Sport Management Review

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Unlocking the power of job design in sports: a

systematic review and future research agenda

Mohsen Loghmani, Popi Sotiriadou & Jason Doyle

To cite this article: Mohsen Loghmani, Popi Sotiriadou & Jason Doyle (25 Sep 2023): Unlocking
the power of job design in sports: a systematic review and future research agenda, Sport
Management Review, DOI: 10.1080/14413523.2023.2261659

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/14413523.2023.2261659

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Published online: 25 Sep 2023.

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SPORT MANAGEMENT REVIEW
https://doi.org/10.1080/14413523.2023.2261659

Unlocking the power of job design in sports: a systematic

review and future research agenda
Mohsen Loghmani , Popi Sotiriadou and Jason Doyle
Department of Tourism, Sport & Hotel Management, Griffith Business School, Griffith University, Gold Coast
Campus, Southport, Australia

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
Using a Systematic Quantitative Literature Review (SQLR) approach, Sport industry; job
this article consolidates studies on the job characteristics (top-down characteristics; job crafting;
process of job design) and job crafting (bottom-up process of job sport volunteer; human
resource management; job
design) components of sport-related jobs. The SQLR maps the
design
emerging research topic of job design in sport and provides
a research direction agenda to guide scholarship. Out of 5,974
retrieved documents, a total of 187 academic articles published in
English journals between 1988 and 2021 matched the selected
terms in title or abstract or keywords. Following a deductive coding
process using NVivo 12, the results demonstrated that previous
research has been undertaken mainly over the last 15 years with
a focus on job characteristics (77%) compared with job crafting
(23%). The emphasis in prior research is placed on: (1) sport man­
agers’ “task” and “knowledge” job characteristics; (2) coaches’
“social” job characteristics; (3) referees’ “contextual” job character­
istics, and (4) athletic trainers’ “work – life crafting”. Findings were
used to develop two models representing the top-down and bot­
tom-up processes of job design in sport. The top-down model
illustrates that: task and knowledge job characteristics influence
attitudinal and behavioural outcomes; contextual job characteristics
build only well-being outcomes; and social job characteristics pre­
dict a wide range of job outcomes. The bottom-up model highlights
the significance of approach relational crafting, avoidance task craft­
ing and work – life crafting in shaping behavioural and well-being
outcomes. The most understudied area is job crafting among sport
volunteers, a gap worth examining further in future research.

1. Introduction
Job design, as described by Morgeson and Campion (2021), refers to the way in which
work is structured, organised, experienced, and carried out. This practice is acknowledged
as a crucial aspect of human resource management (HRM) within sport organizations, as it
has been shown to enhance employee job satisfaction and commitment (Oldham & Fried,
2016) and address issues related to turnover (Chelladurai & Kim, 2022). Job design is

CONTACT Mohsen Loghmani m.loghmani@griffith.edu.au

© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any med­
ium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article
has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
2 M. LOGHMANI ET AL.

comprised of the top-down (e.g., job characteristics model theory – Hackman & Oldham,
1976) and bottom-up (e.g., job crafting theory – Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001) processes.
Specifically, job design research in sport includes studies on both job characteristics
and job crafting across a wide range of individuals engaged in voluntary or paid work. This
includes sport employees (Hwang & Jang, 2020), coaches (Prochnow et al., 2020), referees
(Loghmani et al., 2017, 2021), athletic trainers (Mazerolle & Hunter, 2018) and event
volunteers (Cuskelly et al., 2021; Neufeind et al., 2013). While job design has been
extensively covered in the sport management literature by Chelladurai and Kim (2022),
the current understanding of job design mainly focuses on task and knowledge char­
acteristics. Hence, there are opportunities for job design researchers to explore other
aspects of job design such as social and contextual job characteristics as well as job
crafting (Taylor et al., 2015).
Furthermore, sport-specific job design studies have extended our understanding of the
nature of different sports jobs, workers’ reactions to their job descriptions (Chelladurai &
Kim, 2022), and the causes (e.g., personality, social support, workaholism) of job crafting
(Taylor et al., 2021). Such understanding has provided targeted guidelines for recruitment
(Cuskelly et al., 2021) and retention (Loghmani et al., 2022) of staff/volunteers in sport
organisations and events. This line of job design work is important because sports jobs are
different to other jobs in terms of work environments (i.e., government dependent NSOs,
voluntary sport clubs), domains (match official compared to sport coach) and scope/level
(coaching a local sport team compared to coaching a professional sports team)
(Chelladurai & Kim, 2022). As a result, the unique nature of sports jobs mentioned
above may influence the reactions of individuals (both voluntary and paid staff) to job
characteristics and job crafting. For instance, volunteer coaches working at grassroots or
community level typically have a broader range of responsibilities and may focus on
providing a positive and inclusive experience for participants, while professional coaches
at the elite level often have more specialised roles and emphasise performance-oriented
training and competition, which may involve higher levels of pressure and expectations
(Sotiriadou et al., 2023). Hence, job characteristics and job crafting may differ as commu­
nity-level and volunteer coaches prioritise community engagement and development,
whereas elite-level and professional coaches prioritise performance outcomes and athlete
development. Despite acknowledging the differences, research on job design in the sport
industry does not offer a comprehensive understanding of how volunteers and paid staff
working at different levels of sports differ in their perception of job characteristics and the
way they craft their roles.
Although job design is only one aspect of HRM in sport and recreation (Chelladurai &
Kim, 2022; Taylor et al., 2015), the above studies highlight the growing research interest in,
and impact of, this work on the field. Although there have been significant contributions
to the field, the existing literature on job design is disjointed and lacking structure due to
the broad nature of the topic. As a result, previous research has tended to focus on
specific elements of job design within certain stakeholder groups, such as interdepen­
dence in the coach-athlete relationship (Nicholls & Perry, 2016). Consolidating this knowl­
edge can advance our understanding of the structure and nature of different sports jobs,
and enable informed modifications to job analysis, competency modelling, and job
specifications. Additionally, such consolidation may guide other HRM practices in sport,
including training, retention, promotion, and performance management (Chelladurai &
 SPORT MANAGEMENT REVIEW 3

Kim, 2022). A systematic review and synthesis of existing work is needed to connect
related studies, identify knowledge gaps, propose future research directions, and shape
implications for practice. This will help to reveal gaps in the literature and identify
opportunities for further research to advance the field. Thus, this paper aims to system­
atically review and holistically collate the existing research on job design in sport and
provide an agenda for further research.

