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Measuring Customer Service Quality in Sports and Leisure Centres
Abstract
Based on the notion that quality management embraces efficiency and effectiveness, the Centre for Environmental and Recreation Management (CERM) has developed prototypes for performance indicators of efficiency and effectiveness that can be applied to sports and leisure centre management. Effectiveness indicators based on the principles of customer service quality (CSQ) measure customers' expectations compared to their perceptions of the centre's actual performance. The CERM has focused on leisure industry sectors, particularly public sports and leisure centres. This paper reports on the dimensions of customer satisfaction and the application of the CERMCSQ questionnaire to leisure centre management. Data are throughout Australia that trialed the CERMCSQ questionnaire during 1994. Conclusions are drawn from this data that indicate a four-dimension model may be appropriate for Australian sports and leisure centres. This model differs from an earlier one which proposed five CSQ dimensions based on applied research of service industry sectors such as financial institutions in North America. presented from 15 leisure centres
... Martin [37] defines service quality as "the ability to consistently meet external and internal customer needs, wants, and expectations involving procedural and personal encounters". Many scholars have employed modified versions of the original SERVQUAL model proposed by Parasuraman et al. [22] to measure service quality across various types of services (e.g., DINESERV: Stevens [23], DINESCAPE: Ryu and Jang [38], etc. [21,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57]) (Table 1). Table 1. ...
... TANGSERV (Raajpoot, 2002) [51] Measuring tangible quality in the food service sector (e.g., music, temperature, design, location, seating arrangement, food presentation, food variety) DINESCAPE (Ryu and Jang, 2008) [38] Measuring customers' perception of dining environments, focusing on restaurant environments that are restricted to inside dining areas only SERVICESCAPE (Bitner, 1992) [40] Performance-only scale measuring man-made physical surroundings combining both internal and external environments and their impact on customers and employees DinEX (Antun et al., 2010) [39] Measuring diners' expectations of importance by adding social connectedness and homophily GRSERV (Chen et al., 2015) [21] Measuring service quality in green restaurants ECOSERV (Khan, 2003) [46] Measuring service quality expectations in eco-tourism LODGESERV (Knutson et al., 1990) [47] Measuring service quality in the lodging sector LODGQUAL (Getty and Thompson, 1994) [45] Measuring customers' perceptions of delivered quality in the lodging industry HOLSERV (Wong et al., 1999) [55] Model pursuing hotel guests' perceptions of the quality that they receive compared with their expectation HOLSAT (Tribe and Snaith, 1998) [53] Measuring holiday satisfaction DIVEPERF (O'Neill et al., 2000) [50] Assessing perceptions of diving services SERVPERF (Cronin and Taylor, 1992) [41] Performance-based measure of service quality, investigating the relationships between service quality, consumer satisfaction, and purchase intentions FESTPERF (Marković, Dorčić and Krnetić, 2015) [48] Measuring festival performance based on local food festival quality GASTROFEST (Campoverde-Aguirre, 2022) [57] Evaluating service quality at gastronomic festivals TOURQUAL (Mondo and Fiates, 2017) [49] Model for the quality evaluation of services at tourist attractions (tourism destinations, attractions, and events) HISTOQUAL (Frochot and Hughes, 2000) [42] Model evaluating the service quality provided in historic houses (historical attractions, museums, and castles) CERM-CSQ (Howat et al., 1996) [44] Measuring customer service quality in sports and leisure centers ...
... TANGSERV (Raajpoot, 2002) [51] Measuring tangible quality in the food service sector (e.g., music, temperature, design, location, seating arrangement, food presentation, food variety) DINESCAPE (Ryu and Jang, 2008) [38] Measuring customers' perception of dining environments, focusing on restaurant environments that are restricted to inside dining areas only SERVICESCAPE (Bitner, 1992) [40] Performance-only scale measuring man-made physical surroundings combining both internal and external environments and their impact on customers and employees DinEX (Antun et al., 2010) [39] Measuring diners' expectations of importance by adding social connectedness and homophily GRSERV (Chen et al., 2015) [21] Measuring service quality in green restaurants ECOSERV (Khan, 2003) [46] Measuring service quality expectations in eco-tourism LODGESERV (Knutson et al., 1990) [47] Measuring service quality in the lodging sector LODGQUAL (Getty and Thompson, 1994) [45] Measuring customers' perceptions of delivered quality in the lodging industry HOLSERV (Wong et al., 1999) [55] Model pursuing hotel guests' perceptions of the quality that they receive compared with their expectation HOLSAT (Tribe and Snaith, 1998) [53] Measuring holiday satisfaction DIVEPERF (O'Neill et al., 2000) [50] Assessing perceptions of diving services SERVPERF (Cronin and Taylor, 1992) [41] Performance-based measure of service quality, investigating the relationships between service quality, consumer satisfaction, and purchase intentions FESTPERF (Marković, Dorčić and Krnetić, 2015) [48] Measuring festival performance based on local food festival quality GASTROFEST (Campoverde-Aguirre, 2022) [57] Evaluating service quality at gastronomic festivals TOURQUAL (Mondo and Fiates, 2017) [49] Model for the quality evaluation of services at tourist attractions (tourism destinations, attractions, and events) HISTOQUAL (Frochot and Hughes, 2000) [42] Model evaluating the service quality provided in historic houses (historical attractions, museums, and castles) CERM-CSQ (Howat et al., 1996) [44] Measuring customer service quality in sports and leisure centers ...
Food has evolved from a basic necessity to a primary motivation for travel. While providing a high-quality gastronomic offer is still a restaurant’s primary function, quality is no longer enough; today’s demanding guests seek unique and memorable dining experiences. A restaurant’s competences play a significant role in shaping the guests’ overall perception of the quality and derived perceived value, both of which ultimately impact the competitiveness of both the restaurant and the gastronomic destination. The main contribution of this article is the development of a novel theoretical model—GADECOMP—which is designed to measure a gastronomic destination’s competitiveness by centering it around the destination’s gastronomic offer. Exploratory factor analyses confirmed that the instrument is reliable and valid. The model was tested on upscale restaurant guests in Slovenia, Italy, and Croatia. Additionally, the SERVQUAL model of quality measurement was transferred from the entrepreneurial level to the destination level. Our method uses a unique competence approach and expands and diversifies the existing quality concepts by using elements of innovativeness, creativity, sustainability, and local features. The GADECOMP model measures the perceived quality of a gastronomic destination through its competences, which are reflected in the gastronomic destination offer. A regression analysis was used to identify the strength of the effect that perceived value has on the gastronomic destination offer and gastronomic destination competences.
... Secondly, Kim and Kim (1995) included the non-visual elements of service surroundings, such as comfort temperature, adequate space, brightness, cleanliness, and pleasant interior, as ambient attributes. Items related to lightning, surrounding décor, and safety were also identified in other studies (Costa et al., 2004;Howat et al., 1996;Shonk & Chelladurai, 2008). A favourable training ambiance can help youth players maintain good physical and mental conditions in training, both of which are beneficial for their training performance and skill improvement (Maughan et al., 2004). ...
... In the youth football training context, academies which provide various types of programmes covering different age groups, different levels, and different time slots with upto-date programme information usually perceived as better service quality by participants (Howat & Assaker, 2016). Two major sub-dimensions are conceptualised under the programme dimension in this study, which include the range of programme (e.g., Afthinos et al., 2005;Aslan & Kocak, 2011;Costa et al., 2004;Howat et al., 1996;Kim & Kim, 1995;Ko & Pastore, 2005;Lam et al., 2005) and programme information (e.g., Afthinos el al., 2005;Aslan & Kocak, 2011;Howat et al., 1996;Kim & Kim, 1995;Ko & Pastore, 2005;Lam et al., 2005). For the range of programme which represents the diversity of courses or classes that are provided for participants to choose, previous studies in participant sport have indicated the great importance of participants' quality evaluations (Afthinos et al., 2005;Howat et al., 1996;Ko & Pastore, 2005;Lam et al., 2005). ...
... In the youth football training context, academies which provide various types of programmes covering different age groups, different levels, and different time slots with upto-date programme information usually perceived as better service quality by participants (Howat & Assaker, 2016). Two major sub-dimensions are conceptualised under the programme dimension in this study, which include the range of programme (e.g., Afthinos et al., 2005;Aslan & Kocak, 2011;Costa et al., 2004;Howat et al., 1996;Kim & Kim, 1995;Ko & Pastore, 2005;Lam et al., 2005) and programme information (e.g., Afthinos el al., 2005;Aslan & Kocak, 2011;Howat et al., 1996;Kim & Kim, 1995;Ko & Pastore, 2005;Lam et al., 2005). For the range of programme which represents the diversity of courses or classes that are provided for participants to choose, previous studies in participant sport have indicated the great importance of participants' quality evaluations (Afthinos et al., 2005;Howat et al., 1996;Ko & Pastore, 2005;Lam et al., 2005). ...
While football in China is experiencing great enthusiasm from the broad masses due to the unprecedented promotion from the government, to encourage more youth participations in this sport has become an essential for Chinese football revitalization. Under this circumstance, the youth football training industry has been highly capitalized as both foreign and domestic youth football academies have sprung up. Guided by service quality literature, it can be argued that understanding what aspects influence player’s perceived service quality evaluation are necessary to be competitive to gain and sustain youth players for youth football academies in the long-term. Presented herein is a multi-dimensional and hierarchical service quality conceptualization, including four primary dimensions: physical aspects, program, personnel, and personal development. A total of nine sub-dimensions were designed to support these four higher-order dimensions. Data were collected from youth players (n=543) at two youth football academies located in two cities in south-eastern China. In phase one of the study, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted to specify and confirm the factor structure of the proposed measurement scale. Phase two implemented the confirmatory factor analysis to further validate the revised model based on EFA results. Th e results provide support for internal reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity, with 46 items retained and two sub-dimensions (i.e., employee expertise and employee attitude) merged and relabeled as employee trustworthiness. This study made an initiative attempt to provide both theoretical and practical insights in terms of perceived service quality assessment in the context of youth football academies.
... Previous research has linked both service quality and satisfaction and satisfaction and organizational success, so managers should continuously look for and implement procedures that evaluate and improve the services for their customers (Tsuji et al., 2007). Howat, Absher, Crilley, and Milne (1995) studied dimensions of customer service quality with the use of the Centre for Environmental and ...
... Data from 15 leisure centers in Australia that used the CERM CSQ in 1994 were compared by Howat et al. (1995). They concluded that a fourdimension model could be appropriate for Australian sport and leisure centers (Howat et al., 1995). ...
... Data from 15 leisure centers in Australia that used the CERM CSQ in 1994 were compared by Howat et al. (1995). They concluded that a fourdimension model could be appropriate for Australian sport and leisure centers (Howat et al., 1995). ...
... When the literature on the service quality of sports and fitness centres is examined, it is seen that the researchers have revealed general and specific quality model structures. Scales such as An Instrument for Evaluating Service Quality of Health/Fitness Centers (SQAS) by Lam et al. (2005), The scale of service Quality for Participant Sport (SSQPS) by Chang et al. (2005), A Hierarchical Model of Service Quality for Recreational Sport Industry (SSQRS) by Ko and Pastore (2005), Scale of Quality in Fitness Services (SQFS) by Chang and Chelladurai (2003), Factor Quality Excellence of Sports Centers (QUESC-4) by Papadimitriou and Karteroliotis (2000), Center for Environmental and Recreation Management-Customer Service Quality (CERM-CSQ) by Howat et al. (1996), Quality Excellence of Sports Centers (QUESC) by Kim and Kim (1995), Evaluation of Perceived Quality in Sports Services (CECASDEP) by Morales Sánchez et al. (2009), and Service Quality in Fitness Centers Scale by Sevilmiş and Şirin (2019) have been developed. Similar and different dimensions were used in each measurement tool to evaluate the service quality in fitness centres. ...
