A Comparison of Job Characteristics among Iranian Soccer referees

The purpose of the present study was to compare job characteristics among Iranian soccer referees based on Job Characteristics Model (JCM) that it is one of the most common job design studies. 157 soccer referees in Premier League and A-league responded to seven-point Likert scale Jacko’s questionnaire (2004). To compare the core job characteristics of soccer referees, Repeated Measure, Bonferroni tests and Partial Least Squares (PLS) were used. Results show that characteristics of skill variety 0.79), specialization (0.77), feedback from job (0.62), information processing (0.61), autonomy 0.53), task significant (0.50), problem solving (0.27), had significant effects on core job characteristics among soccer referees, respectively. Characteristics of task significant, specialization, and skill variety had more effectiveness than characteristics of feedback, autonomy, and problem solving from referees’ view point (P≤ 0.05). Thus, based on factor loadings and priorities of job dimensions, problem solving can be eliminated, whereas specialization and information processing can be added to core job characteristics of soccer referees. Generally, soccer referees believe that soccer judgment is of importance, specialization, worthwhile, and high responsibility.