2. Scope of job design in sport

Figure 1 illustrates that the scope of job design in sport represents the interaction of job
design processes (e.g., job characteristics and job crafting), the sport industry (e.g.,
professional and consumer services) and individuals working in sport industry (i.e.,
volunteers and paid staff).
The terms job analysis, job design, and job specifications are often used interchange­
ably. Job analysis deals with collecting and analysing information about the content,
human requirements, and the context of jobs. Job specification determines the employ­
ees’ skills, knowledge and behavioural requirements (Sanchez & Levine, 2009). Job design
focuses on “tasks or activities that employees complete for their organisations on a daily
basis” to achieve organisational and individual positive outcomes (Oldham & Fried, 2016,
p. 20). The purpose of job analysis and job specifications is to recruit and select the right
person by gathering the information on the job and operators’ responsibilities, generat­
ing the job description and outlining the candidate’s competencies (e.g., skills, abilities,
education and experiences) that are necessary to qualify for the specific job (Sanchez &
Levine, 2009). However, the purpose of job design is to increase employee job satisfaction,
engagement, and commitment; whilst decreasing turnover and burnout by considering
the “actual structure of jobs” (Oldham & Fried, 2016, p. 20). It is outside the scope of this
study to expand and explore all these areas of research. The focus of this paper is on job

Figure 1. Conceptual framework explaining the scope of job design in sport.

4 M. LOGHMANI ET AL.

design as it refers to work itself and contributes to human resource retention, promotion,
and performance, providing sport organisations with guidelines to overcome employee
turnover issues through modifying the structure of the job (Chelladurai & Kim, 2022).

2.1. Job design processes and dominant approaches

Following the emergence of the job design concept, a wide range of theories were
proposed to better understand job design applications for both employees and organisa­
tions Morgeson & Campion,2021). These theories are divided into two categories, explain­
ing the top-down and bottom-up processes of job design. The theories related to top-
down processes delineate one job description for everyone that can be designed by
managers, whereas bottom-up process-based theories focus on individual and unique job
design undertaken by employees (Oldham & Fried, 2016). Job characteristics theory (JCT)
has become a widely applied top-down approach to job design (Hackman &
Oldham,1976). According to JCT, the actual structure of a given job encompasses impor­
tant characteristics that can shape the psychological states of employees and lead to
attitudinal, behavioural, well-being and organisational outcomes (Morgeson & Campion,
2021). For example, task significance increases the meaningfulness of work, and job
autonomy can develop the sense of responsibility. Creating psychological states of mean­
ingfulness of the work and responsibility contributes to employees’ job satisfaction,
engagement and well-being. Table 1 provides a definition of each job characteristic
with an exemplar in a sport-related job.
As opposed to JCT, job crafting theory has become a well-accepted approach to job
design from a bottom-up process perspective (Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001). As
a hierarchical structure, job crafting is reflected by approach crafting, avoidance crafting
and work – life and leisure crafting (Lazazzara et al., 2020). Table 2 outlines each form of
job crafting in conjunction with an example of a sport-related job. Thus, understanding
the concept of job design depends on comparing top-down and bottom-up theories.
Application of these theories and subsequent implementations have played
a transformative role for sport organisations and employees in terms of achieving positive
job outcomes.

2.2. Sport industry: professional/consumer services delivered by sport

organisations
Sport industry includes both community/grassroots and professional/elite levels within
which sport is played. Grassroots sports are community-based activities at a local level,
while professional sports involve highly skilled athletes competing at the highest level.
Sport organisations require a wide range of employees with different job characteristics to
deliver consumer services (e.g., Registrar) and professional services (e.g., Coaching,
Refereeing) to their clients (Chelladurai & Kim, 2022). Developing grassroots sports is
crucial for sustaining professional sports by serving as talent pools for identifying and
nurturing athletes who may transition to the professional level (Sotiriadou et al., 2023).
Taylor et al. (2015) argued that professional and consumer services can be offered across
profit, not-for-profit, public, private sectors, and span large or small sport organisations.
Sport services are also offered on a global or small/regional scale, ranging from one-day
Table 1. Definition and terminology of each job characteristic with an example of a sport-related job.
JCC Job characteristics Definitiona (the degree to which a job) Example job: Match officiating career; example employees: Football refereeb
TC Task significance . . . influences the lives or work of others, whether inside or Football referees are required to individually (i.e., task autonomy) undertake several different
outside the organization. tasks including foul recognition, game management, player safety (i.e., task variety) and make
Task identity . . . involves a whole piece of work, the results of which can key match decisions such as penalty, red card and offside offences that can change the results
be easily identified. of the game (i.e., task significance) in a certain period of 90–120 minutes (i.e., task identity).
Task variety . . . requires employees to perform a wide range of tasks on The complex of the task characteristics a football referee experiences provides the individual
the job. performance in a way that gives vital information for better judgment in officiating future
Autonomy . . . allows freedom in work scheduling, decision making, and matches (i.e., feedback).
work methods to perform tasks
Feedback from job . . . provides direct and clear information about the
effectiveness of task performance.
KC Job complexity . . . tasks are complex and difficult to perform. To be successful, football referees must be theoretically updated through regular reading and
Information . . . requires attending to and processing data or other interpretating the laws of the game (i.e., specialisation), analysing information related to the
processing information. state-of-the-art laws of the game for improving cognitive ability required in decision-making
Problem solving . . . requires unique ideas or solutions and reflects the more process (i.e., information process). Most often, football referees experienced players brawl or
active coach protest. To deal with this situation, football referees are required to use their various
cognitive processing requirements of a job skills such as communication with players and coaches, game reading and psychology (i.e.,
Skill variety . . . requires an individual to use a variety of different skills to skill variety), and generate ideas and implement the solutions such as general words, talking
complete the work to captain, caution and sent-off (i.e., problem solving). Such sophisticated knowledge makes
Specialisation . . . involves performing specialized tasks or possessing football refereeing a difficult job (i.e., job complexity).
specialized knowledge and skill.
SC Social support . . . provides opportunities for advice and assistance from In case of “offside” calling, football referee’s decision depends on assistants’ decision (i.e.,
others. interdependence) to manage efficiently players, coaches, and spectators (i.e., contact with
Initiated . . . flows from one job to other jobs. beneficiaries). Such a teamwork provides an opportunity for referees to work closely to each
interdependence other (i.e., social support) and improve with one another by sharing the experiences (i.e.,
Received . . . is affected by work from other jobs. feedback from others).
interdependence
Contact with . . . requires employees to interact and communicate with
beneficiaries individuals external to the organization.
Feedback from . . . requires others in the organization provide information
others about
performance.
CC Work conditions . . . requires a healthy workplace football referees need to improve their physical fitness and regular training (i.e., ergonomics) to
Ergonomics . . . allows correct or appropriate posture and movement. be able to run on the field (physical demands) and use radio communication technology (i.e.,
Physical demands . . . requires the level of physical activity or effort. equipment tools) to make a better decision under the stadium atmosphere such as spectators’
SPORT MANAGEMENT REVIEW

Equipment tools . . . requires the variety and complexity of the technology and noise and players and coaches’ physical and verbal abuse (i.e., work conditions).
equipment.
(Continued)
5
 6
M. LOGHMANI ET AL.

