Participants were adults enrolled in recreational swimming programs at local facilities across South Korea. A total of 300 individuals were recruited using convenience sampling, and after removing 20 incomplete or invalid responses, 280 valid questionnaires were retained for analysis. Eligibility criteria required participants to be 18 years or older and enrolled in a swimming program for at least 3 months, ensuring they had adequate experience to evaluate their coach and the program. The final sample consisted of 140 males (50%) and 140 females (50%), with a mean age of 35.6 years (SD = 9.8). Participants’ swimming experience ranged from 1 to 15 years (M = 5.3, SD = 4.1), indicating a heterogeneous group that included both novice and experienced swimmers. Table 1 presents detailed demographic characteristics of the participants.

Validated scales from previous research were employed to measure the study constructs, using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

Authentic Leadership was measured using the 16-item Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ) (Walumbwa et al., 2008), capturing four dimensions: self-awareness, relational transparency, internalized moral perspective, and balanced processing. During confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), two items (“My coach asks for feedback to improve” and “My coach admits mistakes when they occur”) were removed due to low standardized loadings (< 0.50) and high modification indices, suggesting redundancy. Their removal improved overall model fit and construct validity.

Coach Trust was assessed with a 7-item scale adapted from Dirks and Ferrin (2002).

Self-Efficacy was measured using a 6-item scale developed by Schwarzer et al. (2007), adapted for sport participants.

Service Quality was evaluated through a modified 10-item version of the SERVQUAL scale (Parasuraman et al., 1994), reflecting tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy within the swimming context.

Relationship Continuity Intention was assessed using a 5-item scale adapted from Berry and Parasuraman (1992).

The final number of retained items for each scale, along with their psychometric properties (e.g., AVE, CR), is reported in Table 2.

Data were collected over a one-month period in 2022 through both online and in-person surveys at swimming facilities nationwide. All participants were provided with an explanation of the study’s purpose and procedures, and informed consent was obtained in accordance with the guidelines of the Institutional Review Board of Kyungdong University (IRB No. 2022-004). Confidentiality and anonymity were maintained throughout the research process, and participation was voluntary.

All analyses were conducted using SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 26.0. Preliminary analyses included descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, frequencies) and normality checks using skewness, kurtosis, and Q-Q plots, confirming that parametric assumptions were met.

Internal consistency of the scales was verified using Cronbach’s alpha. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated to examine interrelationships among the variables (see Table 3). Construct validity was tested using CFA. The main hypotheses were evaluated using structural equation modeling (SEM), with model fit assessed via standard indices: χ²/df (< 3.0), comparative fit index (CFI ≥ 0.90), Tucker-Lewis index (TLI ≥ 0.90), and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA ≤ 0.08), following recommended thresholds (Hu and Bentler, 1999; Kline, 2023).

To evaluate indirect effects—particularly the mediating role of self-efficacy and service quality between coach trust and relationship continuity intention—a bootstrapping procedure with 5,000 resamples was performed.

Descriptive statistics and correlation coefficients among the study variables are presented in Tables 1, 2. The mean scores for each construct were generally high, suggesting favorable perceptions among participants. Internal consistency was strong across all scales, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients exceeding 0.85: Authentic Leadership (M = 4.12, SD = 0.58, α = 0.91), Coach Trust (M = 4.25, SD = 0.63, α = 0.89), Self-Efficacy (M = 4.18, SD = 0.61, α = 0.87), Service Quality (M = 4.10, SD = 0.57, α = 0.88), and Relationship Continuity Intention (M = 4.22, SD = 0.60, α = 0.85). None of the reliability coefficients exceeded 0.95, indicating that item redundancy was not a concern (see Table 2).

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to examine the validity of the measurement model. As shown in Table 3, the model demonstrated good fit (χ²/df = 2.35, CFI = 0.96, TLI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.056). All factor loadings exceeded 0.70 and were statistically significant (p < 0.001), supporting convergent validity. To further establish discriminant validity, the square root of the average variance extracted (AVE) for each construct was compared with the inter-construct correlations. As shown in Table 2, the AVE values exceeded the squared correlations among constructs, confirming discriminant validity.

