Conditional process analysis of the impact of coach leadership on the voice of Japanese student-athletes: Examining the moderating role of acceptance of innovation

This study examines whether (a) psychological safety mediates the relationship between coach leadership and voice and (b) acceptance of innovation moderates indirect effects between coach leadership, psychological safety, and voice. A survey was conducted on 319 student-athletes (191 men, 126 women, and two others, M age 20.13±0.35) who were members of university athletic clubs in Japan and who continued to compete. Mediation analysis revealed that the relationships between the coach leadership (Modeling the way for others to follow, Relational Adjustment, and Dedicated Leadership) and voice were partially mediated by psychological safety. Furthermore, moderated mediation analysis revealed two things in cases where student-athletes perceived a higher-than-average acceptance of innovation. First, psychological safety fully mediated the relationship between coach leadership (Modeling the way for others to follow, Relational Adjustment) and voice. Second, psychological safety partially mediated the relationship between Dedicated Leadership and voice. On the other hand, when student-athletes perceived low acceptance of innovation, moderated mediation analysis indicated that coach leadership (Modeling the way for others to follow, Relational Adjustment, Dedicated Leadership) had no direct or indirect effect on the voices. The findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of the factors that lead student-athletes to voice their thoughts and feelings without concern or hesitation.