Table 1. (Continued).
JCC Job characteristics Definitiona (the degree to which a job) Example job: Match officiating career; example employees: Football refereeb
AC Virtual work . . . requires employees to virtually contact with others (inside A job for video assistant referees has been produced to remotely (from a separate room) assist
and/or outside the organisation), rather than face-to-face. referees when they made a wrong decision (i.e., virtual work), however, they must make
Time pressure . . . requires employees to complete their tasks at a certain a correct decision in a limited time (i.e., time pressure).
time.
a
Definition of each job characteristic is compiled from Grant et al. (2011) and Morgeson and Humphrey (2006)
b
Examples are provided from Loghmani et al. (2017) and Loghmani et al. (2021).
Note. JCC=Job Characteristics Category; TC=Task Characteristics; KC=Knowledge Characteristics; SC=Social Characteristics; CC=Contextual Characteristics; AC=Additional Characteristics.
 SPORT MANAGEMENT REVIEW 7

Table 2. Definition and terminology of each job crafting form with an example of a sport-related job.
Example job: Match officiating career;
Category SC Definitiona example employee: Football refereeb
Approach APPTC Actions to gain positive job resources and Football referees actively participate in
Crafting increase one’s challenging demands or online coaching session to learn new skills
address hindering demands and expand (APPTC) and ask for their colleagues’
formal responsibilities. feedback about a certain match (APPRC).
APPRC Actions to make a relationship that requires They may perceive their jobs as football
for gaining positive job resources and makers and/or player savers, rather than
increasing challenges just a referee (APPCC).
APPCC Reframing ones’ job to gain positive job
resources; Reframing one’s demands as
either more challenging or less hindrance.
Avoidance AVOTC Actions to avoid hindering demands and Football referees reject participating in some
Crafting aspects of the job lack positive resources coaching sessions that lack helpful
AVORC Actions to avoid people that are not information (AVOTC) and avoid taking
important or prevent one’s progression at roles that are ambiguous or unnecessary
work. such as a regular interview with media and
AVOCC Reframing one’s job to avoid the experience very friendly contact with coaches or
of demands and aspects of the job that players (AVORC). A football referee tries to
lack resources. perceive his or her job as more about fair
judgement, which is interesting to them,
rather than player psychology, which is
not interesting to them, or vice versa.
Referees think that dealing with wrong
decision of offside is not their job, as it is
assistant referees’ job (AVOCC).
JCODs W-LC Crafting spatial (where to perform the job) Potential individuals decide to choose
Leisure and temporal (when to perform the job) football refereeing career, because they
Crafting dimensions or life spheres (work-life can officiate football games in a time that
balance, leisure time). they are available and can travel to most
places for officiating the games. For this
reason, they can make a balance between
their work and life.
a
Definition of each job crafting form is compiled from Lazazzara et al. (2020) and Zhang and Parker (2019).
b
Examples are provided from Loghmani et al. (2017) and Loghmani et al. (2021).
Note. SC=Sub-Category; APPTC=Approach Task Crafting; APPRC=Approach Relational Crafting; APPCC=Approach
Cognitive Crafting; AVOTC=Avoidance Task crafting; AVORC=Avoidance Relational Crafting; AVOCC=Avoidance
Cognitive Crafting; JCODs=Job Crafting in Other Domains; W-LC=Work-Life Crafting.

tournaments to year-round championships, amateur or professional competitions, and

mega-events for spectators and participants (Thomson et al., 2019). Such figures demon­
strate sport organisations need both paid and voluntary staff with high levels of job
satisfaction to operate their events.

2.3. Volunteers and paid staff/professionals in sport

Individuals in the sport industry provide their labour and time either on a paid basis
as employees or as volunteers. Paid sport staff seek job security (Loghmani et al.,
2022), whereas volunteers work in sport industry due to active sport participation,
empowerment and task fit, and solidarity and satisfaction (Cuskelly et al., 2021).
Nonetheless, Chelladurai and Kim (2022) found that both volunteers and paid staff
are important for delivering sport services, as they tend to know, act and learn new
skills from their jobs. The importance of sport volunteers and paid staff, as outlined
above, highlights the need to investigate their job design. This review is therefore
focused on job design research undertaken in the sport industry and among volun­
tary and paid staff in sport.
8 M. LOGHMANI ET AL.

3. Methods
This study utilised a Systematic Quantitative Literature Review (SQLR) (Pickering & Byrne,
2014), which is widely used method in sport management (Mollah et al., 2021; Nolan et al.,
2022; Thomson et al., 2019). As such, the SQLR approach was deemed appropriate for this
research and to achieve our aim to produce a comprehensive and integrative review of extant
job design literature. Figure 2 depicts each of SQLR steps taken in this study. Steps 1 and 2
include the scope of the review “job design in sport” and seven research questions (RQs):

RQ1: Who has conducted job design research in sport, when and where?

RQ2: What theoretical frameworks/models have underpinned the research?

RQ3: What research design approaches, samples and context were used?

RQ4: What research has been conducted on the job design elements in voluntary and
paid staff within the context of sport?

RQ5: What job characteristics and job crafting types have been explored following by
top-down and bottom-up processes of job design in sport literature, and what have been
the antecedents, outcomes, mediators, and moderators (job characteristics and job craft­
ing components)?

RQ6: What are the key relationships between identified variables (the two models that
show the relationships between above factors)?

RQ7 : What research remains to be conducted to further inform and advance this field
both theoretically and in practice?

Figure 2. The SQLR steps (Pickering & Byrne, 2014) taken in this study.
 SPORT MANAGEMENT REVIEW 9

