Effect of Customer Experience Quality on Loyalty in Fitness Services

Abstract

Customer experience quality is an important and relatively new concept for service businesses in gaining a sustainable competitive advantage. Although the literature on customer experience quality is expanding, there is a gap concerning the antecedent and consequences of customer experience in fitness services. In this context, we tested a model that explains the precursors and implications of customer experience quality in the context of fitness services. This study was based on a non-experimental, depictive, and descriptive design. Within the scope of this study, 287 participants (216 male, 71 female) selected through a convenience sampling technique applied a self-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed through confirmatory factor analysis and a structural equation model. The findings show that service result quality, customer–employee interaction quality, and customer–customer interaction quality affect customer experience quality, which in turn affects customer loyalty. These results show that improving the service outcome quality results in customers who experience high-quality customer–employee and customer–customer interactions becoming loyal customers.

Examining the Relationships Among Perceived Quality, Perceived Value, Customer Satisfaction, and Behavioral Intention in Turkish Fitness Centers

“…The fitness customer whose quality expectations are met at the highest level will have a positive perception of value and a stronger behavioral intention to continue their membership and will undertake that behavior (Olya et al, 2022;Tsourela, 2022;Yu et al, 2014). In this sense, perceived quality, perceived value, and customer satisfaction, which affect the cognitiveemotional-behavioral elements of the fitness customer, are important components of long-term sustainability (Dang et al, 2022;Eskiler & Safak, 2022;Foroughi et al, 2019).…”

“…When the fitness literature is examined, the concepts of perceived quality, perceived value, and customer satisfaction are the main points of many studies in determining and explaining consumer behavior (Alguacil et al, 2019;Chiu et al, 2017;Dang et al, 2022;Dias & Monteiro, 2020;Eskiler & Altunışık, 2021;Eskiler & Safak, 2022;García-Fernández et al, 2016, 2018Yu et al, 2014). The results of the studies show that there are relationships between perceived quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intention.…”

“…At the same time, fitness center managers can affect customers' quality perceptions of many issues. Some of these are helping customers reach their sportive goals and providing customer-employee interactions within the fitness center (Eskiler & Safak, 2022). From this point of view, managers can value the elements that provide customer-employee communication as improving their perceived quality.…”

Dimensions and outcomes of experiential quality in the fitness industry: the case of Turkey

“…The reason for the use of five different dimensions here or the reason for not adding an additional dimension is that in both the sports and fitness literature, it can be said that the service experience is based on the quality of the facilities and equipment, the efficiency and effectiveness of the processes, the personalized and friendly service of the staff, the outcomes and interactions (Eskiler and Safak, 2022;Garc ıa-Pascual et al, 2023;Kuuru and N€ arv€ anen, 2019;Sevilmis ¸and Do gan, 2023;Yoshida, 2017).…”

How customer knowledge management helps retain fitness club members: a mediating effect of relationship quality

“…These studies focused on what fitness clubs as service providers can bring to members to influence members' behavioural intentions. Other than studying the emergence of technologies in online marketing, such as social media advertisements (Fogel and Ustoyev, 2020) and fitness centre apps (Helena et al, 2022), previous studies covered customer experience quality (Eskiler and Safak, 2022) and co-creation (Behnam et al, 2021b;Lee et al, 2018). These studies changed the focus from the offering of fitness clubs to members' contributions in influencing their behavioural intentions.…”