... This includes many features, such as the facility design and ambient condition. All these features affect the quality perceptions of the participants (Chang & Chelladurai, 2003;Cheung & Woo, 2016;Howat et al., 1996;Ko & Pastore, 2005). These studies are in parallel with our research. ...
This study aimed to define the general factors affecting the quality of fitness centres from the point of view of the members' opinions and the relation densities of the features within these factors. The study was carried out using the qualitative method. Data coding was done utilising MAXQDA, a qualitative data analysis program. MAXQDA's code co-occurrence model feature is employed to visualise code relationships. According to the research findings, the most intense relationship that the factors affecting the staff quality perception of fitness centres have with each other was defined as "Willing to help-Friendliness". When looking at the results obtained in other factors, codes of "Expertise-Communication" for the quality of the trainer, "Facility Atmosphere-Air conditioning" for the quality of the physical environment, and "Meeting the need-Program variety" for the program quality were associated with each other. Findings from this study provide implications for facility managers who need to closely monitor fitness centres' physical environment, staff, instructors, program quality and implement remedial measures as needed.
... The destination image (DI) is the tourists' collective mental representation or views of their emotions and knowledge about a certain location (Lee, Pan, and Chung 2019, [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]. According to prior research Timur (2018, 38-48), Wang et al. (2017, 22), Chiu, Zeng, and Cheng (2016, 223-34), the manner a destination image is generated varies between the visitor who visits first-time and who visit repeatedly. ...
... Tourists visiting a leisure destination receive an experience of rest in several leisure centers ( [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. Received results indicated that tourists who perceived high quality of leisure centers' service were more satisfied with their visiting city, perceived city's image as a tourism destination more positively, and demonstrated a greater revisit intention than those who perceived low-quality leisure centers' service (Rini et al. 2021). ...
Revisit intention is considered one of the key subjects in the current tourism industry. This paper examines the influence of the service quality of a leisure center on future intention to revisit Orlando city, as influenced by overall tourist satisfaction and destination image. Data was collected from 313 visitors of Orlando city, United States. The results indicated that leisure service quality positively affected the overall tourist satisfaction with the city and destination image. Additionally, tourist satisfaction and positive destination image positively impacted tourists’ intention to revisit the city. Moreover, tourist satisfaction and destination image fully mediated the linkage between service quality and tourist intention to revisit the destination in the model with two parallel mediators. Received results indicate that leisure service quality plays a vital role in tourist satisfaction. High quality service will positively affect the travel intentions of leisure center tourists, inclining them revisit the city. Thus, leisure centers and the leisure tourism industry should better understand the expectations and demands of tourists.
... Alexandris et al. (2004) conceptualized their service quality study based on Brady and Cronin Jr's (2001) service quality model, comprising of three dimensions namely physical environment quality, outcome quality, and interaction quality. Consequently, Ko and Pastore (2005) incorporated the missing element in Brady and Cronin Jr's work (2001) which is the program dimension as proposed by Kim and Kim (1995), Howat et al. (1996) and Papadimitriou and Karteroliotis (2000) and developed a more specific service quality model for recreational sports called the Scale of Service Quality in Recreational Sport (SSQRS), which has formed the foundation for this study. ...
... Program quality in the context of a fitness centre refers to customers perception of the program's excellence (Brady & Cronin Jr, 2001;Howat et al., 1996) through which they experience a good value of the services rendered (Ko & Pastore, 2007). In order to make customer's satisfied, a service provider must ensure they deliver high quality service differentiation and superior quality of service to their customers (Ko & Pastore, 2007). ...
Fitness centres in Malaysia remain intensely competitive despite of the industry’s continuous growth. Many depend on recurring revenue streams to secure their market position. This has made, satisfaction of customers a prime importance to ensure their survival in the industry through the delivery of excellent service quality. Basing on this premise, four dimensions of Scale for Service Quality in Recreational Sport (SSQRS) influencing the satisfaction of fitness centre customers was examined. From a total of 113 questionnaires distributed to customers of a gym, all were returned with valid responses for analysis. Findings from the study affirmed that SSQRS dimensions were significantly related to customer satisfaction. Specifically, the outcome dimension demonstrated the greatest impact on satisfaction among customers of a fitness centre followed by physical environment quality and interaction quality. Thus, suggesting there is a need for fitness centres to continuously improve their physical environment quality and outcome quality through personalize workout routines, optimization of space with value-added service, and offer workout streaming to deliver satisfaction, long term revenue and continuous growth.
... Others regard satisfaction as synonymous with advantages. Numerous researchers and practitioners have addressed satisfaction and quality of services as synonymous constructs which are used interchangeably [58]. The confusion among visitor satisfaction and quality of service stems from the conceptual progression of these constructs. ...
... They used TripAdvisor's online reviews to evaluate the accuracy of the method. The authors [58] analyzed 65,079 TripAdvisor's online reviews of tourist attractions in Phuket, Thailand, using machine learning. LDA was used for topic modeling. ...
Cultural tourism is a continuously rapidly developing product which the global travel sector has experienced. Cultural products are a vital part of the economy and post-modern society. Satisfaction is a prominent factor in tourism and marketing literature. This paper aims to analyze customer satisfaction in historic sites through electronic word-of-mouth. We developed a new method through text mining, clustering and supervised learning techniques. The method is developed through latent dirichlet allocation for customer online reviews analysis, learning vector quantization to find important customers segments and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System for customer preference prediction in historic sites. The data are collected from TripAdvisor which is a comprehensive online review system in tourism and hospitality. The results revealed that electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) effectively reveals customer satisfaction in historic sites through data analytical approaches.
... Equipment was popular in the literature of recreation service quality, under the dimension of tangibles (e.g., Mackay & Crompton, 1990;Theodorakis et al., 2001), core product (e.g., Howat et al., 1996), or physical environment quality (e.g., Ko & Pastore, 2004). Equipment was rarely considered in spectating sport event services because customers are not actively involved in the sport. ...
... Under this dimension, operating time is included in a series of service quality studies from recreation sport industry to spectating sport industry (e.g., Howat et al., 1996;Ko & Pastore, 2007). Many studies have supported the importance of a convenient schedule in a sport event (e.g., Hightower et al., 2013;Kelley & Turley, 2001;Phonthanukitithaworn & Sellitto, 2018;Shonk & Chelladurai, 2008). ...
In this article, a conceptual model for service quality of eSports events was proposed including four dimensions: competition quality refers to the perceived quality of the actual game itself; physical environment quality dimension stands for the physical surroundings where the service is produced and delivered; event execution quality measures the intangible items in the peripheral service, which can be directly designed or managed by the event organizer; and interaction quality measures the interaction among spectators, such as crowd experience or social factor. The validity of each dimension in other service industries and its suitability in the eSports context are both taken into consideration. At the current stage, the model is conceptualized from existing literature, thus demanding further qualitative and quantitative study.
... The Scale of Attributes of Fitness Services (SAFS) includes 30 items in five dimensions for evaluating service quality in Canadian fitness clubs [21]. The Center for Environmental and Recreation Management-Customer Service Quality (CERM-CSQ) model includes four factors: core service, staff quality, general facilities, and secondary service [22]. In a follow-up study, scholars condensed these four factors into three: employees, core service, and secondary services [23]. ...
... Coding Process. Using earlier posted comments, two coders identified themes, shared coding results, discussed categories, resolved conflicts, and decided on six themes that were consistent with existing theory and terminology: service recovery, service assurance, facility function, program operation, instructor quality, and staff performance [4,21,22]. To improve content validity, we had an expert panel examine the relevance, representativeness, and clarity of each theme. ...
The purpose of this study was to explore the dimensions of service quality in fitness clubs in China and examine their impact on customer satisfaction. In Phase I of the study, we collected qualitative data from online comments related to service quality in 30 Tera Wellness clubs in Shanghai (k = 6252). Conducting content analysis, we synthesized the information and identified preliminary themes and formulated measurement statements. Phase II implemented a series of quantitative research procedures to examine the measurement properties of statements developed in Phase I. Conducting exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling analyses based on responses of club members (N = 533), we identified a total of 27 items in six dimensions: service recovery, service assurance, facility function, program operation, instructor quality, and staff performance. These factors significantly (p < 0.05) predicted customer satisfaction with fitness clubs in China. The findings highlight the importance of high-quality service delivery, service recovery, and service assurance and pinpoint specific areas for improvement.
... In sport, there are several models for evaluating service quality. Models have been presented in different years such as REQUAL by MacKay and Crompton (1990), TEAMQUAL by McDonald et al (1995), QUESC by Kim and Kim (1995), CERM-CSQ by Howat et al (1996), SPORTSERV by Theodorakis et al. (2011), SQFS by Chang and Chelladurai (2003), SQAS by Lam et al. (2005), SSQRS by Ko and Pastor (2005), Service quality models in health and wellness industry by Lagrosen and Lagrosen (2007) and Moxham and Wiseman (2009), respectively. In one of the newest studies, Sarani and Elahi (2016) has developed and validated a service quality scale in sport and showed that four factors including "Accessibility and security, accountability, reliability and tangibles" were explained. ...
... Employees is another component which has been introduced in various studies as an important component. In the studies conducted by Ko and Pastor (2005), Lam et al. (2005), Chang and Chelladurai (1992), Howat et al. (1996) and Kim and Kim (1995), like the present study, employees was considered as one of the main components of service quality. Employee dimension which includes the behavior, understanding, and knowledge of executive and service employees to researchers can be regarded as a part of the service quality. ...
The purpose of this study was to develop a scale for measuring the service quality in sport scientific journals. A mixed approach was conducted to fulfill the research objectives. In the qualitative phase, 15 sports paper writers were interviewed and in the quantitative phase, 357 sport researchers were studied through systematic random sampling. The face and content validity of the scale was confirmed by 15 experts and the final questionnaire of the scientific journals service quality was provided to 29 subjects. 26 items were ranked in five factors (accountability speed, executive structure, trustworthiness, employees, and updating) based on exploratory factor analysis with orthogonal rotation. Cronbach's alpha, KMO, Bartlett Test, and confirmatory factor analysis were used by SPSS and LISREL for data analysis. It is worth noting that the results of confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.91) supported the five-factor structure of JourQual scale and confirmed its validity and reliability.
Journal of New Studies in Sport Management (JNSSM)
... Os estudos nesta perspectiva, tem tido como foco a identificação de dimensões para avaliar o cenário da qualidade do serviço (Ko e Pastore, 2005), a análise da qualidade do serviço em centros de fitness (Lam et al., 2005) ou a percepção da qualidade por participantes de programas públicos que fomentam a prática da atividade física (Nuviala et al., 2012). Diferentes instrumentos são propostos na literatura para avaliar a qualidade do serviço em esporte e atividade física (Howat et al., 1996, Kim e Kim, 1995, Ko e Pastore, 2005. Assim, compreender a percepção dos participantes é uma importante fonte de informação para melhorar o serviço (Nuviala et al., 2012). ...
... Percepção subjetiva do serviço entregue, a partir das interações que ocorrem durante o encontro de serviço com os profissionais envolvidos no evento. É medida através da percepção das atitudes, da especialização e familiaridade com o serviço, do desempenho no trabalho e da capacidade de resolver problemas (Howat et al., 1996;Wright et al., 1992). Estudos prévios apontam que o comportamento do profissional envolvido no evento pode alterar a percepção do participante sobre o serviço (Biscaia et al., 2017). ...
This research aims to evaluate the perception of service quality in a public sports event and its value to the community. The conceptual proposal of Ko and Pastore (2005) was used to measure the quality of service. The sample consisted of 376 participants. We used confirmatory factorial analysis and the structural equations model to analyze the data. Both measurement and structural models indicated good psychometric qualities. The results have suggested that the quality of service could be evaluated from the activities offered, qualification of the professionals, the interaction between the participants and a good atmosphere in the event. In addition, the perception of quality has showed a positive impact on the value of the event for the community.
