The threshold moderating effect of self-efficacy: a nonlinear transformation mechanism of work passion on job satisfaction among sports practitioners

Despite the global sports industry’s growth, practitioners face a systemic satisfaction crisis inadequately explained by traditional linear models (e.g., JD-R model) or existing nonlinear frameworks (e.g., COR theory’s resource caravans), which fail to capture sport-specific dynamics and threshold effects of key cognitive resources. Focusing on China’s unique high-pressure context (e.g., policy shifts like the “Double Reduction”), this study proposes and validates the Passion-Efficacy Synergistic Gain (PESG) framework, positioning self-efficacy (SE) as a critical nonlinear cognitive transformer moderating the passion-satisfaction link. Using multi-wave longitudinal data from 1,384 Chinese sports practitioners (coaches, athletes, technical staff), we employed threshold regression and 3D response surface analysis (RSA). Work passion was measured as a composite score representing total affective investment (mean of Harmonious Passion, HP, and Obsessive Passion, OP, subscale totals), capturing overall motivational resource magnitude.