Some suggested implications of the product life cycle for public recreation and park agency managers

Empirical evidence has been presented elsewhere suggesting that the product life cycle concept may appropriately be applied to municipal recreation and park departments. This concept describes the predictable stages of consumer acceptance through which any product or institution is likely to go. This paper suggests that one of the important implications of recognizing the concept is that each stage of the cycle requires a unique managerial response and strategy. A scenario is provided which describes identifiable differences in the managerial response to each stage. The implications of these differences for recreation and park managers are discussed. Three alternative strategies for securing “best fit” between managerial proficiency and life cycle stage are presented.

Keywords:

• life cycle
• recreation
• management
• organization
• development