Service quality has been extensively used to improve corporate performance in business; however, few studies have applied this concept to the sports field. In Taiwan, students' sporting events play an important role in national sports development as they are the main channels in which to incubate elite athletes and a way to develop professional experiences related to holding mega-sports events. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is the application of the service quality concept to sports events. Specifically, a model was proposed to examine the relationships among service quality, perceived value, and satisfaction. Self-administered questionnaire surveys were completed by 356 student athletes recruited from the 2013 National Tug of War Competition in Taiwan. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with LISREL 8.52. Results of this study indicated that the research model fit the data well. Participants' overall satisfaction was directly influenced primarily by perception of event value, followed by staff service quality and interaction service quality; finally, the perceived event value served as a mediator, and significant indirect effects on participants' satisfaction were found in administrative service quality and facility service quality. The study established a model including service quality, value, and * The Corresponding Author Contemporary Management Research 276 satisfaction for tug of war competitions. Suggestions for sports organizers and implications for future studies are provided.
The study attempted to explore the relationships among recreation hassles, coping, and hiker satisfaction and to examine the moderating role of coping in the relationship between hassles and satisfaction. Questionnaire surveys were conducted on trails in Yangmingshan National Park in Taiwan in spring 2011. Overall, 316 questionnaires were completed, of which 301 were valid. The results indicated that recreation hassles correlated positively with all coping strategies. Further analysis indicated that the coping behaviors of rationalization significantly moderated the relationship between recreation hassles and hiker satisfaction. The study suggested that an increase in the perceived hassles decreases the satisfaction of hikers. It also indicated that the engagement of the coping strategy of rationalization was likely to decrease the negative effects of hassles on hiker satisfaction. Although a number of studies have discussed a similar argument, relevant empirical works were insufficient. This study clearly confirmed the moderating effect of emotion-focused coping on the relationship between recreation hassles and hiker satisfaction. The study suggests that the Park Headquarters should give the hikers more information on the difficulties and the use of the trails so that the hikers could choose one in accordance with their abilities as well as the frequency of the use of trails.
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