Examining the relationship between collective efficacy and team explanatory style

Abstract

Within the sport realm, collective efficacy is considered an important construct that influences all aspects of team behaviour (Bandura, 1986). As such, a considerable amount of research has examined the relationship between collective efficacy and behavioural (e.g., performance), cognitive (e.g., team goals), and affective (e.g., cognitive anxiety) outcomes. The purpose of the present study was to extend previous research to determine the relationship between team explanatory style (the cognitive predisposition to explain the causes of bad events in a habitual manner) and collective efficacy beliefs. Athletes (n = 148; 14 teams) completed the Team Attributional Style Questionnaire (TASQ; Shapcott & Carron, 2010) and the Collective Efficacy Questionnaire for Sports (CEQS; Short, Sullivan, & Feltz, 2005). Statistical analyses supported the aggregation of individual athlete responses to represent a group-level construct for both team attributional style and collective efficacy beliefs. Partial least squares (PLS) structural modeling technique showed that the four factor attributional style model (i.e., controllability, universality, globality, and stability) accounted for 22% of the variation of the global measure of collective efficacy. The findings will be discussed in terms of their implications for the dynamics of sport teams.

Acknowledgments: Funded by SSHRC