... In a sports training tourism program, program attractiveness consists of elements including instruction quality, availability of training facilities, schedule convenience, and opportunity for friendly matches with local teams. Previous studies highlight the necessity of offering high-quality programs and the importance of providing diversified programs so as to achieve greater market penetration and expansion (Brady & Cronin, 2001;Howat et al., 1996;Ko & Pastore, 2005). For example, the studies of and Zhang et al. (2003) on professional sports event consumption identifies that event attractiveness is the strongest predictive factor of event consumption. ...
... On the other hand, some researchers propose that the physical environment for a fitness and recreation sports product is a crucial aspect resulting in marketing effectiveness (Howat et al., 1996;Ko & Pastore, 2005). Kim et al. (2009) research on the market demand of a Taekwondo school show that the school's training equipment, like training floor mats, target equipment, and uniform, are identified as one of the most essential elements for the success of the school. ...
Training camps or exchange visits offered to schools and sports clubs in various team sports have attracted considerable attention in terms of their commercial value. The purpose of this study was to construct, develop and validate a Scale of Market Demand (SMD) associated with overseas sports training program. Based on the literature review, four factors were identified that may influence the decision of sports teams to participate in overseas sports training programs. The instrument appeared to be reliable and valid to measure the market demand of sports training tourism.
Highlights
• This study examined the dimensions of market demand for overseas sports training programs and its results have specific relevance to the general marketing of sports training tourism.
• The instrument, Scale of Market Demand (SMD). appeared to be reliable and valid to measure the market demand of sports training tourism.
• The development of this instrument (SMD) can serve as a foundation to understand the concept of sport training tourism and its constructs and composition, which can further be utilized to examine the reasons that cause, channel, and sustain this growing segment of sport business activities.
... Thus, differences exist relative to how perceptions of service quality are measured (Lehtinen & Lehtinen, 1991;Zeithaml, Parasuraman, & Berry, 1990). For example, since its introduction, SERVQUAL has been utilized by many researchers either directly or modified it to tailor it more specifically to the services of the fitness and recreational sport industry (e.g., Crompton, MacKay, & Fesenmaier, 1991;Howat, Absher, Crilley & Milne, 1996;Wright, Durray, & Goodale, 1992). In addition, several researchers have attempted to develop sound factor structures of service quality for different segments of the sport industry (Howat et.al, 1996;Kim & Kim, 1995). ...
... On the other hand, Howat, Absher, Crilley, and Milne (1996) developed the Centre for Environmental and Recreation Management-Customer Service Quality (CERM-CSQ) Scale to measure four dimensions of service in sport and leisure centres. These dimensions are: (a) core service, including programme information, range of activities, facilities comfort, value for money, and quality equipment; (b) staff quality, including staff responsiveness, staff knowledge, and officials; (c) general facility, including safe parking, and facility cleanliness; (d) secondary service, including food and drink, and child minding. ...
Many issues and challenges are faced by the managers and professionals in sport and recreation today. However, the issues and challenges in managing sport and recreation programmes particularly in hotels and resorts are more focused on service quality provided by the organizations. This study aims to assess customers' perceptions of service quality in sport and recreation programmes and to determine the differences between customers' perceptions of service quality in terms of their gender and nationality. A total of 450 respondents from the hotels and resorts located in coastal areas of the northern Peninsular Malaysia participated in the survey. They were asked to respond to a series of the adapted SERVQUAL items to measure five dimensions of service quality including tangible, assurance, responsiveness, reliability, and empathy. Results from this study revealed that the customers' perceptions of the overall services in sport and recreation programmes provided by the hotels and resorts were satisfactory. It was also indicated that there was no significance difference between male and female customers' perceptions of service quality in sport and recreation programmes. Conversely, the results revealed that there was a significance difference between local and foreign customers' perceptions of sport and recreation services provided. These findings had implications on sport and recreation programmes in order to design effective management and marketing strategies at hotels and resorts.
... El instrumento desarrollado por Parasuraman y colaboradores (1988) a través del modelo SERVQUAL es uno de los instrumentos más utilizados para la evaluación de la calidad. Por otra parte, también se han desarrollado otros cuestionarios para evaluar la satisfacción del usuario o bien la calidad percibida, enfocándose en servicios deportivos de centros fitness (Kim y Kim, 1995), equipos deportivos (McDonald y Sutton, 1995), servicios deportivos y de ocio (Howat et al., 1996) o en servicios fitness privados (Papadimitriou y Karteroliotis, 2000). Así mismo, otras investigaciones se centran en la evaluación de servicios acuáticos (López, 2001) El objetivo del presente trabajo es diseñar y validar el cuestionario de evaluación de la calidad percibida en la gestión deportiva del futbol femenil, a través de evidencias de validez (constructo y convergente) y de fiabilidad. ...
El objetivo del presente trabajo es diseñar y validar la creación del cuestionario de evaluación de la calidad percibida en la gestión deportiva del futbol femenil. El muestreo fue intencional por conveniencia, con un total de 332 jugadoras y un rango de edad de entre los 18 y 51 años (M = 20.92; DE = 3.59). Se llevaron a cabo análisis de validez de constructo por medio de un análisis factorial exploratorio (AFE) así como un análisis factorial confirmatorio (AFC) seguido de análisis de fiabilidad y varianza media extractada. El instrumento creado fue el GEDECAFF. Los resultados de los análisis factoriales mostraron 36 ítems divididos en 4 factores: (1) Interacción con el entrenador, (2) Instalaciones, (3) Servicio de personal e (4) Institucional; los indicadores de pertinencia fueron apropiados y explican el 76.25% de la varianza total. Los índices de ajuste, error y chi cuadrado son adecuados CFI = .90, TLI = .89 y RMSEA = .07, χ2/gl = 2.17. Los resultados muestran que Alfa de Cronbach y Omega de McDonald por factores está por encima de .90. En conclusión, el cuestionario GEDECAFF presenta las propiedades psicométricas satisfactorias y atiende las necesidades de los servicios ofrecidos por los distintos clubes, dando oportunidad a la mejora continua de la calidad del servicio en el futbol femenil.
... Rapidly developing sports centers have to meet the needs of consumers in order to satisfy them (Howat et al., 1996;Yıldız et al., 2018). For this reason, sports facility businesses, regardless of public or private, had to constantly renew themselves and increase their service diversity to achieve their goals such as social integration and spreading sports. ...
This research aimed to investigate the effect of service quality on customer loyalty in sports-fitness facilities. The sample of the research consisted of 311 individuals, 165 males and 146 females, who were members of 6 sports – fitness centers in Istanbul and Niğde. In the research, a questionnaire containing 3 parts was used as a data collection tool. In the first part, the items defining the research group were included. In the second part, "Scale of Perceived Service Quality of Sports-Fitness Centers" developed by Uçan (2007) was used. In the third part, the "Customer Loyalty Scale" developed by Zeithaml et al., (1996) and adapted into Turkish by Savaş (2012) was used. SPSS 22 program was used in the analysis of the data, while detailed graphic statistics were used for demographic data, scale scores, and regression analysis was used for relational analysis. When the descriptive statistics results of the research were examined, it was observed that the perceived service quality sub-dimension scores and customer loyalty scale scores were above the mean. Looking at the relational analysis part of the research, it was determined that interaction, output and program quality in sports-fitness facilities had a significant positive effect on customer loyalty. According to these results, it was suggested that sports facilities should give importance to interaction, output and program quality to ensure customer loyalty.
... Although self-service has shown a positive influence on customer satisfaction and loyalty in fitness centers through service quality, it has not shown a significant impact. According to Howat et al., this may be attributed to customers' differing views on the core and non-core services provided by fitness centers, where SSTs could be considered non-core or auxiliary services [132]. Another possible reason could be customer dissatisfaction or skepticism towards SSTs. ...
As an emerging model, self-service fitness centers are reshaping the consumer fitness experience globally. Recognizing the pivotal role of customer loyalty in the sustainable operation and management of fitness service enterprises, this study aims to uncover the factors and mechanisms affecting loyalty in these centers. Specifically, it addresses how service quality, convenience, and customer satisfaction influence Word-of-Mouth intentions and repatronage intentions while examining the differences in these relationships under service methods with staff and without staff. Employing PLS-SEM, an empirical analysis of 552 customer questionnaires from four self-service fitness centers in China’s top-tier cities was conducted. The results underscore positive correlations among the constructs in the structural model, emphasizing the significance of enhancing service quality and reducing customer efforts in loyalty management. Notably, service convenience emerged as a crucial driver of service quality. This convenience, mediated by service quality and satisfaction, significantly promotes Word-of-Mouth intentions and repatronage intentions. Additionally, marked differences were observed in these relationships based on the presence or absence of staff. This study investigates customer loyalty in self-service fitness centers for the first time, analyzing the differences in these relationships based on service methods with or without staff offering targeted strategies for fitness centers leveraging self-service technologies.
... Although self-service has shown a positive influence on customer satisfaction and loyalty in fitness centers through service quality, it has not shown significant impact. According to Howat et al., this may be attributed to customers' differing views on the core and non-core services provided by fitness centers, where SSTs could be considered non-core or auxiliary services [124]. Another possible reason could be customer dissatisfaction or skepticism towards SSTs. ...
As an emerging model, self-service fitness centers are reshaping the consumer fitness experience globally. Given the crucial role of customer loyalty in the sustainable operation and management of fitness service enterprises, this study constructs a structural model incorporating service quality, service convenience, customer satisfaction, word-of-mouth intentions, and repatronage intentions. The model is designed to elucidate the factors and mechanisms impacting customer loyalty at self-service fitness centers and further investigates how these relationships are affected by service methods, either with staff or without staff. The study employs PLS-SEM to empirically analyze 552 customer questionnaires from four self-service fitness centers in first-tier cities in China. The results reveal positive correlations among the constructs in the structural model, emphasizing the important position of raising service quality standards and reducing the time and effort expended by customers in the management of customer loyalty. Concurrently, service convenience was found to play a significant driving role in customers' perceived service quality. Through the chain-mediating effect of service quality and customer satisfaction, service convenience exerts a considerable positive impact on word-of-mouth intentions and repatronage intentions. Moreover, the study reveals significant differences in these relationships when considering service methods, either with staff or without staff.
... The structure of the perceived service quality and passenger satisfaction is established (Howat et al., 1996). Service quality is defined as the gap between expectations and perceptions (Parasuraman et al., 1988), and customer satisfaction is understood in terms of meeting or exceeding these expectations (Oliver, 1980). ...
The research about factors affecting the payment towards application on the mobile phone at convenience stores of students in Bangkok aimed to study personal factors, application factors, and other factors affecting the payments. The population was students, both Thai and Chinese, in Bangkok. The sample size was 200 students, 100 Thais, and 100 Chinese. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The hypotheses were tested by t-test and F-test. It was found that the highest influencer was personal factors. The next was service and application factors and other related factors. Most of the respondents were satisfied to use this application because of its convenience and no need to carry cash, easy, save time and safety. The students who had different nationalities, ages, education, revenue, and experience had significantly different opinions about factors affecting the decision making of paying toward application at the convenience store.
... 4.4 Discussion of findings 4.4.1 Sector A: sports and fitness centres. The significance of physical facility in the service evaluation is acknowledged in all the service-quality models under consideration (Chelladurai et al., 1987;Kim and Kim, 1995;Howat et al., 1996Howat et al., , 1999Padadimitriou and Karteroliotis, 2000;Chang and Chelladurai, 2003;Alexandris et al., 2004;Ko and Pastore, 2005, Lam et al., 2005, Yıldız, 2011: Yildiz and Kara, 2012Freitas and Lacerda, 2019). The present study also shows that all elements of the physical environment fell within the priority quadrant of the IPMA, i.e. gym customers perceived these as essential determining elements of satisfaction. ...