To identify keywords (Step 3), we utilised terms related to the sport industry, as well as
voluntary and paid staff (see Figure 2). Additionally, job characteristics and job crafting
components from Tables 1 and 2 were used to determine 28 distinct keyword categories.
Step 4 in the SQLR revolved around choosing databases for searching and retrieving the
relevant documents. A combination of different databases was selected to facilitate
a thorough search which is both comprehensive and can be cross-checked (Pickering &
Byrne, 2014). Step 5 of the SQLR involved setting inclusion and exclusion criteria to assess
retrieved documents and construct the final sample of articles. The inclusion parameters
for this study required the full-text papers to be original research because “the research
results have been peer-reviewed and that the papers are primary sources” (Pickering &
Byrne, 2014, p. 543). Grey literature sources, such as unpublished dissertations and
conference papers, may contain theoretical frameworks and research designs, but other
types of grey literature like industry reports or book chapters do not necessarily include
these essential research concepts. Therefore, grey literature has been excluded from this
review to ensure that the authors can effectively address research questions RQ2 and RQ3
with high-quality and reliable data. Also, research articles in languages other than English
were excluded from the literature sampling process. The year 1988 was chosen as the
starting point for data collection because it coincided with the first published article
(Parsons & Soucie, 1988) regarding job design in sport. To retrieve the relevant articles, we
followed a specific search process in consultation with a librarian expert. Firstly, we
searched sport industry terms. Secondly, we searched sport workers. Thirdly, we com­
bined these two categories to create the sport context. Fourthly, we categorised job
design terms and their synonyms into 28 search strings and conducted separate searches.
Using different search strings was necessary as job characteristics and job crafting terms
have distinct meanings, and including all terms in a single search string could lead to
errors. Lastly, we separately combined each of 28 job design terms with the sport context.
This process was repeated across five selected databases, in which the potential docu­
ments were retrieved 259 times ([1 + 1 + 1 + 28 + 28]×5). At the conclusion of the search
process, 5,974 documents were initially retrieved from the selected databases, with
Scopus (n = 2,666; rate = 45%) returning the most results. After excluding documents
according to the established exclusion criteria (see Figure 2), a total of 187 articles were
retained and readied for analysis.
To gauge the quality and mitigate selection bias within the final sample of articles, we
employed the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist designed for cohort
studies (CASP, 2018). Despite CASP’s limitations, such as a potential lack of depth in
capturing specific nuances of studies, its selection was driven by its comprehensive nature
and suitability for evaluating methodological rigour (Tod et al., 2022). The CASP checklist
encompasses 12 key questions (Q): (Q1) Did the study address a clearly focused issue?,
(Q2) Was the cohort recruited in an acceptable way?, (Q3) Was the exposure accurately
measured to minimise bias?, (Q4) Was the outcome accurately measured to minimise
bias?, (Q5a) Have the authors identified all important confounding factors?, (Q5b) Have
they taken into account of the confounding factors in the design and/or analysis?, (Q6a)
Was the follow up of subjects complete enough?, (Q6b) Was the follow up of subjects long
enough?, (Q7) What are the results of this study?, (Q8) How precise are the results?, (Q9)
Do you believe the results?, (Q10) Can the results be applied to the local population?,
(Q11) Do the results of this study fit with other available evidence?, and (Q12) What are
10 M. LOGHMANI ET AL.

the implications of this study for practice? These questions were systematically applied to
the final sample of articles.
Each author conducted individual assessments, followed by a collaborative meeting to
collectively evaluate the included studies against the 12 CASP questions. During the critical
appraisal process, we followed the guidelines outlined by Tod et al. (2022). This involved
constructing a table where each study was listed in rows and the CASP criteria were listed in
columns. Our assessments for each question were summarised as “Yes”, “Can’t tell”, or “No”.
To visualise the CASP assessment outcomes, we opted for a bar chart, as it effectively
illustrates the strengths and weaknesses across the included studies in our review (Tod et al.,
2022). Figure 3 depicts the percentage of studies that met each CASP criterion with a “Yes”
response. Notably, all the included studies collectively achieved nearly 88% of the CASP
criteria, underscoring their adequate quality for subsequent analysis.
To undertake the sixth step of SQLR, a total of 61 initial categories and subcategories
was created based on the RQs 1–6. In accordance with Pickering and Byrne’s (2014)
guidelines, the research team developed the initial categories in discussion with each
other during the process of data categorisation. Using Pickering and Byrne’s (2014)
processes, approximately 10 per cent (n = 20) of the total sample of articles were initially
reviewed (Step 7) to test the efficiency of potential categories/themes and quantify the
number of articles that could be put into the identified categories/themes (Step 8). To
address RQ1 and RQ5, the 20 articles were categorised using direct data extraction,
referring to the same words or concepts extracted by the author(s).
To address the remaining research questions, the 20 sample articles were categorised
using a combination of direct data extraction and interpretation. Based on the initial
review of 20 sample articles, the meaningful categories/themes “job characteristic”, “job
crafting”, “antecedents”, “mediators”, ‘moderators, “outcomes” and “key relationship”
were coded through a deductive coding process in accordance with the integrative and
comprehensive models of job design (Grant et al., 2011) and job crafting (Lazazzara et al.,
2020). To increase the trustworthiness of the coding process, the lead author

100

90

80

70
Percentage of studies

60

50

40

30

20

10

Appraisal Criteria

Figure 3. Percentage of studies meeting each critical appraisal criterion included in CASP checklist.
 SPORT MANAGEMENT REVIEW 11

implemented a rigorous code-checking system applied across the research team. This
involved a debate between researchers for identifying, revising and validating the cate­
gories (Thomson et al., 2019). Once the research team reached a consensus throughout
the process of categorisation (Step 8), the lead author proceeded coding all remaining
articles (Step 9). Such categorisation enabled the authors to follow Step 10 of the SQLR by
developing top-down (job characteristics) and bottom-up (job crafting) models of job
design as they apply in sport and draft the manuscript (Steps 11–15).
As there were many articles identified (n = 187), NVivo 12 was used to manage the data,
categorise the articles, and determine the word frequency of article title and keywords. In
addition, the coding data extracted from NVivo 12 were exported to an Excel spreadsheet
to run frequencies and visualise the data1.

4. Results
The result section includes bibliographic information and matrices of job design elements
on volunteers and paid staff, followed by conceptual models for future research.

4.1. Bibliographic information

In total, 155 unique first authors and 126 individual affiliated universities were identified.
Organised by number of articles and then by alphabetical order, the first authors with
three or more articles were: Stephanie M. Mazerolle (n = 14, University of Connecticut,
USA); Javier Mallo (n = 4, Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain); Ausra Lisinskiene (n = 3,
Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania); Mohsen Loghmani (n = 3, Shafagh Institute of
Higher Education, Iran); and David Rainey (n = 3, John Carroll University, USA).
There is a clear bias regarding Western culture-related regions, with North America (n
= 67), Europe (n = 64), and Australia and New Zealand (n = 29) accounting for almost
85 per cent of the literature sample. The regions/continents with the lowest research
outputs based on the home location of the first authors were Africa (n = 1), Central
America (n = 1) and South America (n = 3). Located in a non-Western region, Asian uni­
versities/institutions (n = 29) have made the greatest contribution to developing job
design as an area of study in the sport.
As shown in Figure 4, an accelerating trend of publications was observed from 2007
onwards, reaching its highest point in 2021 (29 articles). Although the 34-year average is low
(i.e., 5.5 articles per year), the average number of articles published over the last 10 years (i.e.,
15 articles per year) and five years (i.e., 18.6 articles per year) illuminates the emerging body
of knowledge that is developing in the job design research field in sport literature.

4.2. Article title and keyword

Figure 5 displays the terms “sport”, “coach”, “athletic trainer”, “work”, “football”,
“referee”, “volunteer”, “life” and “management” were the most used words within
the article titles and keywords, counted 545 (out of 3001 total words used in titles
1
Supplementary materials related to comprehensive search strings, exemplar of searching process, data extraction
approach, sample articles list, detailed findings are available on request.
12 M. LOGHMANI ET AL.

Figure 4. Year of publication by number of articles.