The hypothesized structural model was tested using SEM, and the results indicated a good model fit (χ²/df = 2.41, CFI = 0.95, TLI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.059). Table 4 summarizes the results for each path:

To assess indirect effects, a bootstrapping procedure with 5,000 resamples was performed. The analysis revealed that coach trust significantly mediated the effects of authentic leadership on both self-efficacy (indirect effect = 0.35, 95% CI [0.24, 0.47], p < 0.01) and service quality (indirect effect = 0.32, 95% CI [0.20, 0.45], p < 0.01). In addition, self-efficacy (indirect effect = 0.23, 95% CI [0.14, 0.34], p < 0.01) and service quality (indirect effect = 0.18, 95% CI [0.09, 0.28], p < 0.01) both significantly mediated the relationship between coach trust and relationship continuity intention.

These findings suggest that while trust alone may not directly sustain participants’ long-term commitment, it indirectly promotes continuity through its positive effects on psychological (self-efficacy) and service-related (perceived quality) outcomes. This underscores the multi-step relational process through which authentic leadership impacts retention in recreational sports contexts.

The findings reinforce the central role of authentic leadership in fostering trust between coaches and participants, consistent with previous research (Walumbwa et al., 2011a,b). The four dimensions of authentic leadership—self-awareness, relational transparency, internalized moral perspective, and balanced processing—were all found to significantly contribute to participants’ trust in their coaches. This aligns with organizational psychology literature suggesting that authenticity in leadership enhances perceived integrity and promotes meaningful relationships (Avolio and Gardner, 2005).

Coach trust was also positively associated with self-efficacy and perceived service quality, supporting the notion that trust acts as a psychological bridge that facilitates motivation and favorable evaluations (Robert and Wilbanks, 2012). These findings suggest that in recreational sports contexts such as swimming, where participation is voluntary and non-competitive, the relational dimension of trust may be amplified. Swimming requires continuous engagement in structured training routines, and the inherent risks of water-based activities may heighten participants’ reliance on the coach’s credibility and integrity. Thus, trust may be even more central in swimming than in other recreational activities.

Notably, however, coach trust did not directly influence relationship continuity intention, contradicting several prior studies in service and sports contexts (Swan et al., 1999; Bateman and Valentine, 2015; Yagil and Medler-Liraz, 2013). This divergence may be attributable to cultural factors, as cross-cultural leadership research indicates that in collectivist societies, respect for authority figures does not always translate into sustained behavioral commitment (House et al., 2004; Rockstuhl et al., 2011). For adult recreational swimmers in South Korea, decisions to continue may depend more on individual efficacy or perceptions of program quality than on relational loyalty alone.

Importantly, the mediating roles of self-efficacy and service quality were confirmed, suggesting that trust operates indirectly, exerting its influence through more tangible or self-relevant mechanisms. This supports emerging sport psychology frameworks that emphasize multi-step motivational processes rather than direct relational outcomes. Future research might explore whether satisfaction, enjoyment, or perceived autonomy mediate similar relationships, particularly across different sports and cultural settings.

The study highlights the importance of developing authentic leadership qualities in community sport coaches. Traits such as transparency, consistency, and moral integrity can significantly strengthen participant trust (Bandura and Kavussanu, 2018), which in turn enhances their perceived service experience and psychological engagement. To make this actionable, training programs for coaches should include structured reflective practice sessions that encourage coaches to examine their leadership values, and workshops on delivering constructive, individualized feedback. Incorporating tools such as peer observation, video-based self-reflection, and feedback logs can help coaches systematically build authenticity and trust in daily practice.

Moreover, the positive effects of coach trust on self-efficacy and service quality reinforce the need to prioritize trust-building as a strategic lever in program design and coach-participant interactions (Malloy and Kavussanu, 2021). Sports organizations should foster communication environments where mutual respect and personal attention are emphasized (Han et al., 2019). Ensuring program consistency, providing structured feedback opportunities, and cultivating a welcoming atmosphere can all contribute to sustained engagement.

Finally, the study underscores that fostering long-term commitment requires more than interpersonal trust alone. Coaches and program managers should focus on building participants’ confidence in their abilities (e.g., through individualized feedback and goal-setting strategies) and ensuring high-quality service provision (e.g., reliable instruction, clean facilities, adequate scheduling). These factors, more than trust in isolation, appear to be key drivers of continued participation in recreational swimming programs (Hashemi et al., 2024; Wang and Tseng, 2019).

Overall, these findings suggest that authentic leadership creates the relational and psychological conditions necessary for sustainable engagement—but only when paired with mechanisms that empower and satisfy participants.