristics model, creativity, goal orientation, identification and commitment. In Study 2, a global web based survey was conducted. There were insufficient non-knowledge worker responses and therefore a cluster analysis was conducted to interrogate the archetypes further. This demonstrated, unexpectedly, that that there were marked differences within the knowledge worker archetypes suggesting the need to granulate the archetype further. The theoretical framework and the archetypes were revised (as programmers and web developers) and the research study was refocused to examine occupational differences within knowledge work. Findings from Study 2 identified that there were significant differences between the archetypes in relation to the KWCM. 19 semi-structured interviews were conducted in Study 3 in order to deepen the analysis using qualitative data and to examine perceptions of people management practices. The findings from both studies demonstrate that there were significant differences between the two groups but also that job challenge, problem solving, intrinsic reward and team identification were of importance to both groups of knowledge workers. This thesis presents an examination of knowledge workers’ perceptions of work, organisations and people management practices in the granulation and differentiation of occupational archetypes.

Effectiveness of performance appraisal:an integrated framework

Based on a robust analysis of the existing literature on performance appraisal (PA), this paper makes a case for an integrated framework of effectiveness of performance appraisal (EPA). To achieve this, it draws on the expanded view of measurement criteria of EPA, i.e. purposefulness, fairness and accuracy, and identifies their relationships with ratee reactions. The analysis reveals that the expanded view of purposefulness includes more theoretical anchors for the purposes of PA and relates to various aspects of human resource functions, e.g. feedback and goal orientation. The expansion in the PA fairness criterion suggests certain newly established nomological networks, which were ignored in the past, e.g. the relationship between distributive fairness and organization-referenced outcomes. Further, refinements in PA accuracy reveal a more comprehensive categorization of rating biases. Coherence among measurement criteria has resulted in a ratee reactions-based integrated framework, which should be useful for both researchers and practitioners.