Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine how an instrument – designed to assess quality, value, and satisfaction – works, and compare results obtained in female users of unisex sports services and fitness centres and female users of exclusively female sports services and fitness centres. Design/methodology/approach A total of 745 women belonging to 62 sports services and fitness centres took part in this study; 36.60 per cent were members of female-exclusive centres. The average age was 32.97±14.11 years. In total, 38.70 per cent of the women surveyed used the sports services and fitness centres twice a week for 66.37±32.87 minutes on average. The EPOD2 questionnaire was used. This instrument is made up of 25 items and measures quality, value, and satisfaction. The invariance of the factorial structure in the two groups was verified and regression coefficients were calculated for the relationships in the model. Findings The model is stable in both of the groups. Quality is a predecessor of value and satisfaction. Value is related to a large extent to Satisfaction. The dimensions of quality (activity, sports instructors, service personnel, and space) are directly related to value and/or satisfaction. There are significant differences in the standardised values that relate quality and its dimensions with the value and satisfaction between women users of female-exclusive centres and women users of unisex centres. Originality/value This paper is important because the findings of this study can be applicable to help sports services and fitness centres, whether unisex centres or female-exclusive centres, obtain better assessments from female users.

Education that instills healthy habits has acquired much attention in recent years due to concerns related to obesity and the sedentary lifestyle of the scholastic population. Extracurricular sports activities can contribute to the creation of healthy habits and can promote active lifestyles. These positive habits provide social benefits and are a facilitator of sustainable development. Thisstudy had two objectives: To assess the quality and value of extracurricular sports activities offered by schools, as well as the satisfaction of the participants and their future intentions to participate; and to assess the relationship between these constructs, with the aim of identifying factors that encourage schoolchildren to be active. Information was gathered from 1080 children in secondary education in Spain (n = 1080) (65.90% boys, 13.76 ± 1.39 years). The instruments used were the Scale of Perception of Sports Organizations (EPOD2) and a future intentions scale. The evaluation of satisfaction, quality, and value, as well as the intentions expressed by the young athletes to continue participating in extracurricular sports activities were positive, with average values close to the maximum. The best-rated quality variables were human resources. A significant association was identified between communication and loyalty, and response capacity and sports spaces. Likewise, perceived satisfaction and value were related to loyalty and price. In short, student perceptions establish a clear relationship between evaluations of activities and the intention to continue practicing sports in schools.

In order to improve the influence of Physical Education within schools on the creation of a healthy lifestyle

Nuviala A, Teva-Villén MR, Grao-Cruces A, Pérez-Ordás R, García-Fernández J, Nuviala R. Validity, reliability and exploratory factor analysis of the dropout scale in sport centres. J. Hum. Sport Exerc. Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 275-286, 2012. Sport dropout is a complex problem, in which multiple reasons influence. One lacks an instrument of easy application for the sport centres, which there contributes relevant information about dropout motives, at the time that it expires with the properties that any measurement's instrument must assemble. The aims of this work were to design, to validate and to verify the reliability of a useful instrument as way of evaluation of the motives of the dropout of the organized physical activity that provide the different sport centres. So, an inventory was made, a statistical analysis of the items was also made, so as an exploratory factor analysis and his validation and his reliability were analyzed. In conclusion, it can be stated that we have a valid and reliable tool to study the phenomenon of dropout in sport centres, which depends on five factors: leisure, enjoyment, satisfaction, practice and economic. The tool has 22 items in total, which makes its application easy.

r e s u m e N Los modelos conceptuales facilitan la gestión de los servicios deportivos que explican, pero los desarrollados en otros países no ofrecen garantías para ser reproducidos correctamente en España. El objetivo del estudio fue comprobar la reproducibilidad del modelo de evaluación de los servicios deportivos propuesto por Murray y Howat (2002), en el contexto de las organizaciones deportivas en España. En una muestra de 2667 usuarios de servicios deportivos españoles, se relacionaron los conceptos calidad, valor percibido y satisfacción, utilizando modelos de ecuaciones estructurales. Los resultados indicaron el papel de la calidad como antecedente del valor percibido y de la satisfacción de los usuarios. No se encontró relación entre el valor y la satisfacción. Este estudio supone un paso hacia el desarrollo de modelos más integrales, para ayudar a los administradores de los servicios deportivos españoles a establecer estrategias que incrementen la satisfacción y fidelidad del usuario. Palabras clave calidad; organizaciones deportivas; satisfacción; valor A b s t r A C tThe conceptual models facilitate the management of sport services that explain. But the models developed in other countries do not offer guarantees to reproduce correctly in Spain. The aim of this study was to test the reproducibility of the assessment model of sport services proposed by Murray and Howat (2002) in the context of sport organizations in Spain. In a sample of 2667 users of sport services in Spain, we have related the concepts of quality, value and satisfaction. We used structural equation modelling. Findings indicated that quality play a role as antecedent of the satisfaction and of the value. We found no relationship between value and satisfaction. This work is a step towards developing more comprehensive models, to assist managers of sport services to devise strategies that increase the satisfaction and user loyalty.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi averiguar se existe relação entre a qualidade percebida e o abandono desportivo. A população objeto de estudo foram 1.109 adolescentes. O método de coleta de dados foi o questionário EPOD. Na análise dos dados foram utilizadas as técnicas estatísticas de tabelas de contingência, comparação de médias, correlações e regressão linear. Os resultados mostraram que 40% dos adolescentes abandonaram o desporto e que a qualidade percebida é boa, sendo que os "treinadores" foram o mais valorizado e que os "espaços" esportivos foram os menos valorizados. Os resultados demonstram que existe relação entre a qualidade do serviço e o abandono. Os serviços desportivos que obtem avaliações mais baixas apresentam taxas de abandono mais elevadas.

Physical activity is an important tool for promoting women’s health. Increasing adherence to physical activity is a challenge for governments and private entities. One of the main objectives of the fitness sector is to build customer loyalty. Their behavioural intentions according to gender and age may be a determining factor. The aim of this study was to establish a model that relates the fitness centre’s quality as perceived by female customers, these customers’ future intentions, satisfaction, and age. A total of 745 women participated in this study, with a mean age of 32.97 ± 14.11, divided into three age groups. A confirmatory analysis, a factor invariance analysis, and a multi-group analysis were conducted to verify the validity and reliability of the model. The results revealed that quality is an antecedent of both perceived value and satisfaction in the three age groups. Perceived value is a precursor of satisfaction, except in the group of women over 45 years old. The only antecedent to adaptation to price is quality, except in the older age group. Finally, perceived value was found to be related to adaptation to price. These results will facilitate the development of strategies to promote physical activity among women according to their age.

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar e desenvolver modelos para prever a qualidade, satisfação e valor percebido dos usuários do serviço desportivo. A amostra consistiu de 646 usuários. Cada sujeito preencheu um questionário cujas propriedades psicométricas deu validade. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que a qualidade do serviço desportivo recebido foi boa, tendo os factores técnicos os melhores valores, e as informações que são fornecidas para os usuários o ponto mais fraco. Também positiva foi a avaliação de satisfação e do valor percebido, que dependiam principalmente de um fator intangível, como são as atividades.