Dimensions of Sports and Recreational Service Quality Influencing Fitness Centre’s Member Satisfaction

  • Nooraini Mohamad Sheriff Universiti Teknologi MARA
  • Siti Zaleha Sahak Universiti Teknologi MARA
  • Fatin Nur Farisha Mohd Razali Universiti Teknologi MARA
  • Nellisa Nursyafira Mohd Fadzli Universiti Teknologi MARA
  • Nor Norita Japri Universiti Teknologi MARA
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24191/ji.v17i2.18202

Abstract

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.


 

References

Achmad, S., Bambang, B. & Burhanuddin, B. (2021). Effects of service quality and customer satisfaction on loyalty of bank customers, Cogent Business & Management, 8:1. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2021.1937847
Alexandris, K., Zahariadis, P., Tsorbatzoudis, C., & Grouios, G. (2004). An empirical investigation of the relationships among service quality, customer satisfaction and psychological commitment in a health club context. European Sport Management Quarterly, 4(1), 36-52. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184740408737466
BERNAMA (2021) Malaysia to move to COVID-19 endemic in October – Khairy. Retrieved 6 October 2021 from https://www.astroawani.com/berita-malaysia/malaysia-move-covid19-endemic-october-khairy-317309
Bitner, M. J. (1992). Servicescapes: The impact of physical surroundings on customers and employees. Journal of Marketing, 56(2), 57-71. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299205600205
Brady, M. K., & Cronin Jr, J. J. (2001). Some new thoughts on conceptualizing perceived service quality: a hierarchical approach. Journal of Marketing, 65(3), 34-49. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.65.3.34.18334
Brady, M. K., Robertson, C. J., & Cronin, J. J. (2001). Managing behavioral intentions in diverse cultural environments: An investigation of service quality, service value, and satisfaction for American and Ecuadorian fast-food customers. Journal of International Management, 7(2), 129-149. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1075-4253(00)00041-7
Chelladurai, P., & Chang, K. (2000). Targets and standards of quality in sport services. Sport Management Review, 3(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1441-3523(00)70077-5
Chen, C.-F., & Tsai, D. (2007). How destination image and evaluative factors affect behavioral intentions? Tourism Management, 28(4), 1115-1122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2006.07.007
Cristea, I. G., & Mocuta, D. (2018). Customer relationship management. Proceedings of the 31st International Business Information Management Association Conference, IBIMA 2018: Innovation Management and Education Excellence through Vision 2020. Milan, Italy. https://doi.org/10.33619/2414-2948/51/21
Dabholkar, P. A., Thorpe, D. I., & Rentz, J. O. (1996). A measure of service quality for retail stores: scale development and validation. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 24(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.1177/009207039602400101
DellaVigna, S., & Malmendier, U. (2006). Paying not to go to the gym. American Economic Review, 96(3), 694-719. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.96.3.694
Dhurup, M., & Mokoena, B. (2017). The influence of service quality variables in predicting satisfaction and behavioural intentions in a university campus recreation setting. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 6(1), 1-19.
Echeverri, P., & Salomonson, N. (2017). Bi-directional and stratified demeanour in value forming service encounter interactions. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 36, 93-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2017.01.007
Eirini Peitzika, Sofia Chatzi & Dimitra Kissa (2020): Service quality expectations in the fitness center context: A validation of the expectations component of the SERVQUAL Scale in Greece, Services Marketing Quarterly, 41 (2), 89-104. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332969.2020.1742977
Gonçalves, C., Biscaia, R., Correia, A., & Diniz, A. (2014). An examination of intentions of recommending fitness centers by user members. Motriz: Revista de Educação Física, 20(4), 384-391. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1980-65742014000400004
Grönroos, C. (1984). A service quality model and its marketing implications. European Journal of Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000004784
Hair, J. F. Jr., Babin, B., Money, A. H., & Samouel, P. (2003). Essential of Business Research Methods. John Wiley & Sons. Inc., United States of America. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315716862
Heinonen, K., & Strandvik, T. (2015). Customer-dominant logic: Foundations and implications. Journal of Services Marketing, 29(6/7), 472–484. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-02-2015-0096
Hirschmann, R. (2021) Statista. (n.d.) Frequency of going to the gym in Malaysia 2020. Retrieved 6, October, 2021 from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1183027/malaysia-frequency-of-going-to-the-gym/
Howat, G., Absher, J., Crilley, G., & Milne, I. (1996). Measuring customer service quality in sports and leisure centres. Managing Leisure, 1(2), 77-89. https://doi.org/10.1080/136067196376456
Hsieh, Y.-C., & Hiang, S.-T. (2004). A study of the impacts of service quality on relationship quality in search-experience-credence services. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 15(1), 43-58. https://doi.org/10.1080/1478336032000149090
Khuluq, A., Hasiholan, L. B., & Warso, M. M. (2016). Effect of price, facilities and quality of service loyalty and satisfaction of visitors as intervening variable in sport center in Semarang. Journal of Management, 2(2).