Figure 5. Word frequency of (a) articles title; and (b) keywords.

and keywords) times across 187 articles. The above findings revealed a centrality of
research as it relates to work management of coaches, referees, and volunteers in
the sport industry.

4.3. Theoretical frameworks/models used in the literature

In total, 62 different theories/models were identified across almost half of the sample
articles (n = 92), with the rest of articles (n = 95) not including any specific theories. The
four most common theories/models that informed the identified articles were the Actor –
Partner Interdependence (A – PI) Approach (n = 10); Job Characteristics Model (JCM)
Theory (n = 8); Self-Determination Theory (S-DT) (n = 5); and Psychological Contract
Theory (PCT) (n = 3). These theories/models were predominantly used to investigate social
job characteristics such as interdependence and social support, as well as approach
relational crafting.
 SPORT MANAGEMENT REVIEW 13

4.4. Methodologies
The identified articles used quantitative (n = 97), qualitative (n = 68) and mixed-method
(n = 19) approaches. The included articles used mostly quantitative research methods (n
= 21). Almost 90 per cent (n = 168) of sample articles collected data using surveys (n = 96)
or interviews (n = 76). The remaining articles collected data using audio/video recordings
(n = 23); archive and organisational documents (n = 5); observation and fieldnotes (n = 5);
and reflective letters (n = 1).
In addition to research design, the sample articles presented the research context in
the Method section. Of 187 articles in the literature sample, only 15 articles focused on
sport events (mega-event, n = 6; local/national event, n = 6; competition/tournament, n =
2; hallmark event, n = 1). Most of the articles were in the context of sport organisations/
teams (national/elite level, n = 115; community level, n = 60). Further to the research
context, the results indicate that the articles in the sample have mainly used job design
concepts among sport coaches/instructors (n = 77), followed by sport administrators and
employees (n = 43), referees/umpires (n = 38), athletic trainers (n = 24) and event volun­
teers (n = 13).
Data have been collected from 31 unique countries across the literature sample. The
regions with highest number of data collection were: (1) Europe (UK, n = 24; Spain, n = 6;
Germany, n = 5; Greece, n = 5; Sweden, n = 4; Turkey, n = 4; Lithuania, n = 3; Poland, n = 3;
France, n = 2; Italy, n = 2; Portugal, n = 2; Russia, n = 2; Switzerland, n = 2; Belgium, n = 1;
Croatia, n = 1; Finland, n = 1; Israel, n = 1; and Norway, n = 1); (2) North America (USA, n =
50; and Canada, n = 12); (3) Oceania (Australia, n = 26; and New Zealand, n = 4); (4) Asia
(Iran, n = 10; China, n = 8; Singapore, n = 3; Japan, n = 2; North Korea, n = 1; and South
Korea, n = 1); (5) South America (Brazil, n = 3); (6) Africa (South Africa, n = 1); and (7) Central
America (Mexico, n = 1).

4.5. The matrix of job design elements on volunteers and paid staff
In Figure 6, a matrix of job design elements examined on both volunteers and paid sport
staff is displayed. The matrix indicates that most of the sample articles (n = 201) were
concentrated on job characteristics (upper section of the matrix), with only 62 articles
focusing on job crafting (lower section of the matrix). The right side of the matrix shows
that there are 197 job design elements that have been investigated among paid sport
staff, whilst 66 job design elements were centred on sport volunteers. Job characteristics
research revolves around paid sport coaches (top right quadrant) and volunteer referees/
umpires (top left quadrant), whilst the most of job crafting research pertained to paid
athletic trainers (bottom right quadrant) and voluntary and paid sport coaches (bottom
left quadrant) (also, see bold highlighted areas in Figure 6). However, there were no
articles investigating job characteristics and job crafting among volunteer sport man­
agers/club employees and officials, nor athletic trainers.
Based on Table 3, there were 87 (out of 201) job characteristics articles that investi­
gated social characteristics (e.g., social support and interdependence), especially among
paid sport coach. In contrast, 27 (out of 62) articles on job crafting components examined
work – life crafting among athletic trainers. These results indicate that the approach and
avoidance job crafting have been relatively neglected in the sport literature. Table 3 also
14 M. LOGHMANI ET AL.

Figure 6. Matrix of job design elements on volunteers and paid sport staff.
Note. EV=Event Volunteer; AT=Athletic Trainer; R/U=Referee/Umpire; C/I=Coach/Instructor;
SM/CO=Sport Manager/Club Official

outlines the matrix of categorised articles demonstrating the emphasis in prior research is
placed on (1) sport managers’ “task” and “knowledge”; (2) coaches’ “social”; and (3)
referees’ “contextual” job characteristics.
Furthermore, the 46 individual antecedents (e.g., job expectation, credentials), the 14
unique mediators (e.g., psychological states), the seven moderators (e.g., individual
differences and career stages) and the 29 unique outcomes/consequences (e.g., job
satisfaction and well-being) have been identified and coded 267 times across the 187
sample articles reviewed. The above findings shape key relationships and thereby con­
ceptual models, which are presented in next section.

5. The two conceptual models of the study

Upon analysing the significant associations between job characteristics, job crafting
components, as well as their antecedents and outcomes, two conceptual models have
emerged. These models represent the top-down and bottom-up processes of job design
research within the context of sports.

5.1. The top-down model of job design in sport (job characteristics)

In the top-down model of job design (job characteristics), there are direct and indirect
relationships between job characteristics and outcomes. In terms of the direct relation­
ships (light grey in Figure 7), the data showed that social and interdependence directly
 SPORT MANAGEMENT REVIEW 15

Table 3. The matrix of job design elements on position title.

Position title
Coach/ Referee/
Instructor Umpire
Category Study variable Total Sport Manager PS(VO) PS(VO) Athletic Trainer Event VO
TC Task significance 8 6 0(0) 0(1) 0 1
(n = 32) Task identity 6 5 0(0) 0(0) 0 1
Task variety 1 0 1(0) 0(0) 0 0
Autonomy 9 6 1(0) 0(1) 0 1
Feedback from job 8 6 0(0) 0(1) 0 1
KC Job complexity 0 0 0(0) 0(0) 0 0
(n = 31) Information processing 9 3 3(0) 2(1) 0 0
Problem solving 9 5 0(3) 0(1) 0 0
Skill variety 8 5 0(0) 1(1) 0 1
Specialisation 5 1 1(0) 2(1) 0 0
SC Social support 59 4 34(1) 3(1) 11 5
(n = 87) Interdependence 21 6 13(0) 0(1) 1 0
Interaction 3 1 0(0) 1(0) 0 1
Feedback from others 4 0 2(0) 2(0) 0 0
CC Work conditions 19 4 2(0) 3(3) 3 4
(n = 44) Ergonomics 1 0 1(0) 0(0) 0 0
Physical demands 21 0 1(0) 0(20) 0 0
Equipment tools 3 0 1(0) 1(0) 1 0
AC Virtual work and 7 1 1(0) 0(5) 0 0
(n = 7) time pressure
APPC Approach task crafting 2 0 1(1) 0(0) 0 0
(n = 16) Approach relational crafting 12 2 3(1) 0(2) 2 2
Approach cognitive crafting 2 0 1(1) 0(0) 0 0
AVOC Avoidance task crafting 8 4 2(1) 0(0) 0 1
(n = 18) Avoidance relational crafting 4 2 0(1) 1(0) 0 0
Avoidance cognitive crafting 6 1 5(0) 0(0) 0 0
JCODs Work-Life Crafting 27 4 6(0) 0(0) 17 0
(n = 28) Leisure Crafting 1 0 1(0) 0(0) 0 0
Note1. TC=Task Characteristics; KC=Knowledge Characteristics; SC=Social Characteristics; CC=Contextual Characteristics;
AC=Additional Characteristics; APPC=Approach Crafting; AVOC=Avoidance Crafting; JCODs=Job Crafting in Other
Domains; PS=Paid Staff; VO=Volunteer.
Note2. Sport managers and athletic trainers are paid staff.

