Table 1 Characterization of the studies included in the systematic review

1

Damato et al. (2008)

To analyze the effect of the absence of an important and unimportant player due to a hypothetical injury on the collective efficacy of a team.

194 male soccer players/16 to 33 years/semi-professional

Following the injury scenario, perseverance collective efficacy perceptions only, significantly decreased following the loss of either player.

2

Price and Weiss (2011)

To examine the relation between leadership behaviors perceived by athletes/team, cohesion, and collective efficacy.

191 female soccer players/14 to 18 years/under-15 and under-18

Canonical correlation analyses revealed that (a) peer leaders were characterized by higher perceived soccer competence, peer acceptance, behavioral conduct, and intrinsic motivation and (b) effective peer leadership was associated with players who reported greater task and social cohesion and collective efficacy.

3

Leo et al. (2001b)

To examine the relationships between the motivational climate created by coaches and peers regarding collective efficacy.

377 male soccer players/average age 24.51 ± 3.73/professional

The mastery climate created by peers and coaches had a significant and positive relationship to collective efficacy.

4

Leo, Sánchez-Miguel, Sánchez-Oliva, Alonso, and García-Calvo (2012)

To examine the evolution of the perception of cohesion, self-efficacy, and collective efficacy among male soccer players over the season and their relation with success expectations.

265 male soccer players/15 to 19 years

15 coaches/29 to 45 years/under-18

The most noteworthy results show that players whose expectations do not match the team’s final performance will experience a negative evolution of their levels of perceived cohesion and efficacy, whereas players whose expectations at the start of the season match the team’s final performance in the classification will maintain their degree of perceived cohesion and efficacy

5

Leo, Sánchez-Miguel, Sánchez-Oliva, Amado, and García-Calvo (2013)

To determine the cohesion and collective efficacy profiles of different male soccer players and measure their differences in terms of success expectations, playing time, and performance.

235 male soccer players/15 to 19 years

15 coaches/29 to 45 years/under-18

Soccer players with higher cohesion and collective efficacy levels belonged to teams that completed the season at the top-level classification. In contrast, athletes with low cohesion and collective efficacy usually played in unsuccessful teams.

6

González-Ponce, Sanchez-Oliva, Amado, and Pulido (2013)

To analyze the relationships between cohesion, collective efficacy, and performance of female soccer players.

66 female soccer players/15 to 33 years/professional

The importance of unity in solving tasks and above all the confidence of the players in the capabilities of the group, as this seems to work in favor of obtaining higher performance by the team.

7

González-Ponce, Sanchez-Oliva, Amado, and Leo (2013)

To explore differences in the motivational climate of teammates and coaches, cohesion, and collective efficacy of players of both sexes.

75 male soccer players e 69 female soccer players/15 to 36 years/professional

Female teams had greater scores in social cohesion than male teams, whereas male teams perceived higher peer performance climate than female teams. Furthermore, either both male and female teams, collective efficacy was related to cohesion and peers and coaches mastery climate.

8

Hampson and Jowett (2014)

To examine the effects of coach leadership and coach-athlete relationship with team efficacy.

112 male soccer players and 38 female soccer players/average age 20.07 ± 1.5/semi-professional and professional

Multiple regression analyses revealed that perceptions of both coach leadership and the coach–athlete relationship predicted variance in team efficacy.

9

Leo, Sánchez-Miguel, Sánchez-Oliva, Amado, and García-Calvo (2014)

To apply a theoretical model evaluating collective efficacy, motivational climate, group cohesion, and their main consequence in performance.

203 male soccer players/18 to 37 years/semi-professional

To optimize perception of collective efficacy and so, increase performance, it seems important that coaches promote strategies to enhance task-related motivational climate and group cohesion in players.

10

Leo, González-Ponce, and Miguel (2015)

To examine the conflict of roles and the conflict between teams as facilitators or debilitators of collective efficacy.

225 female soccer players/15 to 36 years/professional

Group conflicts might have more relevance than role conflict in decreasing confidence in the team’s ability to deal with competition.

11

Leo, González-Ponce, Sánchez-Miguel, Ivarsson, and García-Calvo (2015)

To examine how perceptions of role ambiguity, role conflict, team conflict, and cohesion can predict collective efficacy in sports teams.

320 male soccer players and 210 female soccer players/15 to 39 years/professional

Multilevel modeling analysis showed that perceptions of team conflict and cohesion, at the interpersonal and interteam levels, can predict changes in collective efficacy.

12

Fuster-Parra et al. (2015)

To analyze the team performance and collective efficacy through a Bayesian network.

