Research Description:

The Influence of Employee Status on Commitment & Job Satisfaction of Frontline Employees

Despite the numerous quantities of frontline line employees in sport organizations, managing those employees is not typically a major concern of sport teams or sport management researchers. In most cases, frontline employees (e.g., ushers or ticket takers) are either employees of the team or employees of the facility. Decision making regarding frontline employee management, whether to use employees of the team or employees of the facility, has not depended not on the performance or psychological states of employees but rather on facility ownership and the financial situation of the team. However, the management literature reveals that employee commitment and job satisfaction predict employee retention and also influence their service performance. This may be true for employees of professional sport teams but these issues have not been researched in the contexts of professional sport. The purpose of the current study will be to explore the influence of the employee status on the psychological states of frontline employees (ticket takers and ushers) in two different professional sport teams. In this research, we will survey the frontline employees of one team who are employed by the sport team and will also survey employees of another team who are employed by the facility. Then, we will compare the commitment and satisfaction level of frontline employees working for the two professional sport teams. In order to address these issues, we will develop a survey based on the previous literature of these areas. The survey will be validated by a panel of experts. Then, after receiving permission from two organizations, we will visit the two organizations to conduct the survey questionnaire with frontline employees. The results of the study will provide a better understanding of the frontline employees of professional sport teams and will also suggest the effective management practices to sport organizations.