Figure 7. The top-down model of job design in sport (job characteristics).

Note. The grey shaded job characteristics directly influence the grey shaded job outcomes.
16 M. LOGHMANI ET AL.

influence attitudinal and behavioural such as cultural awareness, performance, growth

satisfaction, job satisfaction, retention, organisational commitment, and leadership off the
field (n = 13). In addition to attitudinal (n = 6) and behavioural (n = 4) job outcomes, social
support directly led to organisational (n = 3) and well-being (n = 3) outcomes (e.g., sport
diplomacy, inclusion, return to sport, health, burnout, and stress). Only one article inves­
tigated the direct effect of interaction on performance. Furthermore, contextual, and
additional job characteristics such as “ergonomics”, “work condition”, “physical demands”
and “time pressure” were able to directly shape only the well-being outcomes (e.g., stress,
vocal health, and burnout) (n = 25).
Second, the top-down model of job design in sports illustrates the mediating factors
that facilitate the indirect relationship between job characteristics and outcomes. Figure 7
illustrates that the greatest number of antecedents identified in the literature sample are
associated with social characteristics, especially “Interdependence” (n = 10) and “Social
Support” (n = 6). Job expectations (n = 6) and credential (n = 3) are the most important
factors affecting the task and knowledge job characteristics.
In addition, the results show that 18 articles addressed the relationship between task
characteristics and job outcomes, while only three articles focused on knowledge char­
acteristics and their outcomes. Psychological states and job involvement were the main
mediators for those relationships. Apart from task and knowledge job characteristics, only
interdependence, interaction and work conditions had mediators for job outcomes such
as satisfaction, turnover intention, and organisational commitment. Nine articles exam­
ined factors that moderate the relationship between job characteristics and outcomes,
such as individual roles, volunteer types, gender, social satisfaction, sport type, experi­
ence, and age.

5.2. The bottom-up model of job design in sport (job crafting)

Unlike the top-down model, there are no significant mediators for the bottom-up model
of job design in sport. Figure 8 illustrates that “social support”, and “approach relational
crafting” are the main antecedents of job crafting, as they can lead to work – life crafting

Figure 8. The bottom-up model of job design in sport (job crafting).

 SPORT MANAGEMENT REVIEW 17

and thus build the behavioural and well-being outcomes. Only approach task crafting and
leisure crafting did not have any antecedents.
The results also show that work – life crafting (n = 10), approach relational crafting (n =
9) and avoidance task crafting (n = 7) are the most important job crafting techniques (26
of 36 articles) in terms of job outcomes’ prediction. However, only behavioural (e.g.,
performance) and well-being (e.g., burnout, stress) outcomes were predicted by job
crafting components, whereas organisational and attitudinal job outcomes have been
neglected and deserve further investigation. Only one factor, “career stages”, could
moderate the relationship between job crafting and job outcomes.

6. Discussion
This paper examined the current state of job design research in sport by systematically
collating and analysing bibliographic details, theoretical frameworks, research designs,
job characteristics, job crafting and key relationships across extant literature. Although
such analysis demonstrated the novelty of job design scholarship in sport, the sample
articles indicate some patterns that help extend the body of knowledge. We discuss the
theoretical and practical contributions that address RQ7 and point out underdeveloped
areas which would benefit from further research. We conclude with highlighting the study
limitations.

6.1. Bibliographic information

Understanding the lead authors’ perspective of job design research is crucial. The low
number of first authors shows that job design in sport is not considered the focus of
research from the viewpoint of sport scholars. Single authors had a narrow focus on one
specific aspect of job design and on specific sport stakeholders. Such a narrow focus can
be explained by the fact that job design includes different job characteristics and job
crafting components that need to be conceptualised and then tested in separate in-depth
studies (Morgeson & Campion, 2021; Oldham & Fried, 2016). It is therefore expected that
the identified first authors will continue to conduct research on the specific job design
area in which they work, in wider populations in the sport such as club officials, boards
and club/event volunteers.
Most of the sample articles were published from year 2007 onwards. Such a pattern has
been observed in relationship quality in sport (Nolan et al., 2022), sport tourism (Mollah
et al., 2021) and sport event legacy (Thomson et al., 2019) literature, signalling the
simultaneous growth of different areas of the sport management field in the early twenty-
first century.

6.2. Theoretical framework used in the literature

Generally, theories and models used in the sample articles were singularly cited, as
almost 80 per cent (n = 50) of theoretical frameworks/models were incorporated only
once. This finding indicates that the existing literature lacks a definitive theory or
framework pertaining to job design in the context of sports. The singular cited
theories may also indicate a narrow focus of first authors conducting job design
18 M. LOGHMANI ET AL.

research in sport. For instance, Nicholls and Perry (2016) applied A – PI to show that
job characteristic “interdependence”, in the form of the coach – athlete relationship, is
more important to coaches than it is to athletes in predicting dyadic coping and stress
appraisal. However, being outside original job design theories, the specific theoretical
approaches do not directly contribute to the field. In Nicholls and Perry’s (2016) study,
job characteristic “interdependence” was investigated through the coach – athlete
relationship, rather than via job design theories. In contrast, Loghmani et al. (2021)
combined an out-of-area perspective (i.e., career dynamic perspective posed by Fried
et al., 2007) with JCM and job crafting theories to measure how talented individuals
can become elite football referees. Therefore, it may be beneficial to integrate the
main theories of job design, such as the job characteristics model and job crafting,
with other relevant theories.