Purpose
The paper provides a step-by-step guide in the guise of a roadmap for service improvement initiatives using importance performance map analysis (IPMA).
Design/methodology/approach
To empirically illustrate how IPMA can be applied to any service industry, three sectors are considered; sports and fitness (study A), hospitality (study B) and higher education (study C). Following the proper selection of measuring instruments and their evaluation using structural equation modeling-partial least squares (Smart-PLS), IPMA is applied to identify those attributes having strong total effects (high importance) over the targeted construct (satisfaction) but which also have low average latent variable scores (low performance).
Findings
For sports and fitness (study A), the physical aspects and programme quality require managerial attention. For the hospitability sector (study B), it is service commitment, interaction quality and internal sense of happiness. Whereas for higher education (study C), it is administrative quality as well as the element of transformative quality, namely the university’s role in adding to its students’ emotional stability, which needs the attention of the top management.
Originality/value
This study provides researchers and practitioners with a roadmap for applying PLS-SEM and IPMA for continuous service quality improvement. The roadmap extends upon Ringle and Sarstedt’s (2016) work. It highlights critical decisions that need to be considered in the pre-analytical stages of the IPMA application, i.e. at the research design phase in selecting the most appropriate service quality measurement model specifications. It not only contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing empirical evidence to advance theory development in the quality management field but also has implications for the practitioners in any service sector on where to focus their attention for an effective service improvement.
... In the sport context, service quality research is mainly based on process dimensions (Howat and Assaker, 2013;Schijns et al., 2016;Howat et al., 1995). Therefore, with some Member satisfaction index model adjustments, we follow the framework of Howat and Assaker (2013) by conceptualizing service quality based on process dimensions, namely, general facilities and core services (outdoor tennis courts). ...
Purpose
This study aims to address customer focus as an important component of total quality management (TQM) and explore the key drivers of member satisfaction in tennis clubs via a novel theory-based member satisfaction index (MSI) model with high explanatory and predictive power. Furthermore, the study aims to investigate the relationship between satisfaction and behavioral intentions (willingness to stay; WTS) with consideration of the mediating effect of identification with the club.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses variance-based partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to estimate the MSI model, which was tested in a leading tennis club in Germany ( n = 185).
Findings
The results reveal that club atmosphere, club facilities and the price/quality ratio of the membership fee are the most important drivers of member satisfaction in tennis clubs. Member satisfaction has a large influence on the WTS of tennis club members. Identification with the club, when included as a mediator in the model, increases the variance explained in WTS considerably.
Research limitations/implications
The small sample limits the generalizability of findings, and further research is recommended.
Practical implications
The MSI model is a useful benchmark tool for club managers who want to quantify the satisfaction and WTS of their club members. In addition, because of the integrated formative measurement models, the PLS-SEM results show which indicators can be used to positively impact satisfaction with each of the service quality dimensions, overall member satisfaction and WTS. The most important of these results are discussed in an importance-performance map analysis.
Originality/value
The MSI model is a multi-attribute index model through which members' evaluations of various dimensions of service and value are derived through multivariable linear function with each dimension weighted according to its importance in one holistic model. The model shows the strong impact of satisfaction on WTS of sports club members and reveals that findings of previous research on the relationship between fan and spectator identification and loyalty are transferable to sports club members. The MSI represents a new contribution to the literature; it was applied here to tennis clubs but is also suitable for application to other sports clubs.
... Coaching & Sport Science Review Howat et al. (1996) found that the attributes valued by recipients are associated with the quality of staff, infrastructure and sport-related services. Subsequent studies contributed new factors such as programme availability and delivery (Papadimitriou & Karteroliotis, 2000) or the beauty of the physical environment (Alexandris et al. ,2004). ...
This article provides an overview of the main characteristics in the management of sports organisations through a set of tools framed in four pillars. Sport and sport institutions are undergoing profound change. In this context, it is increasingly evident that there is a need for qualified professionals in sport management, who have the challenge of absorbing the experience of previous processes in order to generate new proposals and improve the model.
... Examples of scales adapted from the SERVQUAL model according to the services offered, used in quality measurement, are as follows [28][29][30][31][32][33][34], whose main characteristic is the difference between the customer's expectations before using the service and the actual service provided by the organization. ...
The objective of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties, in terms of validity and reproducibility, of the Golf Course Quality Scale (GCQS) in the Spanish golf course context. The GCQS is a scale that measures the quality of a golf course perceived by its users. It is comprised of 22 five-point Likert scale items, ranging from 1 (disagree) to 5 (totally agree). The items were grouped into five dimensions: services, etiquette, facilities, golf courses, and staff. A translated and adapted version of the Australian CQS questionnaire was administered to a total of 401 federated golf players in the Region of Murcia (RM). The margin of error was 4.9% with a confidence level of 95%. Of the total sample, 88.5% were men and 11.5% were women. The participants were between the ages of 18 and 80 (M = 54.1, SD = 14.3). Following an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to determine the suitability of the proposed items and the factorial structure of the scale, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed using structural equations under the maximum likelihood extraction method. This assessed the fit of the model and its internal consistency, with values above 0.79. In conclusion, the validity and reliability of this psychometric scale for the purposes of evaluating the quality of golf courses perceived by their users have been verified. The results confirm that the scale is a useful tool for golf course research and management.
... Given the abovementioned studies [27,28] that have reported increases in usage of leisure facilities when entry fees were removed, it may be that any behavioural strategies using telephone or mHealth methods need to be accompanied by fee reductions to achieve impacts upon levels of centre usage. Aside from cost, studies among users of public leisure centres indicate that there are other tangible factors of importance for customers, including facility comfort, quality of equipment and overall cleanliness and presentation, that may affect how they value these services [34,35]. ...
Substantial cross-sectional evidence and limited longitudinal research indicates that the availability of recreational facilities (e.g., parks, fitness centres) is associated with physical activity participation. However, few intervention trials have investigated how recreational infrastructure can be used to reduce inactivity levels in communities. The MOVE Frankston study aimed to assess the impact of low intensity strategies to promote use of a multi-purpose leisure and aquatic centre in a socioeconomically diverse, metropolitan community. This randomised controlled trial of two years’ duration compared public awareness raising (control condition) with two interventions: mailed information about the centre and a free entry pass (I-O); and this minimal intervention supplemented by customer relations management support through telephone contact, mailed promotional materials and additional incentives (I+S). Participants (n = 1320) were inactive adults living in the City of Frankston, Melbourne Australia. There were 928 people (70.3%) followed up at 12 months (61.2% female, 52% ≥55 yrs). Compared with controls, attendance at the Centre once or more was higher in both the I-O (OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.28–2.50) and I+S groups (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.03–2.07). The proportion of people using the centre weekly did not differ by group. The odds of being in contemplation or preparation to use the Centre were higher in both the I-O (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.28–2.42) and I+S groups (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.07–2.06). Total physical activity and related social and cognitive factors did not differ between the groups. The findings show that the low intensity promotional strategies prompted occasional attendance and increased readiness to use this recreational facility, a level of behaviour change unlikely to reduce non-communicable disease risk. It is recommended that more frequent customer relations contact, and involvement of healthcare providers, be tested as strategies to encourage inactive adults to take up physical activity opportunities at recreational facilities of this type.
... Female golfers tend to attach importance to physical countenance and clearness of facilities-the factors which are highly significant in measurement of quality of services. Holding the same belief, Howat et al. (1996) conducted a research to measure quality of services in 15 Australian sports and recreation centers. He concluded that a model composed of four dimensions, i.e., main services, quality of employees, general equipment, and minor services, is suitable for such centers. ...
The aim of this research was to determine the effect of customer satisfaction and loyalty attitude and willingness of the pools was Alborz Province. The research methodology was correlational the field. The population of this study was all Alborz province pools, male customers were used for the completion of questionnaires. The samples of this study were 361 persons. The questionnaire used in the study consisted of Loyalty questionnaire of Allan (2004), service quality and satisfaction scale of Liu, (2008) and intention to revisit of Lim (2006). The face and content validity is confirmed by panel of experts and thr reliability of components was estimated by Cronbach's Alpha in this way: satisfaction (0.913), attitudinal (0.754), and attendance tendency (0.696). Data analysis was performed using LISREL software. In Diagram 1 LISREL software output is in standard mode. Results LISREL output indicates that the dimension of quality of services including tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy have the effect of.33, .16, .15, .21 and .27 percent on overall satisfaction respectively. Also attitudinal loyalty has the effect on .61 percent and behavioral loyalty has the effect of .24 on intention to revisit of customers.
Keywords: Satisfaction, attitudinal loyalty, sport, intention to revisit
JEL Classifications: M31, M37, Z32
... Sin embargo, una de las aportaciones fundamentales de la presente investigación está en el tratamiento de forma separada de los factores en el desarrollo del servicio deportivo universitario, de la funcionalidad y confort de las áreas deportivas universitarias, interacción con el entrenador, gestión del servicio deportivo, características del programa de actividades deportivas, el ambiente y comodidad de cuartos de baño/vestidores. A diferencia de otros estudios (Cabello y Cabra, 2009;Hernández-Mendo, 2001;Howat, Absher, Crilley, y Milne, 1996;Nuviala et al., 2008;Rial, Varela, Rial, y Real, 2010). ...
El objetivo de la presente investigación fue construir una herramienta que permita evaluar la calidad percibida en organizaciones de servicios deportivos universitarios. Para el análisis de los datos se utilizó el software estadístico SPSS v.21 y el programa FACTOR. Se realizaron los análisis de consistencia interna, el análisis factorial exploratorio con dos muestras distintas. El instrumento utilizado fue el QUNISPORT v.mx, es una escala con cinco alternativas de respuesta, formado por 44 ítems y 5 factores: (1) Funcionalidad y confort de las áreas deportivas universitarias; (2) Interacción con el entrenador; (3) Gestión del servicio deportivo; (4) Características del programa de actividades deportivas; (5) Ambiente y comodidad de cuartos de baño/vestidores. Se aplicó a una muestra de 1102 participantes distribuida en los 4 principales centros deportivos universitarios de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (México). Los indicadores de pertinencia fueron adecuados (KMO = .963, la prueba de esfericidad de Bartlett p < .5). En el análisis factorial se utilizó la matriz de correlación de Pearson. Los resultados mostraron que los 5 factores obtenidos explican el 58.8% de la varianza total. El Alfa de Cronbach por factores está por encima de .90. Los índices de ajuste y de error son adecuados CFI = .91, NNFI .88 y RMSEA = 0.058, la razón de chi cuadrado/gl = 4.74. El cuestionario QUNISPORT v.mx, presenta propiedades psicométricas adecuadas y atiende a las necesidades de la comunidad universitaria y la optimización de los recursos, obteniendo una mejora continua de la calidad del servicio deportivo universitario en México.
PALABRAS CLAVE: Evaluación de calidad, calidad percibida, servicio deportivo, universitarios, programa factor.
... The easiest way to make people socially and psychologically active it should be remembered that the sport passes. Sports and health facilities are customeroriented institutions (McDonald & Howland, 1998;Howat et al., 1996). The service sector is difficult to measure as it is a simultaneous, intangible and perishable sector. ...
