THE EFFECT OF SERVICE QUALITY ON SATISFACTION OF ATHLETES PARTICIPATING IN SPORT PROGRAMMES

In this study, the effect of perceived service quality of the athletes participating in sports programmes of a public institution on their satisfaction levels was investigated. Two measurement instruments were used as data collection tools in this study. The QSport-14 scale, consisting of 14 items and 3 sub-dimensions (staff, installations, and programme) developed by Yildiz and Kara (2012), was used to measure service quality perceptions of the athletes. In order to measure satisfaction perceptions of the athletes, a 3-item and one-dimensional satisfaction scale developed by Cronin, Brady, and Hult (2000), was used. The study population of this study was Izmir Provincial Directorate of Youth and Sports and the sample was composed of athletes (n = 286) who participated in sports programmes of this institution. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, factor analysis, and hierarchical regression analysis were used for data analysis. Reliability of the scales was determined by Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient. According to findings obtained from the analyses, scales used in this study were found to be consistent with original scales in terms of validity and reliability. According to findings of hierarchical regression analysis, staff dimension, which was sub-dimension of service quality, had a significant and positive effect on customer satisfaction (β = .210; p < 0.01). While installations dimension, which was sub-dimension of service quality, had no significant effect on customer satisfaction; programme size had a significant and positive effect on customer satisfaction (β = .567; p < 0.01). In general, service quality had a significant and positive effect on customer satisfaction (β = .435; p < 0.01).