6.3. Methodologies
The findings revealed that there was a balance between using qualitative and quantitative
methods in sample articles which is justifiable, as the job design concept needed to be
conceptualised and then tested (Morgeson & Campion, 2021). However, there is a lack of
empirical/experimental research methods (e.g., action research, quasi-experimental
method, longitudinal design) in this area. These methods can assist researchers in broad­
ening the job design theories utilised in sports by recognising changes over time and
encouraging cooperation with practitioners (Grant & Wall, 2009).
Despite a reasonable diversity of data and generalisability of the job design concept in
sport between and within the continents/regions of Europe, North America, Asia and
Oceania, cultural biases were also observed. Research investigating job crafting compo­
nents and the social and contextual job characteristics only analysed data from European
and North American countries (Prochnow et al., 2020), while task and knowledge job
characteristics were more typically collected from Asian participants (Hwang & Jang, 2020;
Loghmani et al., 2017). To address the mentioned bias, future research is anticipated to
collect task and knowledge characteristics from European and North American partici­
pants, as well as social and contextual characteristics from Asian participants. As the
United States and European societies are future-oriented (Fried et al., 2007), it appears
that culture can moderate the relationship between job design practices and outcomes.

6.4. Matrix of job design elements in voluntary and paid sport staff
The findings revealed that research interest in job characteristics is heavily dependent on
the types of job position. Sport managers and employees need task and knowledge job
characteristics for better decision-making and in completing routine tasks (Hwang & Jang,
2020). Coaches and athletic trainers are expected to use their social job characteristics to
communicate effectively with players, as this relationship helps coaches to encourage and
increase the athlete’s capacity (Nicholls & Perry, 2016). Referees need to pay attention to
contextual job characteristics to remain in their careers by overcoming negative work
conditions, physical demands, and time pressures (Loghmani et al., 2021).
Unlike job characteristics, job crafting depends on paid sport staff. For instance, full-
time coaches, match officials and sport instructors craft their jobs through goal setting at
 SPORT MANAGEMENT REVIEW 19

early and later career stages (Case & Branch, 2003; Loghmani et al., 2021). Administrators
and paid employees in sport organisations craft their jobs through delegating their tasks,
managerial activities and decisions (Case & Branch, 2003). Although paid sport staff
undertake the vast majority of job crafting techniques, volunteer coaches undertake
mostly avoidance relational crafting through mechanisms which separate them from
others (e.g., spending time alone and turning off their phones) (Potts et al., 2019).
Therefore, it is concluded that paid sport staff are more likely to job craft, because they
are engaged in regular work and need to identify ways to break up their work routine
(Fried et al., 2007).
From the above discussion, it is evident that the area of job crafting knowledge among
sport volunteers is often neglected. Since volunteers play a critical role in both sport
events and sport organisations (Cuskelly et al., 2021), researching the changes that
volunteers actively want to make to their job designs is crucial for promoting engage­
ment, job satisfaction, resilience, and thriving. Therefore, volunteer job crafting research
should be considered an essential area of future research. Filling these gaps would help
sport and event managers to understand how to increase the productivity of the sport
industry and provide opportunities for volunteers to feel motivated and avoid burnout, as
well as reducing volunteer attrition.

6.5. Job design models in sport

The results showed that job design influences job outcomes of voluntary and paid staff in
sport through three types of effects. Following sections discuss each of effects.

6.5.1. Top-down model of job design in sport: direct effects of job characteristics
Among job characteristics, social (i.e., interdependence and social support) and contex­
tual (i.e., work conditions, ergonomics and physical demands) job characteristics directly
influenced job outcomes. Studies investigated direct effect of interdependence on out­
comes are limited to community- and elite-sport levels. In community sport clubs, inter­
dependence in forms of social cohesion, community networks and cooperation can lead
to volunteer (e.g., executive committee members) job satisfaction, cultural awareness and
coach commitment (Doherty & Carron, 2003). In elite-level sport, there is interdependence
based on coach-athlete relationship and coach-board cooperation in which they build
positive behaviours of closeness, commitment and complimentarily, athlete performance
and leadership off the field (Molan et al., 2016).
Although the “interdependence” could only predict attitudinal and behavioural out­
comes, “social support” directly advances sport coaches’ well-being and organisational
outcomes such as sport diplomacy (Kuo & Kuo, 2020). Another group of research show­
cased the profound effects of social support on retention of sport employees who are
LGBT and volunteered in major sport events (Melton & Cunningham, 2014). Finally,
contextual job characteristics and time pressure affect only well-being outcomes such
as stress, vocal health and judgement among sport coaches and match officials
(Prochnow et al., 2020).
Future research should focus on investigating the direct relationships between differ­
ent factors and job outcomes in various sports-related roles. Specifically, (1) the link
between contextual characteristics and attitudinal, behavioural, and organizational job
20 M. LOGHMANI ET AL.

outcomes among match officials; (2) the association between task and knowledge job
characteristics and job outcomes among sport managers, club officials, sport coaches,
match officials, and athletic trainers; (3) the impact of interaction and feedback from
others on job outcomes among sport coaches; and (4) the influence of all job character­
istics on job outcomes among sport event volunteers. Addressing these relationships
would provide valuable insights for improving job design and enhancing job outcomes in
various sports-related roles.

6.5.2. Top-down model of job design in sport: indirect effects of job characteristics
Based on the top-down model of job design (see Figure 7), actor and partner effects are
the most important antecedent predicting interdependence between coach and athletes
(Nicholls & Perry, 2016). Despite these advantages, the findings revealed that no ante­
cedents predict, and no outcomes are achieved from, the other social job characteristics,
including “interaction” and “others” feedback’. Only one article showed that interaction
between employees and customers in sport organisations can lead to service quality and
consumer citizenship behaviour and satisfaction (Kim & Byon, 2018).
Sport volunteer expectations are the most important antecedents for the task and
knowledge job characteristics. Egli et al. (2014), for instance, found that the volunteers
seeking the internal incentives and recognition were more likely to react favourably to the
task, knowledge, and contextual job characteristics, while volunteers seeking participa­
tion and communication and support tend to react favourably to the social job character­
istics. Unlike social job characteristics, task and knowledge job characteristics were unable
to directly build work consequences, as they require some mediators, such as psycholo­
gical states (Loghmani et al., 2017) and organisational identification (Hwang & Jang, 2020).
The results showed that most mediators are associated with the relationship
between task and characteristics and attitudinal outcomes (e.g., growth satisfaction,
job satisfaction and internal work motivation) (Hwang & Jang, 2020; Loghmani et al.,
2017; Neufeind et al., 2013). However, social job characteristics (i.e., interdependence
and interaction) and work conditions can increase the behavioural and attitudinal
outcomes through building job satisfaction. Therefore, job satisfaction can act as
both a mediating variable as well as an outcome. Specifically, job satisfaction is
a mediator in the relationship between social job characteristics and turnover inten­
tions and organisational commitment. However, job satisfaction can also be an out­
come of task characteristics and organisational identification. It is expected that future
research will focus on knowledge job characteristics and their organisational and
wellbeing job outcomes. Moreover, social and contextual job characteristics need to
be tested by mediators to predict job outcomes.
The previous studies found that individual roles and volunteer types moderate the
relationship between the task and knowledge job characteristics, and psychological states
and job outcomes among sport managers and event volunteers (Neufeind et al., 2013),
whereas experience, age, gender, and sport type (Laborde et al., 2017) are the moderators
that relate to social job characteristics and sport coaches. For example, the genuine
episodic volunteers experiencing high task identity and low job autonomy tend to be
volunteers at future events, while the job characteristic “task significance” is important for
long-term committed volunteers’ intention to volunteer at an event (Neufeind et al.,
2013). Laborde et al. (2017) found that female and team sport coaches provide more
 SPORT MANAGEMENT REVIEW 21

social support than male and individual sport coaches. The above studies demonstrate
opportunities to build on existing work by considering moderators among the wider
population, especially referees and athletic trainers.

