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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.

Sec. Sport Psychology

A MODEL ON LEADER-MEMBER EXCHANGE, PSYCHOLOGICAL EMPOWERMENT AND TEAMWORK IN ESPORTS TEAMS

Provisionally accepted
Orcun KececiOrcun Kececi1Laurentiu-Gabriel TalaghirLaurentiu-Gabriel Talaghir2*Veli Onur CelikVeli Onur Celik3Teodora Mihaela IconomescuTeodora Mihaela Iconomescu2Mustafa Can KocMustafa Can Koc4*Gabriel Marian ManolacheGabriel Marian Manolache2
  • 1Faculty of Applied Sciences, Osmaniye Korkut Ata University, Osmaniye, Türkiye
  • 2Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, Galati, Romania
  • 3Faculty of Sports Sciences, Eskişehir Technical University, Eskişehir, Türkiye
  • 4Faculty of Sports Sciences, Istanbul Gelisim University, Istanbul, Türkiye, Istanbul, Türkiye

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Purpose: The aim of this research is to explore how leader-member exchange (LMX) affects teamwork through the mediation of psychological empowerment and discusses the interaction between the concepts within the framework of a relational model. Unfortunately, the previous related studies in the literature are limited to the examination of paired relationships between concepts and these concepts have not yet been sufficiently dealt with in relation to esports contexts. Therefore, the present study aims to fill this gap by collecting data from various sources. Methods: The data of the study, which was conducted with 804 professional esports players from Türkiye, the USA and South Korea who were selected by employing the conventional sampling method, were collected via an online survey and analyzed through structural equation modeling. Results: The findings revealed meaningful effects of leader-member exchange on teamwork and this effect was partially mediated by psychological empowerment. Conclusion: These findings are consistent with the Social Exchange Theory, Inputs-Process-Outcomes Model and Positive Organizational Behavior Theory and account for the relationship between leader quality and team performance. The study also contributes to the literature in regards to esports leadership and offers practical suggestions to team coaches and directors.

Keywords: esports1, Leader-member exchange2, Psychological Empowerment3, Teamwork4, Structural equation mode5

Received: 26 Jun 2025; Accepted: 30 Oct 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Kececi, Talaghir, Celik, Iconomescu, Koc and Manolache. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Laurentiu-Gabriel Talaghir, gtalaghir@ugal.ro
Mustafa Can Koc, cankoc_01@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material