Middle and Junior Managers’ Perceptions of Perceived Organisational Support in the South African Soccer Domestic Leagues

The concept of perceived organisational support has attracted considerable interest as an attempt to understand the intensity and stability of employee loyalty and dedication to the organisation. The same organisational principles are applicable sport organisations like soccer clubs since their ultimate success depends to a great extent on their human resources. It is important for soccer clubs to attract and retain staff with adequate skills to enhance the brand and image of the club. The purpose of this study was to compare middle and lower managers’ perceived organisational support and demographical information and how they perceive organisational support from the soccer clubs. The study adopted a non-probability convenience sampling method to recruit junior and middle managers in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) in South Africa. Two hundred questionnaires were administered to middle and junior management. One hundred and fifteen (58%) usable questionnaires were returned. Perceived organisational support was assessed by means of the Perceived Organisational Support Questionnaire. One-way analysis of variance indicates that there were no significant difference between gender and middle managers, but there are significant differences for lower managers and gender. A significant difference exists between middle and lower managers regarding to their years of experience, age and qualifications and experience of perceived organisational support. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n13p126