Analysis of member retention in fitness through satisfaction, attributes perception, expectations and well-being

• Autor(a) principal: Gonçalves, Celina
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Diniz, Ana
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10198/13805
• topic: Fitness Management; Gyms and Health Clubs; Consumer behaviour; Physical Activity

The objective of this study was to understand how attributes perception, expectations, well-being and satisfaction influence membership retention in fitness clubs. To what extent do the perception of the service attributes by the members; the expectations, what is expected from a certain service; the well-being, pleasant feeling of body and mind; and the satisfaction, contentment of needs and desires, influence retention in fitness clubs. Data from a sample of 2,250 fitness club members were collected from a Fitness Network; statistical analysis included descriptive and inferential analysis. The inferential study was based on factor analysis involving extraction of principal components with Varimax. Path analysis was subsequently performed, through multiple linear regressions and analytical model representation. It was observed that well-being in the club is the variable with the largest causal effect on membership retention, followed by the facilities and equipment, expectations and, less relevantly, human resources, and finally innovation and services. The results indicate that fitness clubs should focus on club maintenance, offer suitable and modern facilities and equipment, and strive to cultivate strong customer relationships, in order to provide a pleasant experience to club members and increase the duration of their training sessions.