Presentation of an Ethical Leadership Model in Non-Governmental Sports Organizations

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
saeed kiani 1
Mina mostahfezian 2
Ahmad Mahmoudi 3
Rokhsareh badami 4
1 PhD Student in Sport Management, Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
2 Sport Medicine Research Center, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Sport Management, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Health, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
4 Professor, Isfahan (Khorasgan) branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran
10.22034/ntsmj.2024.2032431.1063
Abstract
The aim of this study is to present an ethical leadership model in non-governmental sports organizations that goes beyond simplistic morality and ethical misconduct based on the researcher's lived experience. The research method used in this qualitative study is content analysis. The participants in this research were sports association secretaries, members of the national assembly of youth non-governmental organizations, and university professors. The purposive sampling method was employed, and the snowball sampling strategy was utilized, with 18 individuals being interviewed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data, and credibility, transferability, conformability, and dependability were ensured through trustworthy strategies. The proposed Ethredge-Sterling (2001) coding pattern was used in three stages for data analysis. The results revealed that the ethical leadership model in sports associations consists of 80 basic themes, 16 organizing themes, and 4 universal themes, namely ethical leadership motivation, ethical leadership principles, ethical leadership behavior, and the outcomes of ethical leadership behavior. These findings indicate that the rationale for ethical leadership can be sought in the motivation for serving others, social motivation, and concern for ethical principles. Furthermore, it manifests in task-orienteers, utilitarianism, and rationality, leading to ethical behaviors that result in leadership legitimacy, attitudinal effects, follower loyalty, and ultimately positive performance outcomes, as indicated by the indicators in this study.
Keywords
Ethical principles and values
Ethical misconduct
Ethical leadership
Simplistic Morality
Sports Associations
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