Background: In the sports sector, the expected outcome of having loyal fans is equated with the amount and frequency of game attendance, the purchase of team merchandise, following the club's results in the media, and participation in discussions about the club, whereas the level of loyalty is determined by team identification and customer satisfaction with the team's performance. However, previous studies have not investigated the differentiation of the loyalty of club fans across different sports disciplines.To fill this research gap, the goals of the study were to measure the difference in loyalty behaviors in sports club fans and their determinants across disciplines and to find whether the discipline can affect the general level of loyalty despite other determinants. Material and methods:The study was conducted in the form of an online survey (n = 1349) spread with the use of commercial advertisements in social media.Results: Football and speedway fans have higher levels of identification and consumption behaviors than fans of clubs belonging to other sports disciplines. Contrary to expectations, satisfaction with a team's performance made no significant difference among sport fans concerning match attendance and interest-in-media, and it had limited impact on merchandise purchasing. Conclusions:This study supports evidence from previous observations indicating the leading role of identification in enhancing loyalty behaviors among sports fans. The combination of findings provides some support for the conceptual premise that loyalty behaviors and their determining factors are varied across sports disciplines.

Given the increasing importance of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in the global tourism market, the purpose of the study was to estimate weights customers assign to main attributes of tourist accommodations embodied in easily observed eWOM numerical ratings and subsequently to determine segments of customers with homogenous preferences. To this goal, the preferences tourists attach to price and seven other accommodation attributes rated by Internet users on Booking.com were revealed with the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Next, a two-stage clustering procedure based on these preferences was undertaken followed by profiling of the clusters in terms of their socio-demographics and travel characteristics. The results show that even if the ranking of the attributes is roughly the same for all the segments (with cleanliness, value for money, and location always in top four), all eight attributes effectively segment tourists into three clusters: “quality-seekers” (45% of the market), “bargain-seekers” (35%), and “cleanliness-seekers” (20%). The segments differ in terms of tourists’ income and expenditures, type of accommodation, actual payer for accommodation, and trip purpose. In contrast, socio-demographics, and most tourists stay variables are alike across the segments. The proposed method of benefit segmentation provides a new perspective for an exploitation of eWOM data by accommodation providers in their marketing strategy.

Research question: The goal of this research is to determine patterns and evolution of relative technical efficiency, as well as its role in changes of total factor productivity of the public spending on sports in EU member countries. Research methods: An input-oriented, variable returns to scale model of data envelopment analysis and Malmquist productivity index are applied. They involve two outputs (mass participation in sport and elite sport successes), and two inputs (public and households' spending on sports). Results and Findings: The technical efficiency across EU countries shows a clear heterogeneity and volatility. Aside from six to seven efficient countries in each time period, other countries register a continuum of inefficiency scores, down to 0.08-0.20, which is indicative of important potential savings in public spending. From a time perspective, five patterns of efficiency and productivity evolution are identified. The common phenomenon is a deterioration of production possibilities which is not offset by rising managerial efficiency. Implications: The study contributes to the comparative research of sport systems in Europe. Its results may enable peer learning and inform future initiatives, both at the national level and in the framework of the emerging European sport policy. In particular, the study indicates benchmark countries for each inefficient country, which is an interesting start for further qualitative exploration for both researchers and policy makers.

The low level of physical activity amongst Poles is not only a social problem, but also a big challenge for commercial organizations. The aim of the thesis was to determine indicating factors influencing the maximum price that students are prone to pay for physical activity. The research was based on the opinions of 398 respondents (students from Krakow’s academies). A Chi-square test of independence was used to compare the distribution of the observed variables with their theoretical distribution.The test results show that the maximum price that students are prone to pay for a single admission ticket and for a monthly pass for participating in physical activity is correlated with the price of complementary goods, participation in free and paid kinesthetic forms of recreation, and their main subject of study. In the case of the decision to purchase monthly passes (as opposed to a ticket for single admission), the student’s income and motivation to exercise are also important. On the other hand, declarative price is not influenced by the gender and former sports activity of interviewees.

Internet and related technologies have revolutionized the distribution process in the accommodation sector, giving priority to big, online intermediaries, often at the expense of the direct booking channels of small and medium independent hotels. In order to regain their independency and flexibility in distribution strategy, hotel managers need to learn more about the profiles of contemporary online bookers visiting their region. This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of similarities and differences between consumers choosing among various online distribution channels for their tourist accommodations, and therefore help accommodation providers better manage their distribution and marketing strategies. The study is based on primary data that were collected among tourists in Cracow using a convenience sampling. The collected data was sorted, grouped and analyzed using basic statistical tools. The analysis led to determination of the size, as well as socio-demographic, and consumption features of four groups of tourists according to the online accommodation channel they used: booking.com, airbnb.com, other online channels, or online directly. The findings confirm the important role played by OTAs in the distribution of accommodation services, whereas the rate of direct online bookings recorded was lower than expected. Given the predominance of Booking.com in the market, its clients represent the typical customer in Cracow. Nevertheless, some differences among the four groups are observed in terms of age, travel party composition, first vs. repeat visitors, country of residence, length of stay, daily accommodation expenditure, and type of accommodation.