자연주의적 탐구조사(Naturalistic Inquiry)

Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques

The Psychological Continuum Model: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding an Individual's Psychological Connection to Sport

Prior research has demonstrated a direct relationship between loyalty and reasons for liking a particular sport team. The current study replicates and extends this line of inquiry by examining the mediating role of attachment, a process by which an individual moves from merely liking a team (attraction) to becoming loyal to a team (allegiance). Data (Collegiate N = 194; Collegiate and Professional N = 402, Favorite Sport Team N = 808) were collected to examine 13 benefits and attributes associated with liking a sport team, 3 attitude formation properties, and allegiance. A three-stage test of mediation using MLR revealed that attachment mediated the relationship between allegiance and Vicarious Achievement, Nostalgia, Star Player, Escape, Success, and Peer Group Acceptance. Results demonstrate that allegiance is the outcome of a process by which individuals develop stronger emotional reactions to, more functional knowledge about, and greater symbolic value for benefits and attributes associated with a spo...

Consumer loyalty: the meaning of attachment in the development of sport team allegiance.

This study broadens the understanding of brand management in sport by creating the Team Association Model, a scale that identifies dimensions of brand associations, a major contributor to the creation of brand equity. Utilizing Keller’s (1993) theoretical framework of consumer-based brand equity, a thorough review of the sport literature was conducted which identified 16 potential dimensions. These 16 dimensions are derived with reference to Keller’s categorization of brand associations into ATTRIBUTE (success, head coach, star player, management, stadium, logo design, product delivery, and tradition), BENEFIT (identification, nostalgia, pride in place, escape, and peer group acceptance), and ATTITUDE (importance, knowledge, and affect). In order to evaluate the applicability of each potential dimension, a scale is developed, pre-tested, and tested on a national sample of sport consumers. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis of provided support for this paper’s theoretical notion that 16 distinct c...

Developing an Understanding of Brand Associations in Team Sport: Empirical Evidence from Consumers of Professional Sport

Assessing the Influence of the Physical Sports Facility on Customer Satisfaction within the Context of the Service Experience

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to enhance understanding of service quality at major spectator sports events by developing a conceptual framework and measurement scale specifically designed for assessment of spectators' perceptions of event qualityDesign/methodology/approach – Utilising a comprehensive literature review and detailed qualitative preliminary procedures, a comprehensive model of event quality for spectator sports (MEQSS) and a measurement scale of event quality in spectator sports (SEQSS) are developed The models are then tested using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling using data from a quantitative survey of a convenience sample of spectators at a major league baseball game in the United StatesFindings – The proposed model is shown to fit the data well Reliability and validity of the SEQSS are established through a pilot test and the substantive surveyResearch limitations/implications – The findings of the study are limited by the sample being restric

