PERCEPTIONS OF SERVICE QUALITY AND SATISFACTION OF HIGH PERFORMANCE PROGRAMMES (HPP): A CASE STUDY OF A COMPREHENSIVE UNIVERSITY IN SOUTH AFRICA

Year 2016, Volume: 8 Issue: 1, 168 - 186, 01.06.2016

P. Serra J. Surujlal E. H. Redda

Abstract

Sport is a multi-billion dollar industry that has become an important marketing
tool to attract a higher calibre of students to universities. Students do not only
consider the educational value a university can offer but also what it can offer in
terms of advancing their sporting achievements and their sporting careers. High
performance programmes (HPP) which include superior facilities, high quality
coaching and management staff, educational subsidies, body/health conditioning
facilities as well as supportive staff for the purpose of driving and maintaining a
high calibre of development are required to assist students in meeting their
sporting aspirations. The aim of this study was to gain constructive insights
regarding perceptions of service quality and satisfaction of the different member
associates of the High Performance Programmes (HPP) of Rugby, Hockey,
Soccer, Netball, Athletics, Rowing and Cricket at a comprehensive university in
South Africa (SA). A concurrent mixed method approach was used to collect
data. Ko and Pastore’s (2005) Scale of Service Quality in Recreational Sports
(SSQRS) was used to collect the quantitative data from one hundred and nineteen
(n=119) first team players. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured
interviews with the respective sport managers (n=7) and team captains (n=7)
within each sport programme. Quantitative data was analysed using the
statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS), whereas the qualitative data were analysed using the Atlas.ti software package. The results from the study revealed that the service quality of the HPP ranged from moderate to high indicating that some dimensions required attention. The study provided useful insights regarding service quality which could assist the management of the HPPs in developing effective strategies to maintain and improve the quality of their services

Keywords

High performance programmes, satisfaction, service quality

References

• Auerbach, C.F & Silverstein, L.B. (2003). Qualitative Data: An Introduction to
• Coding and Analysis. New York: New York University Press. Bitner, M.J. (1992), Service scapes: the impact of physical surroundings on customers and employees. Journal of Marketing, 56, 57-71.
• Brady, M.K. & Cronin, J.J. (2001). Some new thoughts on conceptualizing perceived service quality: A hierarchical approach. The Journal of Marketing, (3), 34-49.
• Brady, M.K. & Robertson, C.J. (2001). Searching for a consensus on the antecedent role of service quality and satisfaction: An exploratory cross-national study. Journal of Business Research, 51, 53-60.
• Broughton, D. & Nethery, R. (1999). The answer: $213 billion. Street & Smith’s
• Sports Business Journal, 2:23-29. Bryman, A. (2006). Integrating quantitative and qualitative research: How is it done? Qualitative Research, 6, 97-113.
• Burnett, C. (2010). Factors influencing the recruitment of students for university sport: The case of University of Johannesburg, South Africa. African Journal for
• Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance, 63-71. Chelladurai, P. & Chang, K. (2000). Targets and standards of quality in sport services. Sport Management Review. 3, 1-22.
• Cronin, J.J. & Taylor, S.A. (1992). Measuring service quality: A re-examination and extension. Journal of Marketing, 56, 55-68.
• Department of Education (2004). Creating Comprehensive Universities in South
• Africa: A Concept Document. Available at http://www.dhet.gov.za/Management%20Support/Creating%20Comprehensive% Universities%20in%20South%20Africa%20A%20concept%20document.pdf. Accessed on 2015/06/06.
• Dhurup, M., Singh, P. & Surujlal, J. (2006). Customer Service quality at commercial health and fitness centres. South African Journal for Research in
• Sport, Physical Education and Recreation, 28(2): 39-64. Du Plessis, F., Rousseau, D. & Blem, N. (1995). Buying behaviour: Strategic
• Marketing Applications. Halfway House; Southern Book Publishers. Grönroos, C. (1992). Service Management: A management focus for service competition. In Lovelock, C.H. (Eds.). Managing Services: Marketing, operations, and human resources. Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Pp. 9-16.
• Ko, Y.L. (2000). Multidimensional and hierarchical model of service quality in the participant sport industry. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Ohio State
• University, Columbus, OH. Ko, Y.J. & Pastore, D.L. (2005). A hierarchical model of service quality for the recreational sport industry. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 14:84-87.
• Kotler, P. (2003). Marketing Management. 11th Ed. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
• Lentell, R. (2000). Untangling the tangibles: physical evidence and customer satisfaction in local authority leisure centres. Managing Leisure, 5, 1-16.
• McDonald, M.A., Sutton, W.A. & Milne, G.R. (1995). TEAMQUAL: Measuring service quality in professional team sports. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 4:9-15.
• Metha, C., Lalwani, A.K. & Han, S. (2000). Service Quality in Retailing: relative efficiency of alternative measurement scales for different product-service environments. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 28(2), 72.
• Mouton, J. (2008). How to succeed in your Master’s and Doctoral Studies: A
• South African Guide and Resource Book. Pretoria: Van Schaik. Nunnally, J.C. & Bernstein, I.H. (1994). Psychometric Theory (3rd Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. & Berry, L.L. (1988). SERVQUAL: a multiple- item scale for measuring customer perceptions of service quality and its implications for future research. Journal of Retailing, 64, 12-40.
• Singh, P.C. & Surujlal, J. (2006). Athlete satisfaction at universities in Gauteng.
• South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation, (2), 121-131. Sivadas, E. & Baker, J.L. (2000). An examination of the relationships between service quality, customer satisfaction and store loyalty. International Journal of
• Retail and Distribution Management, 28(2), 1-13. Soleymani, M., Ali, Z., Tojari, F. & Ghafouri, F. (2012). A study of the relationship between the quality of services and customers’ satisfaction with the recreational sport programs with regard to the moderating role of identity. World
• Applied Sciences Journal, 16 (10), 1438-1444.
• Wakefield, K.L., Blodgett, J.G. & Sloan, H.J. (1996). Measurement and management of the sportscape. Journal of Sport Management, 10, 15-31.
• Yong, J.K. & Pastore, D.L. (2004). Current issues and conceptualizations of service quality in the recreation sport industry. Sport Marketing Quarterly, ,158-166.
• Zeithaml, V.A. & Bitner, M.J. (2000). Services Marketing: Integrating Customer
• Focus across the Firm (2nd Ed.). Irwin, Boston: McGraw Hill.