The Effect of Service Quality on Customer Loyalty: A Study on Water Sports Organizations’ Customers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of service quality on customer loyalty in water sports services organizations. The data of the study were obtained from the customers of commercial organizations providing water sports services in Mugla province in the west of Turkey. As data collection tools; the QSport-14 Scale developed by Yildiz and Kara (2012) was used to measure service quality, and the customer loyalty scale developed by Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman (1996) was used to measure customer loyalty. Descriptive statistics, validity and reliability analysis, correlation, and hierarchical regression analysis were used in the evaluation of the data. Analysis results showed that service quality had a strong effect on customer loyalty (β=0.713; p<0.01). This result revealed that one of the means of ensuring customer loyalty was service quality. In addition, the effect of the 3 sub-dimensions of service quality on customer loyalty was examined separately. Similarly, staff (trainer) (β=0.542; p<0.01), installations (β=0.691; p<0.01), and programme (β=0.597; p<0.01) sub-dimensions also significantly and positively affected customer loyalty. These results revealed that service quality is an important tool in ensuring customer loyalty. In this context, this study suggests that organization managers should make service quality measurements at regular intervals. In this way, if weak areas emerge of the service, improvement strategies can be developed for them. This can play an active role in ensuring customer loyalty.

Keywords

• Service Quality
• Customer Loyalty
• Water Sports Organizations

Hizmet Kalitesinin Müşteri Sadakatine Etkisi: Su Sporları İşletmesi Müşterileri Üzerinde Bir Uygulama

Öz

Bu çalışmanın amacı su sporları hizmeti sunan işletmelerdeki hizmet kalitesinin müşteri sadakatine olan etkisinin incelenmesidir. Çalışmanın verileri Muğla ilinde su sporları hizmeti sunan ticari işletmelerin müşterilerinden elde edilmiştir. Veri toplama araçları olarak; hizmet kalitesini ölçmek amacıyla Yıldız ve Kara (2012) tarafından geliştirilen QSport-14 Ölçeği, müşteri sadakatini ölçmek amacıyla Zeithaml, Berry ve Parasuraman (1996) tarafından geliştirilen Müşteri Sadakati Ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Bu çalışmadaki verilerin değerlendirilmesinde tanımlayıcı istatistik, geçerlik ve güvenirlik analizi, korelasyon ve hiyerarşik regresyon analizi kullanılmıştır. Analiz sonuçları hizmet kalitesinin müşteri sadakati üzerinde güçlü etkisinin olduğunu göstermiştir (β=0,713; p<0,01). Ayrıca hizmet kalitesinin üç alt boyutunun müşteri sadakatine olan etkisi ayrı ayrı incelenmiştir. Benzer şekilde personel (eğitmenler) (β=0,542; p<0,01), fiziksel özellikler (β=0,691; p<0,01) ve program (β=0,597; p<0,01) alt boyutları da müşteri sadakatini anlamlı ve pozitif olarak etkilemiştir. Bu sonuçlar hizmet kalitesinin müşteri sadakatini sağlamada önemli bir araç olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Bu bağlamda bu çalışma işletme yöneticilerine belirli aralıklarla hizmet kalitesi ölçümlerini yapmalarını önermektedir. Böylece, ortaya çıkabilecek zayıf alanlar için iyileştirme ve gelişme fırsatı sağlanabilir. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Hizmet Kalitesi
• Müşteri Sadakati
• Su Sporları İşletmesi

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