•This study contributes to the fitness low-cost business model.•The presented model includes service convenience, perceived quality and value.•Service convenience and perceived quality are ...influential to customers’ satisfaction and future intention.•Managers should guarantee high quality standards and diminish the perception of time and effort in low-cost fitness services.
Due to its importance in fitness centers, a number of authors have explored and analyzed loyalty. However, two characteristics not yet examined are service convenience in fitness center chains and low-cost fitness centers (an emerging business model). In the present study, the authors sought to understand the relationship among perceived quality and service convenience on perceived value, satisfaction, and client loyalty in low-cost fitness centers. Clients (N=763; 381 women and 382 men) from three low-cost Spanish fitness centers were surveyed, revealing a positive relationship among the variables studied. Findings demonstrate the importance of proper management of non-monetary sacrifices and perceived quality by the managers of these sport organizations, since client loyalty could depend on factors of these emerging sport models.
Abstract Empathy and assertiveness are two essential soft skills for any healthcare professional's competence and ethical development. It has been shown that empathy can be influenced throughout the ...training of a future healthcare professional, particularly during the clinical placement period. This research aims to assess fourth-year physiotherapy students' empathic and assertive development before and after clinical placement. A longitudinal observational study was conducted with fourth-year physiotherapy students during the academic year 2022/2023. A preliminary assessment of empathy and assertiveness levels was carried out before the start of the clinical placement and at the end of the placement using the Individual Reactivity Index to assess empathy and the Rathus Test to assess assertiveness. The results show a statistically significant difference ( p ≤ 0.05) in both the empathy subscales of perspective-taking and empathic-concern between the pre- and postassessment, as well as an inverse correlation between the empathy subscale of personal distress and assertiveness. It is concluded that students show adequate results in empathy and assertiveness. However, there is some influence of clinical practice on the development of empathy, and future intervention studies need to be considered. Furthermore, students with higher levels of assertiveness have lower levels of personal distress, suggesting that assertiveness is closely related to empathy.
Recently the development of new technologies has produced an increase in the number of studies that try to evaluate consumer behavior towards the use of sports applications. The aim of this study is ...to perform a systematic review of the literature on the intention to use mobile applications (Apps) related to fitness and physical activity by consumers. This systematic review is a critical evaluation of the evidence from quantitative studies in the field of assessment of consumer behavior towards sport applications. A total of 13 studies are analyzed that propose models for evaluating the intentions to use fitness applications by sport consumers. The results revealed several key conclusions: (a) Technology Acceptance Model is the most widely used model; (b) the relationship between perceived utility and future intentions is the most analyzed; and (c) the most evaluated applications are diet/fitness. These findings could help technology managers to know the most important key elements to take into account in the development of future applications in sport organizations.
The Mediating Role of e-Lifestyles to Use the Fitness Center App Ferreira-Barbosa, Helena; García-Fernández, Jerónimo; Cepeda-Carrión, Gabriel
International journal of human-computer interaction,
04/2023, Letnik:
ahead-of-print, Številka:
ahead-of-print
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
This paper studies the effect of e-Lifestyles on the fitness industry. The aim is to investigate the (mediating) role of e-Lifestyles in the relationship between behavioral intentions to use the ...fitness center app, app usage behavior, and member overall satisfaction with the fitness center, i.e., explain whether e-Lifestyles allow us to better understand fitness center satisfaction or app usage intention. Results of 1403 members revealed that the relationship between behavioral intentions to use the app and the members' overall satisfaction with the fitness center is positively mediated by e-Lifestyles. Results further demonstrate that there is a direct positive effect of behavioral usage intentions of the app-on-app usage behavior and overall member satisfaction toward the fitness center. The study adds to the literature on e-Lifestyles by demonstrating its significance in the context of fitness center management. This study helps managers conduct more thorough marketing plans and develop differentiated strategies and provides information for app designers.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the intention of using fitness app made available by the fitness centre to its members and their relationship with overall customer ...satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachThe present study uses the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) as the base model. All the hypothesised relationships were tested through partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), in a quantitative study with data from 1,676 fitness consumers from Portugal.FindingsThe results support the ability of UTAUT2 in predicting the customer´s intention to use the fitness app. Performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation and habit have a positive impact on behavioural intentions to use the fitness app. Performance expectancy and habit have the strongest relationships. Behavioural intentions are positively related both to the usage behaviour of the fitness app and to overall customer satisfaction.Practical implicationsThe results of this study present a strong contribution for fitness centre managers, since it highlights the importance of using these apps as a way to increase customer satisfaction, increasing retention levels.Originality/valueThis study is paramount as regards to examine the behavioural intention to use the fitness apps that the fitness centres make available to their members using UTAUT2 model.