Kim, D., & Kim, S. Y. (1995). QUESC: An instrument for assessing the service quality of sport centers in Korea. Journal of Sport Management, 9(2), 208-220. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.9.2.208
Kim, K. T., Bae, J., Kim, J.-C., Lee, S., & Kim, K. T. (2016). The Servicescape in the fitness center: measuring fitness center’s services. International Journal of Sport Management Recreation & Tourism, 21(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.5199/ijsmart-1791-874X-21a
Ko, Y. J., & Pastore, D. L. (2004). Current issues and conceptualizations of service quality in the recreation sport industry. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 13(3), 158-166.
Ko, Y. J., & Pastore, D. L. (2005). A Hierarchial model of service quality for the recreational sport industry. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 14(2), 84-97.
Ko, Y. J., & Pastore, D. L. (2007). An instrument to assess customer perceptions of service quality and satisfaction in campus recreation programs. Recreational Sports Journal, 31(1), 34-42. https://doi.org/10.1123/rsj.31.1.34
Kotler, P. (1999). Marketing Management: The Millennium Edition. Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ. https://doi.org/10.4236/me.2016.712127
Kyle, G. T., Theodorakis, N. D., Karageorgiou, A., & Lafazani, M. (2010). The effect of service quality on customer loyalty within the context of ski resorts. Journal of Park & Recreation Administration, 28(1).
Lam, E. T., Zhang, J. J., & Jensen, B. E. (2005). Service Quality Assessment Scale (SQAS): An instrument for evaluating service quality of health-fitness clubs. Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science, 9(2), 79-111. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327841mpee0902_2
Natalisa, D., & Subroto, B. (2003). Effects of management commitment on service quality to increase customer satisfaction of domestic airlines in Indonesia. Singapore Management Review, 25(1), 85-105.
Novokreshchenova, O. A., Novokreshchenova, N. A., & Terehin, S. E. (2016). Improving bank’s customer service on the basis of quality management tools. European Research Studies Journal, XIX(3B), 19–38. https://doi.org/10.35808/ersj/562
Nunnally, J. (1978). Psychometric Theory (2nd ed.) McGraw-Hill. Hillsdale, NJ, 416.
Oliver, R. L. (1977). Effect of expectation and disconfirmation on postexposure product evaluations: An alternative interpretation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 62(4), 480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.62.4.480
Papadimitriou, D. A., & Karteroliotis, K. (2000). The service quality expectations in private sport and fitness centers: A reexamination of the factor structure. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 9(3), 157-164.
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. (1988). SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64(1), 12-40.
Rust, R. T., & Oliver, R. L. (1993). Service Quality: New Directions in Theory and Practice. Sage Publications. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781452229102
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2016). Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach. John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1104881
Serra, P., Surujlal, J., & Redda, E. (2016). Perceptions of service quality and satisfaction of High Performance Programmes (HPP): A case study of a comprehensive university in South Africa. International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity Studies, 8(1), 168-186.
Soleymani, M., Zarei, A., Tojari, F., & Ghafouri, F. (2012). A study of the relationship between the quality of services and customers’ satisfaction with the recreational sport programs with regard to the moderating role of identity. World Applied Sciences Journal, 16(10), 1438-1444.
Statista. (2019) Fitness- Malaysia. Retrieved 6 October 2021 from https://www.statista.com/outlook/313/122/fitness/malaysia
Subramaniam, P. (2019). Strong is the new sexy. Retrieved 7 October 2021 from https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/strong-new-sexy
Teik, D. O. L. (2015). Enhancing the experience of needs satisfaction through service engagement: A case of commercial fitness centers in Malaysia. Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science, 25(2), 109-121. https://doi.org/10.1080/21639159.2015.1012808
Ulseth, A.B. & Seippel, O.N. (2011). Fitness, Class and Culture: Social Inequality in Fitness. Retrieved 6 October 2021, from https://wwwidrottsforum.org/articles/ulseth_seippel111123.pdf
Walsh, K. (2018). IHRSA Asia-Pasific Health Club Report. Health Club Management, 258, 102.
Westerbeek, H. M., & Shilbury, D. (2003). A conceptual model for sport services marketing research: Integrating quality, value and satisfaction. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-05-01-2003-B002
Wilson, A., Zeithaml, V. A., Bitner, M. J., & Gremler, D. D. (Eds.). (2016). Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm. McGraw-Hill Education.
Wu, Y.-C., Tsai, C.-S., Hsiung, H.-W., & Chen, K.-Y. (2015). Linkage between frontline employee service competence scale and customer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Services Marketing. 29(3), 224-234. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-02-2014-0058
Published
2022-07-26
How to Cite
MOHAMAD SHERIFF, Nooraini et al. Dimensions of Sports and Recreational Service Quality Influencing Fitness Centre’s Member Satisfaction. Jurnal Intelek, [S.l.], v. 17, n. 2, p. 168-179, july 2022. ISSN 2682-9223. Available at: <https://myjms.mohe.gov.my/index.php/intelek/article/view/18202>. Date accessed: 05 feb. 2023. doi: https://doi.org/10.24191/ji.v17i2.18202.
Citation Formats
Issue
Vol 17 No 2 (2022): Jurnal Intelek Vol. 17 Issue 2 (August) 2022
Section
Journal Submission