This study was carried out due to the increasing competition in sports and health centers and its popularity today. The service quality of the gyms and its effects on customer satisfaction were investigated. It is answering the questions about if customer satisfied. In this study, it emphasized the importance of improving the quality of service and how it affects the customer. It is mentioned that the variety of activities of the gyms attract the customer. this study revealed a positive relationship between variables. The survey conducted with information from the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Test was done with SPPS program and the pilot study checked and the work started without a fault. The pilot test held in 3 main centers: Famagusta, Kyrenia and Nicosia. The sample size was determined as 215 considering the 95% confidence interval, 5% confidence level and the participants in the Health and Sports Centers in Northern Cyprus between February and April in 2019, in order to calculate the sample size were evaluated and analyzed. In this study, it was observed that the service quality of gyms in Northern Cyprus affects customer satisfaction and gender and age factors have an effect on customer satisfaction. This kind of customer-oriented enterprises should ensure that the quality should be kept high. The absence of such a study in the Northern Cyprus contribute greatly to both the academy and the sector.
... 66 There have been several studies on the factors accompanying sports events that can make an event high quality and successful. Howat et al. (19) examined four factors for sports and leisure sports providers (CERM-CSQ2), which were: the basic service (diversity of programs, degree of comfort of the facility, value for money, quality equipment); the staff (competence, skills, professionalism); the facility (parking, cleanliness); and additional services (buffet, food, drink, sports-specific products, babysitting). ...
Introduction: The aim of our research was to assess the attitude of the students of the Eszterházy Károly University towards the men's basketball team of the University. Furthermore, our goal was to examine the development of the
popularity of the basketball team among the university students, to get to know the opinion of the colleagues working in the university basketball scene in relation to the organization and reputation of the tournament. In addition, we describe good practices that can be adapted in Hungary to increase awareness. Methods:The aim of our research was to explore the brand values and awareness of the basketball team among the students of Eszterházy Károly University, to achieve this goal we chose a questionnaire survey and filled in the questionnaire online among the students of Eszterházy Károly University (N=389). In addition, we conducted indepth interviews with four coaches and colleagues in higher education working in the Hungarian University and College Basketball Championship. Results: We found that the team has well-identifiable brand elements, with the brand system receiving the lowest score for all brand creators that needs to be improved. The averages of the most important questionnaire responses to the liqueur scale questions range from 4.46 to 4.67. These values also indicate that the students of Eszterházy Károly University know the university team, follow its sporting events and are important in strengthening the university identity. In-depth interviews revealed that the process of advertising university matches should be broadened, bringing matches closer to all students. In-depth interviews also highlighted that developing a program stream around matches could be an important consideration. Conclusions: In connection with our previous brand research - which examined the team's awareness among the city's adult population - we found lower awareness results, the present research confirmed the higher awareness and interest results of
university students in relation to the university's basketball team. By creating a website that meets the needs of today's modern age, involving merchandising products, and expanding the range of programs that accompany matches, the
awareness of the basketball team could be raised to an even higher level not only among students, but also among the population. to strengthen. Additional opportunities arose in the organization of the tournament, which were mainly
expressed in the expansion of the advertising scale.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24040/sjss.2020.6.2.63-71
... In service sector, attributes of perceived service quality and consumer satisfaction have conventionally measured. According to Howat et al. (1996) satisfaction is appraised by utilizing items relied on the 5 proportions of perceived service quality advocated by Parasuraman et al. (1988). From the -expectancy-disconfirmation paradigm‖ that shaped the root of the SERVQUAL model, service quality was described as the -gap amid expectation and perception‖ (Parasuraman et al., 1988). ...
Tourist behavior has become more multifaceted and difficult regarding the selection of
tourist attractions and services. The main focus of this paper is to understand the relationship
of service quality and customer satisfaction in tourism industry. From the previous studies, it
was established that there is a positive association amid customer satisfaction and
service quality which attracts tourists to visit the destinations. This paper discussed the
dimensions of service quality and customer satisfaction from the previous researchers‘
viewpoint. In addition, authors also discussed the importance of SERVQUAL Model and
highlight its criticism also. The paper is based majorly on secondary data collected from
different published research articles, book chapters, reports etc. This paper also discussed
the future implication with some management strategies to improve service quality for
tourists.
Keywords: Services, Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction, Tourists, SERVQUAL
... However, owing to the multidimensional and contextual nature of the services, assessment of service quality is difficult. Nevertheless, a variety of frameworks were developed, such as SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al., 1988), RECQUAL (Fakaye and Crompton, 1991), SERVICESCAPE (Bitner, 1992), SERVPERF (Cronin and Taylor, 1992), QUESC (Kim and Kim, 1995), TEAMQUAL (McDonald, Sutton, and Milne, 1995) and CERM-CSQ (Howat, Absher, Crilley and Milne, 1996). Amongst all these frameworks, SERVQUAL (Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry 1985) is the most effective quality service evaluation tool (Parasuraman et al., 1988). ...
Introduction: The significance of gastronomic tourism refers to its possible contribution to the proposal of regional tourism worth extracted from traveler's curiosity in new experiences. The aspects of quality of service should be explored in order to determine the required improvement of a tourism destination in order to cultivate a positive experience for the visitors. If properly emphasized, the touristic revenues produced may be highly useful for the local community and contribute to the economic development for Malaysia.
Methodology: Qualitative data from 12 in-depth interviews of gastronomic tourist on their perception towards the service quality of the stalls based on the SERVQUAL model through a case study on New Lane street food stalls at George Town, Penang with its relation toward tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty.
Results and discussion: Research has shown insight among the gastronomic tourist about their reflections which are expressed in terms of the service quality, tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty with regards to their visit.
Conclusion: Penang’s street food is a convincing justification for a visit to the mentioned region, with its variety of local food reflecting the diversity of cultures and ethnic groups. Still, multiple steps can also be taken to further reinforce the system of tourism services such as a positive picture of the city that ambassadors, embassy officials, consular officers’ representative of Malaysia in various countries of the world may convey.
... 66 There have been several studies on the factors accompanying sports events that can make an event high quality and successful. Howat et al. (19) examined four factors for sports and leisure sports providers (CERM-CSQ2), which were: the basic service (diversity of programs, degree of comfort of the facility, value for money, quality equipment); the staff (competence, skills, professionalism); the facility (parking, cleanliness); and additional services (buffet, food, drink, sports-specific products, babysitting). ...
Introduction: The aim of our research was to assess the attitude of the students of the Eszterházy Károly University towards the men's basketball team of the University. Furthermore, our goal was to examine the development of the popularity of the basketball team among the university students, to get to know the opinion of the colleagues working in the university basketball scene in relation to the organization and reputation of the tournament. In addition, we describe good practices that can be adapted in Hungary to increase awareness. Methods:The aim of our research was to explore the brand values and awareness of the basketball team among the students of Eszterházy Károly University, to achieve this goal we chose a questionnaire survey and filled in the questionnaire online among the students of Eszterházy Károly University (N=389). In addition, we conducted in-depth interviews with four coaches and colleagues in higher education working in the Hungarian University and College Basketball Championship. Results: We found that the team has well-identifiable brand elements, with the brand system receiving the lowest score for all brand creators that needs to be improved. The averages of the most important questionnaire responses to the liqueur scale questions range from 4.46 to 4.67. These values also indicate that the students of Eszterházy Károly University know the university team, follow its sporting events and are important in strengthening the university identity. In-depth interviews revealed that the process of advertising university matches should be broadened, bringing matches closer to all students. In-depth interviews also highlighted that developing a program stream around matches could be an important consideration. Conclusions: In connection with our previous brand research-which examined the team's awareness among the city's adult population-we found lower awareness results, the present research confirmed the higher awareness and interest results of university students in relation to the university's basketball team. By creating a website that meets the needs of today's modern age, involving merchandising products, and expanding the range of programs that accompany matches, the awareness of the basketball team could be raised to an even higher level not only among students, but also among the population. to strengthen. Additional opportunities arose in the organization of the tournament, which were mainly expressed in the expansion of the advertising scale.
... Wright et al. (1992) did the same with SERVQUAL and RECQUAL to apply to student recreation centers. Howat et al. (1996) also adapted the SERVQUAL and RECQUAL scales to develop the Center for Environmental and Recreation Management-Customer Service Questionnaire (CERM-CSQ), identifying four dimensions of service quality: core services, staff quality, facilities, and secondary services. McDonald et al. (1995) adapted SERVQUAL to professional sporting events settings and developed TEAMQUAL. ...
This study's focus is to determine why some leaders adopt an innovation, while others do not, through the case of high school athletic directors' digital ticket adoption. We explore the process through which sport managers evaluate an innovation as the best course of action. The purpose of this study was to identify critical factors influencing high school athletic directors' decisions to adopt digital ticketing as the best strategy for securing revenue and serving their event attendees. High school athletic directors (N = 628) completed an online survey measuring the effects that leaders' prior conditions and perceived characteristics of the innovation (i.e., independent variables) have on their decision to adopt or reject the technology (i.e., dependent variable). From a theoretical perspective, we extend the conceptual model proposed by Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation Theory, including two constructs specific to the situation considered (i.e., trust and cost). From a managerial standpoint, there appears to be a need to educate athletic directors on the free digital ticketing options available and its ease-of-use. Future research should explore the athletic directors' decision-making process across a more extensive timeline through a longitudinal study.
... There is a great opportunity for organizations to create AR interactions that serve customer service purposes. It has been proven time and again that an integral part of the sport consumer experience is customer service quality (Howat, Absher, Crilley, & Milne, 1996;Ko & Pastore, 2004;Theodorakis, Kambitsis, Laios, & Koustelios, 2001) and AR, when created well, can help to enhance customer service quality (Javornik, 2014). ...
The augmented reality (AR) market is expected to grow to $60.55 billion by 2023 and there are currently an estimated 4.2 billion AR-capable devices in the hands of consumers. Experts believe that sport is a high-value market for AR as it is uniquely positioned to utilize AR in multiple marketing contexts (Haber, 2019). The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the rate at which sport organizations are utilizing AR as they attempt to reach fans and consumers that are limited or restricted from attending events in person. This article introduces augmented reality to sport managers and practitioners and defines AR, detailing how it can be used by citing examples of how it has been used in sport marketing to this point. Specifically, the paper discusses the three most common classifications of AR for marketing and their role in sport: advertising/promotion, product management, and customer service. The types of AR delivery systems (e.g., head-mounted display [HMD], projector-based, smartphone, broadcast AR) are also discussed to clarify that AR is a grouping of technologies and not just one hardware platform. Sport and non-sport examples of AR implementations of the different classifications and delivery systems are provided in this text. Three recommendations are provided for AR development and implementation, namely that sport AR activations should be a complement to the sport product, focus on visual appeal, and strive for immersion. These recommendations are grounded in academic research and intended to assist practitioners planning to implement AR as part of their marketing strategy.
... This stream of research focuses on the physical characteristics of fitness clubs that influence member (Ahead of Print) satisfaction and loyalty (e.g., Alexandris et al., 2004;Dhurup, Singh, & Surujlal, 2006;Ferrand, Robinson, & Valette-Florence, 2010;Pedragosa & Correia, 2009). Similar research has examined relationships among specific physical elements and service offerings, such as equipment, programs, facilities, and ancillary services, and their role in member satisfaction and retention (Howat, Absher, Crilley, & Milne, 1996;Macintosh & Doherty, 2007;Woolf, 2008). Interactions between club staff and members are a key component of service quality perceptions (Alexandris et al., 2004), with the frequency of these interactions increasing member satisfaction (Macintosh & Doherty, 2007). ...
Emerging technologies not only pose challenges for how sport organizations are managed but also create opportunities for sport organizations to become more competitive by enhancing consumers’ service experience. The integration of wearable fitness technology (WFT) by health and fitness clubs provides an opportunity to examine the influence of WFT on the service experience. Although existing research on technology innovations typically examines either the individual or the organizational perspective in isolation, we use the sport experience design framework to comprehensively examine the influence of WFT on the management and perceptions of service experiences. Participants ( N = 37) who took part in the qualitative study included fitness club owners ( n = 13), fitness club instructors ( n = 7), and fitness club members ( n = 17). Findings indicate that integrating WFT enhances the service experience via increased social interaction, gamification, and accountability. However, findings also suggest that technology innovations must be integrated carefully to avoid misalignment between providers’ and users’ perceptions. Despite the potential for misalignment, emerging technologies can enhance and expand the service experience beyond the physical environment, presenting sport organizations with technology-mediated opportunities to engage consumers.