377 male soccer players/18 to 39 years/semi-professional

The Bayesian network is used to make inferences regarding our problem, and therefore, we obtain some conclusions; among them are as follows: maximizing the team’s performance causes a decrease in collective efficacy and when team’s performance achieves the minimum value it causes an increase in moderate/high values of collective efficacy.

13

Filho, Tenenbaum, and Yang (2015)

To explore the interrelation between cohesion, team mental models (1), collective efficacy (2), and perceived performance potential (PPP).

162 male soccer players and 178 female soccer players/20 to 38 years/professional

The cohesion was found to be an exogenous variable predicting both team mental models and collective efficacy beliefs. Team mental models and collective efficacy were correlated and predicted PPP, which in turn accounted for 59% of the variance of objective performance scores as measured by teams’ season record.

14

Fransen et al. (2015)

To analyze the reciprocal relation between team confidence (confidence in results and collective efficacy) and perceived team performance.

Study 1: 134 male soccer players/average age 15.09 ± 0.8/under-17

Study 2: 125 male soccer players/average age 17.3±3.6/under-21

A relationship was found between the perceived performance of the team and the subsequent confidence of the players’ team.

15

Garza et al. (2015)

To assess collective efficacy and teamwork disposition (individual/collective).

112 male soccer players/13 to 27 years/amateur and semi-professional

The players showed more sense of individualism than collectivism.

16

Leo, González-Ponce, Amado, González, and Calvo (2016)

To examine how perceptions of ambiguity and role conflict can predict group cohesion and influence transactional memory and collective efficacy in teams of female soccer players.

225 female soccer players/15 to 36 years/professional

The results suggest that the group leaders in female sports teams will have to make an effort to define the roles of each member of the team to improve the union and group work, because these factors are linked to the capacity of sharing knowledge among group members and the confidence in abilities when facing teamwork.

17

Leo, González-Ponce, Sánchez-Oliva, Amado, and García-Calvo (2016)

To determine the direction of the relationship between cohesion and collective efficacy and its effect on team performance.

146 male soccer players/15 to 18 years/under-18

During pre-season and at the start of the season, team sport coaches should focus on social and task aspects, both individually and at a group level. This would improve the perception of collective team efficacy and lead to better team performance.

18

Atkinson, Short, and Martin (2018)

To examine the relationships between athletes’ perceptions on the effectiveness of their coaches and the collective efficacy of the team.

271 male soccer players/18 to 26 years/semi-professional

A canonical correlation analysis between the variants formed by the Coaching Efficacy Scale subscales and the Collective Efficacy Questionnaire for Sport subscales was statistically significant

19

Leo, González-Ponce, et al. (2019)

To explore the interrelationship between cohesion, transactive memory systems (TMS) and collective efficacy through a conceptual model of cohesion.

557 soccer professionals/16 to 37 years/professional

Task cohesion had a stronger impact on TMS and collective efficacy than social cohesion.

20

Leo, García-Calvo, et al. (2019)

Analyze the number of task, social, and external leaders within sports teams and examine the effectiveness of different leadership structures in men’s and women’s teams.

317 male soccer players/average age 25.25 ± 4.7

214 female soccer players/average age 22.22 ± 4.41/professional

Male teams showed more benefits when having more task and external leaders, while female teams experienced more benefits when having more task and social leaders on the team.

21

Bruton, Shearer, and Mellalieu (2019)

To compare the effects of individual-level observational learning versus team-level observational learning interventions on self-efficacy and collective efficacy beliefs in team sport athletes.

11 male soccer players/average age 21.73 ± 1.51

11 female soccer players/average age 21.94 ± 1.76/amateur, semi-professional and professional

The novel findings of this investigation show that individual-level observational learning, team-level observational learning, and multi-level observational learning interventions can enhance efficacy beliefs in practical contexts and warrant application in groups across domains.

22

Hong and Jeong (2020)

To examine the connection between transformational and authentic leadership of head coaches and team performance, and the mediating role of collective efficacy in this relationship in the context of the Korean Men’s K League.

106 male soccer players/19 to 40 years/professional

The transformational and authentic leadership of head coaches both had a positive effect on players’ collective efficacy, which has a positive effect on team performance.

23

Mertens et al. (2021)

To explore how leadership structures among athletes within sports teams evolve over the course of a season.

460 male soccer players/average age 23.5 ± 4.55/semi-professional

Findings suggest that leadership structures in sports teams can change considerably over the course of the competitive season, thereby challenging the classic view of stable, vertical leadership structures.