Abstract
Technology advances and digital transformation are constantly growing, resulting in an increase in the number of sports-related technologies and apps on the market, particularly during the ...COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study is to update a comprehensive evaluation of the literature published since 2020 on the desire to use and embrace fitness and physical activity-related apps. Using the PERSiST adapted from the PRISMA 2020 statement, a total of 29 articles that provide assessment models of sports consumers’ desires to utilise fitness applications were discovered. Several major conclusions emerge from the findings: (1) the use of alternative models to the Technology Acceptance Model has increased in recent years with new theories not derived from that model now being associated with it; (2) studies in Europe are increasing as well as a specifical interest in fitness apps; (3) the UTAUT and UTAUT2 model are more widely used within the sport sector and new models appear connected with behaviour intentions; and (4) the number of exogenous and endogenous variables that are linked to the main technology acceptance variables and their behavioral intentions is diverse within the academic literature. These findings could help technology managers to increase user communication, physical activity levels and participation in their fitness centres, as well as to modify the policies and services of sports organisations.
The use of technology in sports and fitness is proliferating thanks to advances to facilitate its practice and improve adherence. Beyond adherence, it is important that technology is understood as a ...facilitating medium. The main objective of this study is to know the influence of the use of the fitness application (app) on sports habits, customer satisfaction and maintenance intention of fitness center users. For this, an experimental, controlled and randomized study was carried out, characterized by being a field trial, with a sample of 66 participants divided into a control group (
= 33) and an experimental group (
= 33), with 38 (57.6%) men and 28 (42.4%) women who self-monitored their physical activity for 8 weeks. The dimensions analyzed between the pre- and post-intervention phases were the changes in their sporting habits (frequency of attendance and duration of the session), the changes in satisfaction and the intention to stay with respect to the fitness center. The results in general do not show significant differences between the two groups and conclude that the use of the fitness app did not directly influence the sports habits of the participants. There were also no significant differences in terms of satisfaction with the fitness center or in their intention to stay in the fitness center. Therefore, it is shown that the use of the fitness app, as a single download or use element, is not enough to improve habits, satisfaction or the intention to stay in the fitness center.
Abstract
The use of technology within sports services has become an important field of study. Currently, the vast majority of sports services offer their users mobile applications to facilitate ...aspects such as communication and information. Within fitness centres, these mobile applications have become key elements to keep users informed and to reinforce behaviours such as loyalty towards the service. This study analyses the influence of mobile applications used in fitness centres on users’ recommendations of the app. Two methodologies were used to measure users’ perceptions: linear models and qualitative comparative analysis. The main results show that certain dimensions of the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) have a strong influence on users’ future app recommendations as well as the influence of users’ gender and age. It is important for managers of these sports services to implement technologies that provide two-way communication with users and therefore facilitate positive app recommendations. Furthermore, analysing the data using these two methodologies offers researchers a more detailed examination to better understand customers’ perceptions and, consequently, to establish more precise actions within the service.
Background and Aims
Empathy and assertiveness are two essential social skills for a health professional such as a physiotherapist and are necessary for developing moral thinking. Previous studies ...show that the development of empathy and other social skills improves as students progress in their studies. However, other authors show deterioration of empathy as students progress in their studies and acquire clinical experience. Training in soft skills, such as assertiveness, among health science students will have an impact on the quality of patient care. Effective communication, conflict resolution and the ability to work as part of a team are competencies that have been put to one side as a result of the recent COVID‐19 pandemic and it is important to resume training students in soft skills. The objective of this study is to investigate to determine the empathic and assertive state of physiotherapy university students.
Methods
A descriptive cross‐sectional study of physiotherapy university students was conducted in the 2022/2023 academic year. The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) scales for empathy and the Rathus test for assertiveness (RAS) were used as study tools. Finally, 127 students participated in the study, 52.91% of the total population of physiotherapy students. The questionnaire was available for 4 weeks in November and December 2022.
Results
The empathetic and assertive development of the students was found to be acceptable. Significant differences were also observed according to the gender variable in the students, with female students presenting better results (p = 0.01). Students who are working or have clinical experience in other professions score lower on the empathy personal distress subscale (p < 0.001).
Conclusion
Future research should be considered to help improve clinical and professional expertise in physiotherapy students about empathic and assertive development. The findings provide new evidence on the levels of empathy and assertiveness in physiotherapy students.
Key points
Fostering empathic attitudes in health sciences degrees is vital for humanized care, and empathy training should be considered fundamental until they become professionals.
Significant differences were found in the personal distress empathy subscale concerning working while studying or previous health science jobs/experience.
The personal distress empathy subscale showed a significant negative correlation with assertiveness.
The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationships among perceived quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intention in Turkish fitness centers. The data were collected ...from 305 fitness customers (149 women and 156 men) using the quantitative method of a questionnaire. The main procedure of this study was to conceptualize fitness clubs’ perceived value as a multidimensional construct of four dimensions. Through a comprehensive review of the literature, a questionnaire was developed to measure perceived quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioural intention, which took into consideration the unique characteristics of Turkish fitness centers. After examining the measurement properties by conducting confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation model analysis, the results revealed positive relationships among perceived quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intention. The findings showed that perceived quality was positively related to social value, functional value, emotional value, and economic value. Likewise, functional value and economic value were positively related to customer satisfaction, and social value and emotional value were not positively related to customer satisfaction. Finally, customer satisfaction was related to behavioral intentions. The implication for management is significant as it shows that quality management is important for the different dimensions of value. Therefore, sports managers must work on quality processes to achieve positive perceived quality and its consequences, such as perceived value or behavioral intentions. This chain of positive perceptions improves consumer loyalty.
PDF