... The choice to use TOURQUAL (2014) took into consideration the characteristics of the services and the fact that it is an updated model. Other research identified quality indicators in touristic sports events that could be used, such as Kelley and Turley, (2001), Shonk andChelladurai, (2004), Clabuig et al. (2008), Morales et al. (2005), Wakefield et al. (1996), Alexandris et al. (2004), Howat et al. (1996). In this case, however, TOURQUAL was considered the best option. ...
This study employs an exploratory design with a quantitative approach to analyze the impact of service quality on tourist satisfaction and revisit intention in Rajasthan. Data was collected from 600 valid responses from domestic and international tourists across ten cities in Rajasthan using a pre-tested questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis with Varimax rotation identified eight dimensions influencing service quality in Rajasthan's tourism industry: accommodation, people/staff, transportation, travel environment, amenities, cuisine, attraction, and cleanliness. Regression analysis revealed significant impacts of all variables on tourist satisfaction and revisit intention (p<0.05), except for accommodation, people/staff, transportation, and cleanliness, which were not significant on revisit intention (p>0.05). The findings contribute to understanding the relationship between service quality, satisfaction, and revisit intention, offering insights for future research and aiding policymakers and stakeholders in improving service quality at tourist destinations in Rajasthan.
Major reasons such as the transition from the hunter-gatherer to the industrial society, changing and transforming lifestyles and the increasing accessibility of technological opportunities allow individuals to complete their daily tasks with less mobility. In addition to the fact that individuals can fulfill their duties with less energy, the adoption of fast-food culture causes obesity, which is becoming an increasingly important problem all over the world. Individuals facing obesity often prefer to be "customers" of healthy living and sports centers, especially fitness centers, as they do not include mobility in their daily routines. As a service business, fitness centers are starting to care more and more about the satisfaction of their members who have a wide variety of motivations such as losing weight, being healthy, having a beautiful appearance or socializing. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of equipment qualification, trainer qualification, management commitment to service quality, interaction with others, and complementary services on fitness center member satisfaction levels. The data collected from 436 members of a fitness center serving in Balıkesir, Bandirma was analyzed employing the SmartPLS using the partial least squares structural equity modeling. According to the results of the path analysis, it was concluded that equipment qualificaiton, trainer qualificaiton, management commitment to service quality, and complementary services do not have significant effect on satisfaction levels of the fitness center members, and interaction with others had a significant effect on the satisfaction.
The aim of this research was, to develop a valid and reliable tool that intended to measure the perceptions of football fans, related with the quality of sports events. Participants of the study was determined by criterion sampling, that is one of the purposeful sampling methods. Our first criteria for participants of this research was, to be a fans' of a team in the Super League on 2021-2022 season, and our second criteria was, to attend the events twice in their team's stadiums, as a spectator on the same season. Totally 599 volunteer participants were involved in this study. Data from 361 participants were used for Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and data from 238 participants were used for Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Findings of EFA were demonstrated a structure with 10 factors, and factor loads of items in these factors were between .46 and .96. And CFA results displayed that the RMSEA value of the model was .063, and other goodness-of-fit indexes were among acceptable values. Also coefficients of Cronbach's alpha were observed between .821 and .933. These findings revealed that the scale consisted of 42 items, under its 10-dimensional structure and the sports events quality variable of this structure explained a significant variance of 73.23%. These findings revealed that the scale consisted of 42 items, under its 10-dimensional structure and the event quality variable of this structure explained a significant variance of 73.23%. In conclusion, it can be accepted that Sport Event Quality Scale (SEQS) is a valid and reliable measurement tool for Turkish culture.
La calidad del servicio es una cuestión muy importante en la gestión de las organizaciones. Los clientes buscan calidad y su fidelidad depende de la importancia y el desempeño de cada dimensión de la calidad del servicio. Así, este estudio tiene como objetivo identificar el nivel de importancia y desempeño de los atributos de calidad del servicio, desde la perspectiva de los antiguos clientes de un club de salud y estudiar el comportamiento de las variables género, nivel de educación, edad, precio, duración de la estancia y frecuencia en relación con la importancia y el desempeño de los atributos de calidad del servicio, desde la perspectiva de los antiguos clientes de un club de salud. Los métodos se basaron en un cuestionario a una muestra de 101 antiguos clientes de un club de salud, utilizando el análisis desempeño-importancia y el ANCOVA para evaluar qué características de los antiguos clientes influyen en el diferencial entre desempeño e importancia, utilizando el género y la educación como factores y la edad, la cuota mensual, la duración de la estancia y la frecuencia mensual como covariables. Los resultados mostraron una influencia estadísticamente significativa de las variables género, educación, duración de la estancia y frecuencia en las dimensiones de importancia y desempeño.
Hizmet sektörü, somut olmayan ürünlerin ve hizmetlerin sunulmasıyla gelir elde eden işletmelerin oluşturduğu bir endüstri alanıdır. İnsanların doğrudan kendisini etkileyen spor merkezlerindeki işletmelerin hizmet kalitesi de oldukça önemli bir konudur. Araştırmanın amacı son dönemde sayısı hızla artan spor merkezlerindeki hizmet kalitesini ölçmek ve işletmelere öneriler sunmaktır. Araştırma, Erzurum ilinde faaliyet gösteren, bünyesinde fitness, pilates, spinning vb. birçok aktivite bulunduran 9 farklı spor salonunda 400 üye ile yapılmıştır. Veri toplama aracı olarak kullanılan anket formunda fiziksel kalite, program kalitesi, etkileşim kalitesi, çıktı kalitesi boyutları yer almaktadır. Buna ek olarak üyelerin demografik özelliklerine ilişkin sorular yer alan kişisel bilgi formu da kullanılmıştır. Araştırmada elde edilen bulguların analizinde, t-testi, tek yönlü varyans analizi (ANOVA) ve regresyon analizi kullanılmıştır. Yapılan analizler sonucunda, algılanan hizmet kalitesi ile üyelik satın alma, öneri, kullanılan spor merkezi, tercih/amaç değişkenleri arasında anlamlı farklılıklar tespit edilmiştir.
1) Egzersizde Yorgunluk Takip Ölçekleri / Fatigue Tracking Scales in Exercise
2) Buz Hokeyinde Antrenman Planlaması / Training Planning in Ice Hockey
3) Egzersiz ve Anti-inflamatuar Sitokinler / Exercise and Anti-Inflammatory Cytokines
4) Mitokondriyal Dinamikleri Düzenleyen Gen İfadelerinde Egzersizin Rolü / The Role of Exercise in Gene Expressions Regulating Mitochondrial Dynamics
5) Fiziksel Aktivite Boyutu İle Rekreasyon / Physical Activity Dimension with Recreation
6) Spor Bilimleri Fakültesi Öğrencilerinin Spor TaraftarıÖzdeşleşme Düzeylerinin İncelenmes / Investigation of Sports Fan Identification Levels of Faculty of Sports Sciences Students
7) Spor Bilimleri Fakültesi Öğrencilerinin Sağlıklı OlmaKültürüne Yönelik Durumlarının İncelenmesi / Investigation of the Status of the Students of the Faculty of Sport Sciences towards the Culture of Being Healthy
8) Yaşlanma Sürecinde Doping Kullanımı ve Etkileri / Doping Use and Its Effects on the Aging Process
9) Uzaktan Beden Eğitiminde Yenilikçi Yaklaşımlar / Innovative Approaches in Distance Physical Education
10) Mobil Egzersiz Uygulamaları / Mobile Exercise Apps
11) Engellilerde Oyun Kavramı / The Concept of Game for the Disabled
12) Sporda Hizmet Kalitesi Ölçüm Modelleri ve Sınıflandırılması / Service Quality Measurement Models and Classification in Sports
13) Sporda Fair Play / Fair Play in Sports
14) Yüksek İrtifa Antrenmanlarının Uygulanışı ve Yüksek İrtifa Fizyolojisi / Application of High Altitude Training and High Altitude Physiology
15) Kompleks Kuvvet Antrenmanları ve Yöntemleri / Complex Strength Training and Methods
16) Welspine Uygulamaları ve Bel Fıtığına Karşı Kazanımları / Welspine Applications and Benefits Against Lumbar Hernia
17) Welspine Uygulamaları ve Boyun Fıtığına Karşı Kazanımları / Welspine Applications and Benefits Against Neck Hernia
18) Osmanlı Devleti’nde Spor / Sports in the Ottoman Empire
19) Egzersizin Lenf Rahatsızlıklarına Etkisi / The Effect of Exercise on Lymph Disorders
20) Güreş ve Güreş Sporunda Yaygın Sakatlıklar / Common Injuries in Wrestling and Wrestling
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify key performance indicators (KPIs) for badminton halls and, through a case study, illustrate how the facilities performance of a university badminton hall can be evaluated from the user perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
After a desktop literature review, the findings were discussed by a focus group, and the discussion result formed the basis for establishing an analytic hierarchy of facilities performance for the badminton hall. Then, interviews were made with 169 badminton hall users to solicit their perceived facilities’ importance and performance levels of the hall. Using MATLAB, a computer program incorporated with an Analytic Hierarchy Process was devised to compute the importance weights of the performance attributes under assessment. The outcomes were interpreted using an importance-performance evaluation matrix.
Findings
A facilities performance hierarchy, comprising nine KPIs, was established for the badminton hall. The factors influencing the users’ perceptions, the importance and performance levels of the KPIs and the areas of the hall requiring improvements were identified.
Research limitations/implications
Future studies can take a similar approach of this study to develop KPIs and facilities performance hierarchies for other types of sports venues.
Practical implications
The method used to identify the improvements required for the badminton hall can be applied to investigations on other sports facilities.
Originality/value
The methodology of this research was first applied to study a badminton hall – as reported in this paper.
Fiziksel aktiviteye düzenli katılım insanların içinde yasadıkları toplumda daha sağlıklı, dengeli, verimli ve mutlu olmalarında önemli rol oynar (Vlachopoulos, & Karageorghis, 2005). Günümüzde sağlıklı yaşam bilincinin artmasıyla fitness kulüplerine olan ilgi
artmış, üye sayısı % 3,8 artarak 65 milyona ulaşmıştır. Fitness kulüplerinin toplam geliri ise 28,2 milyar Euro olmuştur (+ 3.1% at constant currency) (European Health & Fitness Market Report, 2020). Fitness sektöründeki bu büyüme düzeyine rağmen, fitness kulüplerine üye olan bireyler işletmelerden kolayca ayrılabilmektedir. (Gonçalves, & Diniz, 2015). Araştırmalara göre müşterilerin sadece % 4’ü hizmet kalitesiyle ilgili memnuniyetsizliğini işletme yönetimine bildirirken, % 90’ı hayal kırıklığına uğrayarak hizmeti kullanmamayı tercih etmektedir.
Amaç: Bu araştırmanın amacı ilk olarak, çok amaçlı rekreasyonel spor merkezlerinin sportif
hizmet çeşitliliğini web sayfaları aracılığıyla belirlenmesi ve sınıflandırmasıdır. İkinci olarak
rekreasyonel spor merkezlerinde en çok tercih edilen spor hizmetlerinin belirlenmesidir.