6.5.3. Job crafting model in sport

The bottom-up model of job design developed in this study (see Figure 8) shows that
individual psychological states coming from perceived secrecy (Brown & Knight, 2022),
off-field experiences and low levels of job characteristics (Loghmani et al., 2021) are the
most important antecedents for approaching job crafting. The avoidance job crafting
behaviours were caused by a combination of individual psychological states and manage­
ment perceptions. According to Lazazzara et al. (2020), the above causes of approach
crafting are termed “proactive behaviours”, while the others are termed “reactive beha­
viours”. As the above causes have been explored once, it is highly recommended that
future researchers comprehensively identify the proactive and reactive behaviours
involved in predicting the job crafting techniques.
Interestingly, finding reveals that social support and interdependence encourage sport
workers – especially athletic trainers – to undertake work – life crafting (Mazerolle &
Hunter, 2018), in addition to directly creating organisational, behavioural, attitudinal and
well-being outcomes (Nicholls & Perry, 2016). Work-life crafting highlights the importance
of job crafting because it advances many outcomes such as retention (Mazerolle et al.,
2018), performance (Loghmani et al., 2021) and well-being (Potts et al., 2019). However,
research demonstrated that approach relational crafting and avoidance task crafting can
lead to behavioural and well-being outcomes among sport professionals (Case & Branch,
2003). In terms of moderating role of career stages, Loghmani et al. (2021) argued that
early career football referees individually craft their job through career-based goal setting.
However, elite football referees collectively craft their job through avoiding relationship
with media and game-based goal setting at later stages of their careers. Based on the
above results, it is expected that the future researchers deeply explore the two-way
relationships between other job characteristics and job crafting techniques. Such explora­
tion will expand the knowledge regarding how top-down and bottom-up processes of job
design are interactively interrelated.

6.6. Limitations
This study has methodological limitations, as some relevant articles may have excluded
since they were only retrieved based on selected key terms in the title, abstract and
keywords. Hence, it is likely that some articles that were conceptually relevant may have
been excluded. Second, the search resulted in papers that met the specified inclusion and
exclusion criteria. Although this approach was comprehensive, it is possible some relevant
articles were omitted. Finally, this review did not focus on terms of antecedents (e.g.,
competency modelling, job analysis) and consequences (e.g., job satisfaction, commit­
ment) of job design. This review emphasised the job design itself to identify unique
antecedents and consequences, in addition to conceptualising the job characteristics and
job crafting in sport.
22 M. LOGHMANI ET AL.

6.7. Conclusion
This SQLR develops two sport-specific job design models by reviewing scholarship in
sport job design. The models were derived through the comprehensive synthesis of the
literature, yielding several significant propositions:

Proposition 1: Task and knowledge job characteristics lead to psychological states,

resulting in attitudinal and behavioural outcomes among sport managers, match officials,
and event volunteers.

Proposition 2: Social support and interdependence are the most critical job character­
istics in sport. They are predicted by many antecedents, directly linked to all types of job
outcomes, and may cause work-life crafting among coaches and athletic trainers.

Proposition 3: Attitudinal and behavioural outcomes are achieved through task and
knowledge job characteristics, while well-being outcomes are achieved through contex­
tual job characteristics and all job crafting techniques.

Proposition 4: The type of human resource in sport (voluntary vs paid staff) and job
positions (match officials, sport coaches, athletic trainers, sport employees) moderate the
direct and indirect effects of job design.

Proposition 4a: The relationship between social support and interdependence and
outcomes are stronger among paid sport coach.

Proposition 4b: Contextual job characteristics is vital for paid match officials.

Proposition 4c: Task and knowledge job characteristics more likely predict outcomes
among volunteer match officials and paid employees.

Proposition 4d: Work-life crafting among paid athletic trainers and approach relational
crafting and avoidance task crafting among paid sport coaches estimate job outcomes.

Collectively, top-down model showed that solving employee’s attraction and retention
in sport depends on stimulating specific job characteristics in specific volunteers and
paid sport staff. For example, “social support” works for sport coaches, whereas
“physical demand” is appropriate for match officials. However, bottom-up model
illustrated that job crafting applies in only paid sport staff and reflects the relational
crafting. Despite critical differences, this review demonstrated that the top-down and
bottom-up models can be complementary. They are mostly applicable in western
cultures, as only task and knowledge job characteristics apply in eastern societies.
The scholarship on job design developed in this review can serve as a valuable guide
for sport scholars and practitioners in attracting and retaining human resources. By
testing and implementing these guidelines in both theoretical and practical settings,
they can effectively improve job design in sports organisations.
 SPORT MANAGEMENT REVIEW 23

Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank the ‘Griffith Institute for Tourism (GIFT)’ for supporting the
development of the paper. The authors are also grateful for the efforts of Professor Catherine
Pickering in organising several workshops on systematic quantitative literature review at Griffith
University. Such efforts provided a great opportunity for the authors to undertake the present
review. Further, the authors appreciate the kind assistance from Michelle DuBroy, the Griffith
Discipline Librarian, for the search process and data collection. Last but not least, the authors
would like to thank both anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful feedback during the review
process.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Funding
The work was supported by the Griffith Institute for Tourism, Griffith University [2/08/2022];
Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship [00233E].

Notes on contributors
Mohsen Loghmani is an HDR Candidate in the Department of Tourism, Sport & Hotel Management
at Griffith University. His PhD research is about job crafting in non-profit context and its influence on
volunteer engagement within the community/voluntary sport clubs. He completed a master’s
degree of Sport Management at University of Guilan, Iran, and Bachelor of Sport Sciences at
Kerman Technical and Vocational University, Iran.
Popi Sotiriadou is an Associate Professor in the Department of Tourism, Sport & Hotel Management
at Griffith University. She is well-known expert in managing high performance sport, event and
athlete well-being, and organisational capacity to attract, retain and nurture athletes/sport
development.
Jason Doyle is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Tourism, Sport & Hotel Management at Griffith
University. His research areas include sport and event consumer behaviour, strategic marketing and
branding, and the impact of consumption on social-psychological well-being.

ORCID
Mohsen Loghmani http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9424-8549
Popi Sotiriadou http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2498-2179
Jason Doyle http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5049-9407

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