LICENSE OF PUBLISHING RIGHTS

I hereby grant to the Journal exclusive publishing and distribution license in the manuscript identified above and any tables, illustrations or other material submitted for publication as part of the manuscript (the “Article”) in print, electronic and all other media (whether now known or later developed), in any form, in all languages, throughout the world, for the full term of copyright, and the right to license others to do the same, effective when the article is accepted for publication. This license includes the right to enforce the rights granted hereunder against third parties. Supplemental Materials With respect to Supplemental Materials that I wish to make accessible through a link in the Article or on a site or through a service of the Journal, the Journal shall be entitled to publish, post, reformat, index, archive, make available and link to such Supplemental Materials on a non-exclusive basis in all forms and media (whether now known or later developed), and permit others to do so. “Supplemental Materials” shall mean additional materials that are not an intrinsic part of the Article, including but not limited to experimental data, e-components, encodings and software, and enhanced graphical, illustrative, video and audio material.

SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATIONS RIGHTS

I understand that I retain the copyright in the Article and that no rights in patents, trademarks or other intellectual property rights are transferred to the Journal. As the author of the article, I understand that I shall have: (i) the same rights to reuse the Article as those allowed to third party users of the Article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license, as well as (ii) the right to use the Article in a subsequent compilation of my works or to extend the Article to book-length form, to include the article in a thesis or dissertation, or otherwise to use or re-use portions or excerpts in other work, for both commercial and non-commercial purposes. Except for such uses, I understand that the license of publishing rights I have granted to the Journal gives the Journal the exclusive right to make or sub-license commercial use.

USER RIGHTS

The publisher will apply the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License (CC-BY-NC-ND) to the Article where it publishes the Article in the journal on its online platforms on an Open Access basis. For further information, see http://www.elsevier.com/about/open-access/open-access-options. The CC-BY-NC-ND license allows users to copy and distribute the Article, provided this is not done for commercial purposes and further does not permit distribution of the Article if it is changed or edited in any way, and provided the user gives appropriate credit (with a link to the formal publication through the relevant DOI), provides a link to the license, and that the licensor is not represented as endorsing the use made of the work.

The full details of the license are available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

REVERSION RIGHTS

Articles may sometimes be accepted for publication but later rejected in the publication process, even in some cases after public posting in “Articles in Press” form, in which case all rights will revert to the author (see http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy).

REVISIONS AND ADDENDA

I understand that no revisions, additional terms or addenda to this License Agreement can be accepted without the Journal’s express written consent.

I understand that this License Agreement supersedes any previous agreements I have entered into with the Journal in relation to the Article from the date hereof.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

The publisher shall publish and distribute the Article with the appropriate copyright notice.

AUTHOR REPRESENTATIONS/ETHICS AND DISCLOSURE

I affirm the Author Representations noted below and confirm that I have reviewed and complied with the relevant Instructions to Authors, Ethics in Publishing policy, Declarations of Interest disclosure and information for authors from countries affected by sanctions (Iran, Cuba, Sudan, Burma, Syria, or Crimea). Please note that some journals may require that all co-authors sign and submit Declarations of Interest disclosure forms. I am also aware of the publisher’s policies with respect to retractions and withdrawal.

Author Representations

1. The Article I have submitted to the journal for review is original, has been written by the stated authors and has not been previously published.

2. The Article was not submitted for review to another journal while under review by this journal and will not be submitted to any other journal.

3. The Article and the Supplemental Materials do not infringe any copyright, violate any other intellectual property, privacy or other rights of any person or entity, or contain any libellous or other unlawful matter.

4. I have obtained written permission from copyright owners for any excerpts from copyrighted works that are included and have credited the sources in the Article or the Supplemental Materials.

5. Except as expressly set out in this License Agreement, the Article is not subject to any prior rights or licenses and, if my or any of my coauthors’ institution has a policy that might restrict my ability to grant the rights required by this License Agreement (taking into account the Scholarly communication rights permitted hereunder), a written waiver of that policy has been obtained.

6. If I and/or any of my co-authors reside in Iran, Cuba, Sudan, Burma, Syria, or Crimea, the Article has been prepared in a personal, academic or research capacity and not as an official representative or otherwise on behalf of the relevant government.

7. If I am using any personal details or images of patients, research subjects or other individuals, I have obtained all consents required by applicable law and complied with the publisher’s policies relating to the use of such images or personal information.

8. Any software contained in the Supplemental Materials is free from viruses, contaminants or worms.

9. If the Article or any of the Supplemental Materials were prepared jointly with other authors, I have informed the co-author(s) of the terms of this License Agreement and that I am signing on their behalf as their agent, and I am authorized to do so.