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Research Purpose This study, from the perspective of empowerment theory, focuses on the power operation mechanism of coaches in the process of team management. It mainly analyzes the impact of organizational empowerment on coaches’ control of team, and further explores the influence mechanism after introducing two organizational variables—mentor-apprentice relationship and team climate—as well as the moderating effect of power distance as a dynamic variable. Research Methods A total of 1071 athletes from basketball, volleyball, and football in China were surveyed using a scale-based testing method, covering professional teams, youth teams, and high-level university teams. Regression analysis, factor analysis, and structural equation modeling were employed for data processing. Research Findings (1) Organizational empowerment directly and positively affects coaches’ control of team, and can also influence it through the mentor-apprentice relationship, team climate, or both simultaneously. In other words, the mentor-apprentice relationship and team climate not only function as independent mediators between organizational empowerment and coaches’ control of team but also jointly serve as chain mediators. (2) Power distance negatively moderates the dual-path mediating mechanism of organizational empowerment on coaches’ control of team. Specifically, it negatively moderates the effect of organizational empowerment on both the mentor-apprentice relationship and the team climate, with the moderating effect being more evident under conditions of low power distance.
Wang et al. (Thu,) studied this question.