Mixed methods research on satisfaction with athletes’ compensation

This study explores the factors influencing athletes’ compensation satisfaction and their configuration effects. A mixed research approach that combines regression analysis and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was applied to process the survey data of 352 athletes from six provinces. The regression analysis results demonstrate that economic compensation, the compensation system, the external environment, and compensation fairness all have a significant positive effect on athletes’ compensation satisfaction. Accordingly, the fsQCA approach was applied to explore the combined effects of the factors influencing athletes’ compensation satisfaction, which verifies the conclusions drawn from regression analysis and provides improvement paths for increasing athletes’ compensation satisfaction.