Analysing the professional sport experience: A hierarchical approach

Abstract

Strategically managing spectator perceptions of service quality and understanding how these perceptions affect value, satisfaction and behavioural intentions is very important if sports organisations are going to succeed in today's competitive entertainment environment. As a response to variations in the service quality dimensions found in previous sport and leisure studies, outcome focused sport satisfaction and process-dominant service quality factors are integrated with higher order attitudinal and behavioural constructs to develop a hierarchical model of the professional sport experience. Eleven first-order sub-dimensions are present in the hierarchical factor structure. The study's findings also support inclusion of the second-order primary dimensions of service quality: interaction quality, physical environment quality and outcome quality. Fanship (enduring involvement), service quality, value, satisfaction and behavioural intentions are found to be positively related. The third-order hierarchical model significantly improves on the explanatory power of previous service quality and sport spectator satisfaction models.

Keywords:

• Service quality dimensions
• Satisfaction
• Value
• Spectator perceptions
• Professional sport

Notes

3 A second-order conceptualisation of service quality consists of a single higher-order overall service quality measure modelled as casually impacting, or defined by, consumer perceptions on a number of first-order dimensions of service quality (e.g., access, reliability, responsiveness, tangibles, security).

4 Low-involvement situations, low-income customers, inconvenient repurchase conditions, and high levels of customer loyalty are given as prominent conditions underlying an observation of a null satisfaction–repurchase relationship.

5 The sporting codes investigated were rugby union, rugby league, soccer, cricket and AFL (Australian Rules football).

6 Consistency refers here to the ability to reproduce the same results under similar circumstances.

7 Full details of the invariance tests are available from the second author on request.

8 Full details of the CMV test results are available on request from the second author.

9 In 2010 the Melbourne Storm were found to have significantly and consistently breached the salary cap. There was evidence also of team management awareness and attempts to conceal the breaches. As a penalty, and warning to the competition, the franchise was stripped of its 2007 and 2009 premierships and all of its competition points for 2010.