Yöntem: Araştırma örneklemini evreni temsil ettiği varsayılan İstanbul ilinde bulunan 69 çok
amaçlı rekreasyonel spor merkezlerinin web siteleri oluşturmuştur. Araştırma betimsel bir araştırma
olup, yöntem olarak içerik analizi yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Çok amaçlı rekreasyonel spor merkezlerinin
web sitelerinin içerik analizinden elde edilen veriler SPSS 24 programı kullanılarak istatistiki olarak
anlamlandırılmıştır. Verilerin değerlendirilmesinde tanımlayıcı analiz yöntemleri kullanılmıştır.
Bulgular: Araştırmada 212 adet sportif hizmet ve 28 adet destekleyici hizmetin rekreasyonel
spor merkezlerinin web sitelerinde yer aldığı tespit edilmiştir. Bu hizmetler temelde ana hizmetler
(sportif hizmetler) ve destekleyici hizmetler olarak sınıflandırılmıştır. Sportif hizmetler kendi içinde,
fitness, yoga, pilates, cycling, WOD, Aerobic, savunma/ dövüş sporları, dans, ABS, bosu, sınıflama
yapılmayan stüdyo dersleri, havuz alanı dersleri, tenis alanı dersleri, spor okulları, sportif tesis
kullanım hizmetleri şeklinde sınıflandırılmıştır. Rekreasyonel spor merkezlerinin web sitelerinde en
çok yer alan sportif hizmetlerin (% 15 ve daha fazla), fitness, body building, personal trainnig, cross fit,
cardio, functional trainning, yoga, pilates, pilates reformer, spinning, kick box, box, zumba, curnch,
yüzme, tenis, destekleyici hizmetlerin de sauna, buhar, hamam, masaj, SPA ve cafe olduğu tespit
edilmiştir.
Sonuç: Araştırma sonucunda çok amaçlı rekreasyonel spor merkezlerinde sportif hizmetlerin
(n=212) ve destekleyici hizmetlerin (n=28) çeşitliliğinin oldukça artığı gözlemlenmiştir. Bu nedenle
temelde sportif hizmetler ve destekleyici hizmetler şeklinde bir sınıflandırılma yapılmıştır. Sportif
hizmetlerin kendi içerisinde 15 farklı sınıflamaya sahip olduğu gözlemlenmiştir. 20 tane spor
hizmetinin ve 5 tane destekleyici hizmetin diğerlerine göre daha fazla çok amaçlı rekreasyonel spor
merkezi web sitelerinde yer aldığı gözlemlenmiştir.
Bu araştırmada Dünya'da ilk kez Almanya'nın oluşturduğu fitness merkezlerine özgü kalite standart (DIN-33961) normlarını Türkiye ile karşılaştırmalı olarak incelemek, fitness paydaşlarının perspektifinden standartların ne olması gerekliliğini anlamak ve DIN-33961 gerekliliklerini dikkate alarak çalışma kapsamındaki merkezlerde fitness kalite ölçeğinin geliştirilmesi amaçlanmaktadır. Bu araştırma nitel ve nicel araştırma yöntem ve teknikleri kullanılarak karma yöntem ile yapılmıştır. Nitel bölümün ilk aşamasında standart alanlar ve bu standart alanların ayrıntıları belge karşılaştırma ile ele alınmıştır. Araştırmanın bu aşamasında Almanya'da oluşturulan DIN 33961-1 Temel Gereklilikler standart alanları ile "Türkiye Vücut Geliştirme ve Fitness Federasyonu Özel Spor Salonları Talimatı" standart alanlarının ortak kategoriler ve farklı kategoriler barındırdığı belirlenmiştir. Ayrıntılar açısından ele alındığında ise Türkiye Vücut Geliştirme ve Fitness Federasyonu Özel Spor Salonları Talimatı temel gereklilikler içerisinde yer alan hizmet gereklilikleri, sözleşme gereklilikleri, ilgilenme konsepti antrenman programı akışı gibi bazı standart alanlara hiç değinmemiş ve aletli kardiyo, kuvvet antrenman gereklilikleri ve grup antrenman gereklilikleri gibi bir ayrıma gidilmemiştir. Araştırmanın nitel bölümünün ikinci aşamasında fitness katılımcıları perspektifinden standartların ne olması gerekliliğine ilişkin görüşlerinin değerlendirilmesi amacıyla 13 katılımcı ile görüşülmüştür. Yapılan içerik analizi incelendiğinde katılımcıların DIN-33961 gerekliliklerine benzer temalara değindiği ortaya çıkartılmıştır. DIN-33961 gerekliliklerini dikkate alarak çalışma kapsamındaki geliştirilen fitness merkezleri kalite ölçeğinin geçerlilik ve güvenirlilik çalışması dört farklı (Ön deneme N=15 Pilot çalışma N= 480 AFA N=400 DFA N=431) örneklem grup üzerinde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Sonuçlar incelendiğinde fitness merkezleri hizmet kalite ölçeğinin AFA'dan elde edilen 5 alt boyut 30 maddelik toplam varyansının %63,49 açıklayan yapısı DFA'dan elde edilen x2/sd:3,23 CFI:0,95 NFI:0,93 uyum değerleri ile doğrulanmıştır. Aynı zamanda yakınsak geçerliliği için çıkartılan AVE, CR ve CA değerlerinin yeterli düzeyde olduğu ortaya konmuştur. Sonuç olarak araştırmanının nitel bölümlerinde Türkiye'de mevcut talimat ve yönetmelikler ile Almanya'da fitness merkezleri için oluşturulan gereklilikler standart alan ve içerik açısından karşılaştırılmış ve katılımcı gruplarla görüşmelerin sonuçlarından faydalanarak Türkiye için yerel şartlara uygun "Fitness Merkezleri Kalite Standartları ve Sertifika Sistemi Modeli" önerilmiştir. Aynı zamanda, Fitness Merkezleri Hizmet Kalitesi Ölçeğinin kullanılabilir bir yapıya sahip olduğunu belirlemiştir.
This study is focused on the issue of sport service validation in the fitness domain; it aims to propose a systematic procedure for evaluating the quality of services in the Czech fitness industry. Cross-cultural transfer and validation of the SERVQUAL method (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, Berry, 1988), which was originally validated for American customers, is discussed practically. The modified Czech version of the SERVQUAL questionnaire was the main tool of data collection in the market research of six fitness centers chosen randomly with a sum of 697 participants. Upon completion of data collection, the reliability of the model was repeatedly evaluated by means of SEM – Structural Equation Modelling. Based on the SEM results a hierarchical structured model was designed with a general factor and four factors corresponding to questionnaire subscales.
Bu araştırmanın amacı, Ardahan Üniversitesi Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Yüksekokulu öğrencilerinin istihdam edilebilme algılarının ne düzeyde olduğunu ortaya koymaktır. Ayrıca öğrencilerin istihdam edilebilme algılarının demografik özelliklere göre farklılık gösterip göstermediğini belirlemektir. Araştırma nicel araştırma yöntemleri kapsamında tarama deseni ile yürütülmüştür. Araştırmanın evreni Ardahan Üniversitesi Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Yüksekokulu öğrencilerinden oluşmaktadır. Bu evren içerisinden araştırma grubu olarak evrenin tamamına ulaşılması hedeflenmiştir. Ancak evren içerisinden örneklem olarak 304 öğrenciye ulaşılmıştır. Çalışmada veri toplama aracı olarak Rothwell, Herbert ve Rothwell (2008) tarafından geliştirilen ve Gümüşay (2014) tarafından Türkçeye uyarlanan “İstihdam Edilebilme Ölçeği” kullanılmıştır. Verilerin analizinde betimsel istatistiklerle birlikte bağımsız örneklem t testi ve tek yönlü varyans analizinden yararlanılmıştır. Elde edilen değerlere göre, araştırmaya dahil edilen öğrencilerin kendine ve çalışma alanına güven algılarının yüksek düzeyde; üniversite ve bölümün marka gücü, alana dair iş fırsatları ve genel istihdam edilebilme algılarının ise orta düzeyde olduğu anlaşılmıştır. Katılımcıların demografik özellikleri ile istihdam edilebilme algıları ve alt faktörleri arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farklılıklar tespit edilmiştir. Sonuç olarak beden eğitimi ve spor yüksekokulu öğrencilerinin istihdam edilebilme algılarının orta düzeyde olduğu saptanmıştır.
textlessptextgreaterThe attainment of quality in products and services has become a pivotal concern of the 1980s. While quality in tangible goods has been described and measured by marketers, quality in services is largely undefined and unresearched. The authors attempt to rectify this situation by reporting the insights obtained in an extensive exploratory investigation of quality in four service businesses and by developing a model of service quality. Propositions and recommendations to stimulate future research about service quality are offered.
Essential reading for managers and leaders, this is the classic work on management, problem solving, quality control, and more—based on the famous theory, 14 Points for Management.
In his classic Out of the Crisis, W. Edwards Deming describes the foundations for a completely new and transformational way to lead and manage people, processes, and resources. Translated into twelve languages and continuously in print since its original publication, it has proved highly influential. Research shows that Deming's approach has high levels of success and sustainability. Readers today will find Deming's insights relevant, significant, and effective in business thinking and practice. This edition includes a foreword by Deming's grandson, Kevin Edwards Cahill, and Kelly Allan, business consultant and Deming expert.
According to Deming, American companies require nothing less than a transformation of management style and of governmental relations with industry. In Out of the Crisis, originally published in 1982, Deming offers a theory of management based on his famous 14 Points for Management. Management's failure to plan for the future, he claims, brings about loss of market, which brings about loss of jobs. Management must be judged not only by the quarterly dividend, but by innovative plans to stay in business, protect investment, ensure future dividends, and provide more jobs through improved product and service. In simple, direct language, Deming explains the principles of management transformation and how to apply them.
Excellent service is the foundation for services marketing, contend Leonard Berry and A. Parasuraman in this companion volume to "Delivering Quality Service." Building on eight years of research, the authors develop a model for understanding the relationship between quality and marketing in services and offer dozens of practical insights into ways to improve services marketing. They argue that superior service cannot be manufactured in a factory, packaged, and delivered intact to customers. Though an innovative service concept may give a company an initial edge, superior quality is vital to sustaining success. Berry and Parasuraman show that inspired leadership, a customer-minded corporate culture, an excellent service-system design, and effective use of technology and information are crucial to superior service quality and services marketing. When a company's service is excellent, customers are more likely to perceive value in transactions, spread favorable word-of-mouth impressions, and respond positively to employee-cross-selling efforts. The authors point out that a service company that does relatively little pre-sales marketing but is truly dedicated to delivering excellent quality service will have greater marketing effectiveness, higher customer retention, and more sales to existing customers than a company that emphasizes pre-sale marketing but falls short during actual service delivery. The focus of any company, they insist, must be customer satisfaction through integration of service quality throughout the entire system. Filled with examples, stories, and insights from senior executives, Berry and Parasuraman's new framework for effective marketing servicescontains the key to high-performance services marketing.
p.61
A processual framework for understanding TQM - Introduction
The principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) and the context of its historical development and emergence within Australia have been described in Part I. It was argued that TQM can be located within the development of management thought and represents a new and innovative approach to achieving some long-established aims in the control and management of organisations. The emphasis on continual improvement through employee (and external customer and supplier) involvement and the formation of group problem-solving teams is at the heart of TQM.
Quality is defined on the basis of customer expectations and represents an on-going dynamic rather than any end state.
Quality is best understood and examined as a long-term change strategy which seeks to institutionalise employee commitment through the management of belief systems and the establishment of more participative operating procedures. However, as yet, there is little detailed empirical evidence on the complex processes associated with the organisational introduction of TQM on which critical assessments can be made. It is our intention to rectify this shortfall through presenting a series of analytically grounded case studies which focus on particular elements of TQM at various historical timeframes in the process of change.