Assessment of event quality in major spectator sports

This study discusses current issues of service quality and proposes a conceptual model that is focused on consumers' perceptions of service quality toward organizations and services in the participant sport industry. The proposed model is based on the current conceptualization of service quality, which suggests that service quality is a multidimensional and hierarchical construct. In the proposed model, service quality consists of four primary dimensions which are defined by several corresponding subdimensions: (a) program quality range of program, operating time, and information, (b) interaction quality clientemployee interaction and inter-client interaction, (c) outcome quality physical change, valence, and sociability, and (d) environment quality ambient condition, design, and equipment. The hierarchical approach in the model allows researchers to integrate specific procedures and/or attributes of service delivery into primary dimensions of service quality. This study is designed to resolve the conceptual differences in service quality research and provide a comprehensive conceptual framework for sport management scholars and practitioners. Yong Jae Ko is an assistant professor in the sport management program at Washington State University. His area of interest is sport consumer behavior. Donna L. Pastore is a professor in the sport management program at The Ohio State University. Her areas of interest are identification of factors associated with the lack of females in intercollegiate coaching and administrative positions and development strategies to recruit and retain females in these positions, diversity management, and examination of current issues influencing and impacting intercollegiate athletics. \"Leading scholars have become confident in their argument that providing quality service is not only the most important factor for customer satisfaction, hut it is the principal criterion that measures the competitiveness of a service organization.\" Current Issues and Conceptualizations of Service Quality in the Recreation Sport Industry As a society advances economically, matures culturally, and increases its knowledge base, the societal demands for quality service increase (Lakhe & Mohanty, 1995). Accordingly, the interest in 'service quality' has increased exponentially during the 1980s (Gronroos, 1990). Today, service quality is recognized as one of the most important topics in the field of service management and marketing, and the word quality has become a part of the everyday vocabulary of management (Gronroos, 1990). The increased interest in service quality has motivated many scholars to research the topic. As a result, leading scholars have become confident in their argument that providing quality service is not only the most important factor for customer satisfaction (Anderson, Fornell, & Lehmann, 1994; Berry, Parasuraman, & Zeithaml, 1994; Gronroos, 1990; Schneider & Bowen, 1995), but it is the principal criterion that measures the competitiveness of a service organization (Lengnick-Hall, 1996). Brady (1997) summarized the key outcomes of heightened levels of service quality as: (a) a higher than normal share of the market (Buzzell & Gale, 1987), (b) improved profitability relative to the competition (Anderson, et al., 1994; Gronroos, 1990), (c) consumer loyalty (Zeithaml, Berry, & Parasuraman, 1996), (d) the realization of a competitive price premium (Zeithaml et al., 1996), and (e) an increased probability of purchase (Zeithaml et al., 1996). Thus, marketers and managers now focus 158 Volume 13 • Number 2 • 2004 • Sport MarKetlng Quarterly on the process of service production and consumption as it governs consumer behavior in the service industry where services are produced and consumed simultaneously (Gronroos, 1992). Sport organizations face a new era of global competition. Within the saturated market of sport industries, the success of a sport organization may depend on the degree to which the organization can satisfy their customers with quality service. Within the sport industry, however, service quality was not recognized as a major area of research until the late 1980s (Crompton & Mackay, 1989; MacKay & Crompton, 1988). \"The meaning of quality is a relative concept and can vary under different circumstances. Therefore, it is necessary to reanalyze the meaning of service quality in relation to the recreational sport industry.\" To date, the studies of service quality have focused on identifying dimensions of quality in fitness services, leisure and recreation services, and spectating sport services (see table 1). Although researchers have suggested several different factor structures, there is no general agreement as to the content of the dimensions. For example, although researchers emphasized the importance of facility and other elements of physical surrounding (e.g., equipment) in service delivery of recreational sport, the factors were included in different dimensions with different focus areas. Howat, Absher, Grilley, and Milne (1996) included facility and equipment as core services (program quality in this paper), while Papadimitrious and Karteroliotis (2000), and Ghelladurai and Ghang (2000) included them as separate dimensions with different terms, facility attraction/operation and context (facility, location, and equipment) respectively. In addition, it is apparent that there is a gap between the current conceptualizations of service quality in recreational sport/fitness programs and those from the general service marketing literature. For example, none of the literature in recreational sport discusses the actual outcome of service consumption, though it is included as an important area to be investigated in general marketing literature (Brady & Gronin Jr., 2001; Rust & Oliver, 1994). Therefore, the dimensions of service quality in the recreational sport industry need to be reexamined. In addition to the issue of factor structure, current service quality researchers suggest that service quality evaluation is a highly complex process that operates at several levels of abstraction. As such, the missing link of service quality research in our industry is a unifying conceptualization that reflects the multidimensional and hierarchical nature of service quality (Brady & Gronin, 2001; Garman, 1990; Dabholkar, Thorpe, & Rentz, 1996). The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated conceptual framework of service quality for the participant sport industry. This framework can provide a foundation for the development of instruments to measure and evaluate service quality of sport organizations. The intent of the proposed model is also to advance the knowledge base of service quality within the fields of sport management and marketing. Issues in Service Quality Research To date, the study of service quality has been conducted in various segments of the sport industry such as professional sport (McDonald, Sutton, & Milne, 1995; Milne & McDonald, 1999), fitness programs (Kim & Kim, 1995; Papadimitriou & Karteroliotis, 2000), and recreation and leisure (Grompton & Mackay, 1989; Grompton, MacKay, & Fesenmaier, 1991; Howat et al., 1996; MacKay & Grompton, 1988; Taylor, Sharland, Gronin, Jr., & BuUard, 1993; Wright, Duray, & Goodale, 1992). In general, the management of service quality is concerned with three distinct aspects: (1) designing the service product, (2) designing the service environment, and (3) delivering the service (Rust & Oliver, 1994). However, for the best conceptualization of service quality, researchers need to focus on (a) how the service quality construct is conceptualized (i.e., the meaning), (b) which factors determine the consumer's perception of service quality (i.e., determinant), and (c) how to measure the constructs (i.e., measurement means) (Brady, 1997; Ghelladurai 8c Ghang, 2000). The aforementioned areas warrant further investigation in order to improve the service quality research. Prior to presenting the proposed model of service quality, we first focus our discussion on the concept of service quality. This is then followed by a discussion of factors that have been identified in the literature to comprise service quality. Concept of Service Quality The basic concept of service quality needs clarification in order to develop a conceptual framework of service quality. Service quality has been defined in several ways. Bitner and Hubbert (1994) defined service quality as \"the consumer's overall impression of the relative inferiority/superiority of the organization and its services\" (p. 77). On the other hand, a more traditional definition of service quality is the comparison of consumer expectations with actual service performance (Berry, Parasuraman, & Zeithaml, 1988; Gronroos, 1984; Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, Volume 13 • Number 3 • 2004 • Sport Marheting Quarterly 159

Current issues and conceptualizations of service quality in the recreation sport industry.

Equating attitudes to allegiance: The usefulness of selected attitudinal information in segmenting loyalty to professional sports teams.

This study applies a framework of diversity initiatives as a basis of exploration into top management beliefs and diversity management strategies of Division IA intercollegiate athletic organizations. This framework utilizes issues of power, demographic and relational differences, and past literature regarding specific diversity strategies to empirically assess these organizations' outlooks regarding employee diversity. Results of the study suggest that Division IA intercollegiate athletic organizations operate in cultures that value similarity. Demographic variables predicted a significant amount of variance in employees' perceptions of diversity management strategies. In addition, demographic differences (being different from one's leader) accounted for an even greater amount of variance in these perceptions. Top management's beliefs in the benefits of diversity were related to perceptions of different diversity practices. That is, high beliefs resulted in higher levels of diversity management practice....

Donna L. Pastore

Papers

Assessing the Influence of the Physical Sports Facility on Customer Satisfaction within the Context of the Service Experience

Assessment of event quality in major spectator sports

Current issues and conceptualizations of service quality in the recreation sport industry.

Equating attitudes to allegiance: The usefulness of selected attitudinal information in segmenting loyalty to professional sports teams.

Do Differences Make a Difference? Managing Diversity in Division IA Intercollegiate Athletics