Organizational citizenship behavior in sport: Scale development and validation

The purpose of the current study was to develop a valid and reliable scale to measure organizational citizenship behavior in sport. The current research consisted of a three-stage scale development and validation process: (a) item generation and content validity, (b) construct validity and reliability, and (c) criterion validity. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to generate and analyze scale items. The results of Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling revealed appropriate goodness-of-fit indexes for the finalized 22-item scale including five dimensions: bonding, encouraging, helping, community service, and extra work. Finally, correlations between each dimension of organizational citizenship behavior and athlete satisfaction and team commitment confirmed the criterion validity. The newly developed organizational citizenship behavior in Sport Scale is expected to help researchers empirically examine the potential relationships between psychological antecedents and identified dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior in sport as well as provide practical guidance to professionals working with athletes.