We aim to highlight the weakness of conventional frameworks of organisational development rooted in Kurt Lewin's unfreezing, changing, refreezing model, and to present new empirical data on the introduction of TQM in Australian and New Zealand companies. Essentially we argue that linear models of change are no longer appropriate to explaining the non-linear and complex organisational processes associated with the transformation to a total quality organisation. In support of our claim, we adapt a processual framework for analysing change developed by Dawson (1994). Whilst we recognise that this framework has limitations, we contend that it also has considerable strengths in enabling the systematic analysis of complex change data. From our perspective, it has proven particularly useful in informing the research design, in clarifying the data collection requirements of distant researchers, and in enabling the case studies to be analytically grounded.
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A Conventional Approach: Example Of Lewin's Change Model
Kurt Lewin has been a major influence on research within the behavioural sciences and on the development of tools for the effective management of change within organisations. As a German Jew, Lewin was forced to leave Germany in 1933 and this early experience of anti-Semitism, is shown in his concern for democracy and participation at the workplace (Board, de 1978:50). His work on intergroup dynamics and change has proved to be particularly influential on those practising within the field of management known as Organisational Development (OD), and many theories of organisational change originate from his landmark work on planned change (see, Kreitner and Kinicki, 1992:723-61). Essentially, Kurt Lewin argued that in order for change to be successfully managed it is necessary to follow three general steps (Robbins, 1991:646).
These three steps identified by Lewin (1951) comprise: unfreezing, changing, and refreezing. Unfreezing is the stage in which there is a recognised need for change and action is taken to unfreeze existing attitudes and behaviour. This preparatory stage is deemed essential to the generation of employee support and the minimisation of employee resistance. According to Lewin's technique of force-field analysis (1947:5-42), there are two sets of forces in operation within any social system; namely, driving forces that operate for change and restraining forces which attempt to maintain the status quo.
The example of smoking illustrates this where, although there may be strong driving forces to stop smoking, such as social pressure, cost, fear of cancer, new laws, disapproval of children and the concern of others, the restraining forces of habit, camaraderie, relief of tension, spouse smoking and the dislike of coercive methods may act to maintain the status quo (Weisbord, 1988:79).
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If these two opposing forces are equal in strength, then they are in a state of equilibrium. Consequently, to bring about change you either need to increase the strength of the driving forces or decrease the strength of the resisting forces. Furthermore, as these two sets of forces are qualitatively different it is pos- sible to modify elements ofboth sets in the management of change. In practice, however, the emphasis of OD specialists has been on providing data that would unfreeze the system through reducing the resisting forces rather than increasing the driving forces (Gray and Starke, 1988:596-629; Weisbord, 1988:94).
Once these negative forces have been reduced through disconfirming information, en the consultant embarks on moving the organization towards the desirable state. This is the second general step of changing or moving an organisation, and involves the actual implementation of new systems of operation. Once this has been complete, then the final stage of refreezing occurs which may involve the positive reinforcement of desired outcomes to promote the internalisation of new attitudes and behaviours. An appraisal of the effectiveness of the change programme is the final element used in the last step to ensure that the new way of doing things becomes habitualised.
This three-phase model of change is currently an integral part of the conventional orthodoxy taught in business departments and management schools around the world. Whilst the strength of the model lies in its simple representation (which makes it easy to use and understand), this is also .its major weakness as it presents an unidirectional model of change.
The linearity which this three-stage model suggests is not supported by the empirical evidence on the introduction on total quality management (see Chapter 11). In addition, this approach adopts a normative framework and assumes that there is one best way to manage change that will increase both organizational effectiveness and employee well-being. In managing large-scale change, there is often a need to revise implementation strategies to overcome or tackle unforseen contextual difficulties. Organisational change is a complex and dynamic process which is also influenced by powerful coalitions within organisations and the history and context within which change is taking place. This is illustrated in Chapter 12 where the same strategies for change resulted in very different outcomes for employees working within two different plants on the same manufacturing site. Finally, in assuming that there is an uncontested and clear view of the desired consequence of change, this model has a tendency to overlook organisational politics and to solidify (through the concept of refreezing) what is a dynamic and on-going process. From our research into TQM, the change process can more aptly be described as an odyssey, which whilst generally being planned, requires the continual revision of navigational decisions to meet unpredictable and unfolding conditions.
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A Processual Framework for Analysing Change
Time was used as a major frame of reference in our empirical case studies of the introduction of TQM in Australian and New Zealand companies. A central aim of the studies was to monitor organisational changes over a period of time in order to identify and describe the pathways of TQM programmes. From these temporal descriptions of change, we then sought to explain why organisational experiences of change followed a particular pace and pattern. However, we were unable to monitor the change process over several years and had to contend ourselves with data collected from an examination of organisations at different timeframes in the process 'of establishing TQM. For example, whilst our main focus rested on the organisational implementation of TQM, we also sought to include organisations/who had only just begun thinking about TQM, as well as those who had been involved with TQM for a number of years. By so doing, we have been able to collect data on company experiences at different timeframes during the process of change.
For research purposes, we constructed a processual framework for analysing change based on three general timeframes. These comprised:
Conception of a need for a quality initiative
Process of establishing total quality management
Operation of total quality programme and on-going change
In practice, we discovered that even those organisations who had introduced TQM a number of years prior to our investigation were still developing their strategies of change, involving other sections of the company and, in some cases, re-implementing TQM throughout the organisation. Furthermore, whilst we did not find it difficult to identify companies who were considering TQM but had not yet embarked on a programme of change, we found that they had little to say about TQM and, in some cases, were threatened by our unveiling of their lack of understanding. Consequently, only one organisation is used to describe this conceptual period prior to the decision to adopt a TQM programme (see Chapter 5).
For the most part, the organisations we studied fell into the second and third general timeframes associated with the process of transformation from the initial decision to invest in a TQM programme through to the implementation and operation of quality-based initiatives. Moreover, whilst we wanted to avoid any implication of a rational linear path for the adoption process, we did feel that it was important for analytical reasons to construct data categories around the various activities and tasks associated with the management of change (see also, Dawson, 1994:35-47). In other words, to (p.65) increase our understanding of the process of establishing TQM, a number of categories for locating and analysing data were defined. The seven data categories employed comprised:
Evaluation and appraisal
Identification of type of change
Implementation
Initial operation
Preparation and planning
Search and assessment of options
System selection
During the process of establishing TQM, organisations would not normally progress through these stages in any linear fashion but, rather, would occupy a number of different categories at the same point in time. In addition, there may be distinct time periods over which various change management tasks and activities are played out, only to be re-enacted at later timeframes (an example of this is provided in Chapter 11). For our purposes, the framework provided a useful analytical tool for aiding our understanding of complex organisational processes.
In using Dawson's (1994) processual approach for examining organisational change, we would argue that there are three major dimensions which shape company transitions; these are: the context, the substance and the politics of change.
The Context of Change
Starting with the context of change: this is taken to refer to those factors in the present and past which form a part of the organisational life of employees. The external environmental context would include factors arising from the political, social and economic environment in which a company operates, and the internal organisational context would include administrative structures, technology, human resources, and the product or service of an organisation. Administrative structures are taken to refer to the allocation of tasks in the design of jobs and work structures. The context of technology is used broadly to refer to the plant, machinery and tools and the associated philosophy and system of work organisation, which blend together in the production of goods or services. Human resources refer to the individual members and groups of people who constitute an organisation. Finally, the primary product or service of an organisation refers to the core business, whether this is providing a banking service, baking biscuits, or manufacturing cables.
In examining the Context of an organisation it is also important to incorporate an historica1 perspective which is able to account for the influence of the past events on present activities. For example, in the case of TQM, previous experience with other quality initiatives may influence employee attitudes to future quality change programmes. Moreover, there often exists a number of competing individual and group beliefs about past events, which may be said to constitute socially constructed organisational histories. These histories of change may serve to reinforce the belief systems of dominant coalitions within a company and promote the a4option of particular routes to change over other potential avenues. Thus, the history and culture of an organisation is also an important contextual factor, which is likely to influence the process of establishing total quality management.
The Substance of Change
The second major dimension to our processual framework centres on the substance of change, or the principles and practice of a total quality management approach. As outlined in Chapter 2, TQM is a management philosophy of change which: emphasises continuous improvement; focuses on 'internal' and 'external' customer-supplier relations; develops and applies systematic measurement techniques; uses group problem-solving teams to tackle process issues; and is committed to employee involvement and the development of high-trust relationships through the maintenance of a non-adversarial system of industrial relations.
These principles of TQM are further refined, interpreted and developed during their introduction into organisations. As can be seen from the case study chapters, which follow, the practice of TQM does not always accord with the principles espoused by a management philosophy of TQM. For example, the notion of 'continual TQM improvement' is in many ways a misnomer. In practice, TQM group-based activity is by its very nature temporary in being project based, of a fixed duration, and aimed at solving discrete operational problems. Hence, it is important to take account of the substance of TQM both as it is espoused by the various quality exponents and how it is practiced within organisations operating under a TQM regime (see Chapter 7).
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The Politics of Change
The final dimension relates to the politics of change. As Clark et al. have noted: p.66 In any process of change a number of substantive issues arise which require decisions to be made by actors, either by conscious choice and negotiation or by omission (non-decision). These include not only traditional collective bargaining issues such as pay and grading, staffing levels, and the selection and training of staff, but also 'control' issues such as skill, job design, supervision, and the organisation and control of work. (Clark et al., 1990:31) In their study of telephone exchange modernisation, they argue that these substantive issues become particularly pertinent at critical junctures during the process of change, where organisational actors are able or seek to intervene to influence a particular issue or outcome (Clark et al., 1990:32). Whilst we would support this view, we would argue that this also highlights the importance of power and politics in the organisational decision-making surrounding change programmes. In referring to this form of political organisational activity we use the term the politics of change. Examples of political activity outside of an organisation would be governmental pressure, competitor alliances or the influence of overseas divisions of Multi-National Corporations (MNCs). Internal political activity could be in the form of shopfloor negotiations between trade union representatives and management, between consultants (working within the organisation) and various organisational groups, and between and within managerial, supervisory and operative personnel. In short, certain well-placed individuals, groups or powerful coalitions can influence decision-making and the setting of agendas at critical junctures during the process of transformational change.
By combining these three dimensions (the politics, substance and context of change) with our three general timeframes on the process of organisational change (conception of a need for TQM, process of establishing TQM, and operation and on-going change), it is possible to construct a processual framework for understanding the process of transformation through the adoption of TQM. This alternative model is presented diagrammatically in Figure 4.1.
The diagram above is intended to convey the inter-connectedness and complexity of dynamic processes of change through combining a threefold classification of factors shaping the process of organisational transformation with a clear representation of the temporal nature of large-scale change. As a diagrammatic representation of the processual framework employed in the case studies presented in Part II, it should be referred to by the reader when- ever necessary.
The eight empirical case studies, which follow, all illustrate the strategic and long-term nature of transforming a company towards a total quality organisation. Although each focuses on a particular theme, issue or stage in the process of change, they highlight the scale of change programme which seek to change traditional belief and value systems and introduce group work practices into individual-based work regimes and cultures. What the implications of these findings are for the management of change and employment relations at work, is critically examined in Part III of this book. Figure 4. 1 A Processual Framework Substance of Change
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|||||Conception
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Context of Change - Politics of Change
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Operation
The paper develops a model which is intended to explain the process by which a consumer evaluates recreation service quality. Much of the difficulty in measuring the quality of recreation services can be attributed to their intangibility, heterogeneity, and the inseparability of their production and consumption functions. Dimensions of recreation services are operationalized in the article, and the criteria used by consumers for evaluating recreation service quality are discussed. Recreation service quality is defined as the outcome of a comparison between expectations of a service and what is perceived to be received. Since much of the reported work in the area of service quality has been undertaken in a commercial context, key differences in the public and commercial sectors which may impact consumers' expectations of recreation services are discussed and integrated into the model.
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