Date of Award

5-2025

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

School

Leadership

Committee Chair

Dr. Jonathan Beedle

Committee Chair School

Leadership

Committee Member 2

Dr. Amin Alizadeh

Committee Member 2 School

Leadership

Committee Member 3

Dr. Casey Maugh Funderburk

Committee Member 3 School

Leadership

Committee Member 4

Dr. Bradley Winton

Committee Member 4 School

Management

Abstract

Interns profoundly impact the workplace, including spaces like professional sports. Sports management internship programs are critical for interns’ academic and employability success but are also a source of skilled workers for the employer (Chang et al., 2019; Sattler & Achen, 2021). Interns bring attachments to specific teams, cultivating their work experiences through job embeddedness and organizational commitment (Hawzen et al., 2018; Mitchell et al., 2001). The interns battle role-related stressors specific to the industry, worksite, academic major, and position while finding a work-life balance (Chang et al., 2019). This study explored relationships between professional sports interns’ work stress, job embeddedness, organizational commitment, and a stress-reducing mobile app. The study measured interns' job embeddedness, commitment, and stress before and after using the app, with focus group insights providing a deeper look into their experiences. The interns’ experiences suggest that the mobile app may positively influence sports management interns’ job embeddedness, organizational commitment, and self-awareness. The implications may benefit the interns, sports management, industry, and participating shareholders.

Keywords: internship, job embeddedness, organizational commitment, work stress, work-life balance, stress-reducing mobile app, mixed methods, professional sports

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Available for download on Thursday, December 31, 2026

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