Current Issues and Conceptualizations of Service Quality in the Recreation Sport Industry

This study discusses current issues of service quality and proposes a conceptual model that is focused on consumers’ perceptions of service quality toward organizations and services in the participant sport industry. The proposed model is based on the current conceptualization of service quality, which suggests that service quality is a multidimensional and hierarchical construct. In the proposed model, service quality consists of four primary dimensions which are defined by several corresponding subdimensions: (a) program quality – range of program, operating time, and information, (b) interaction quality – client-employee interaction and inter-client interaction, (c) outcome quality – physical change, valence, and sociability, and (d) environment quality – ambient condition, design, and equipment. The hierarchical approach in the model allows researchers to integrate specific procedures and/or attributes of service delivery into primary dimensions of service quality. This study is designed to resolve the conceptual differences in service quality research and provide a comprehensive conceptual framework for sport management scholars and practitioners.