AMBIDEXTROUS LEADERSHIP AND ITS ROLE IN DRIVING UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION FOR SPORTS

Abstract

Background: This study aims to examine the relationship between ambidextrous leadership style, the dual approach of transformational (explorative) and transactional (exploitative) leadership, and university student-athletes' motivation for sports. This research paper aimed to quantify the strength of the relationship between the two variables and how the ambidextrous leader’s characteristics, such as innovation, flexibility, creativity, discipline, consistency, optimization, and efficiency of performance, relate to both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation among university student-athletes. Methodology: By adopting a quantitative research method and cross-sectional study design, the responses were collected from individuals with specific skills, knowledge, and experience applicable to the research problem through a purposive sampling method, which was further assessed with a standardized questionnaire, comprising the 13 items of Ambidextrous Leadership Scale (Rosing, et all. 2011) and the 18 items of student-athletes' Motivation for Sports Scale (Pelletier et al. 1995). A total of 64 participants, from private and public universities of Lahore, including sports teams' leaders, e.g., captains, vice-captains, ex-captains, and competent student-athletes, conveyed their valuable thoughts for this research. Results: The gathered data from specialized individuals was further analyzed through SPSS software, conducting Pearson correlation and regression analysis. The Ambidextrous Leadership Scale produced a Cronbach's Alpha of 0.809, a student-athletes' Motivation for Sports Scale value of 0.887, and a combined reliability value of 0.894, which indicates excellent internal consistency.  The results demonstrate a significant and moderate positive correlation (r = 0.451, p < 0.01) between ambidextrous leadership and student-athletes’ motivation for sports. The linear regression revealed that 20.3% of the variance in sports motivation is explained by ambidextrous leadership (R-squared = 0.203, adjusted R-squared = 0.191). The coefficient of regression (B = 0.463, p < 0.001) indicates that a one-unit increase in ambidextrous leadership is associated with a 0.463-unit enhancement in the student-athletes' motivation. Conclusions: Ambidextrous leaders who proficiently integrate the explorative aspect of ambidextrous leadership, like creativity, adaptability, and innovation, with the exploitative aspect of ambidextrous leadership, like discipline, structure, and efficiency, encourage an environment in educational institutions that is associated with higher sports engagement, discipline, creativity, flexibility, innovation, and efficiency in sports performance among university student-athletes. The results validate the study hypothesis (H1), indicating that ambidextrous leaders who effectively balance innovation and efficiency are significantly associated with both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation among university student-athletes. The findings suggest that an ambidextrous leadership approach is positively associated with balancing creativity and control, providing a comprehensive framework to the domain of sports management and leadership to stimulate creativity, enhance efficiency in sports performance, and motivate student-athletes’ participation in sports.

Keywords: Ambidextrous leadership, University Student-athletes' Motivation for Sports, Sports Motivation, Exploration and Exploitation, Transformational and Transactional Leadership, Sports Leadership, Sports Performance