Structural relationship between market demand and member commitment associated with the marketing of martial arts programs

Abstract

Purpose This study was conducted to ensure that the selected antecedent concepts, including market demand and psychological factors, were fully focused and studied in detail and depth. The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a theoretical framework that specifies direct and indirect relationships among market demand, perceived benefits, perceived constraint, perceived value, consumer satisfaction and member commitment in martial arts programs. Design/methodology/approach Research participants (n=595) were martial arts school participants, who resided in the USA. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to evaluate the measurement model and the proposed model was tested by conducting structural equation modeling analyses. Findings Findings of this study indicated that perceived benefits and perceived constraints partially mediated the relationship between the market demand factors and perceived value, which in turn influenced member satisfaction and commitment. Economic Condition Consideration was found to be the most critical predictor of market demand. Originality/value Generating what-to-do and how-to-do implications that were specific to martial arts school and marketing practices were the priority of the investigators of this study. Administrators of martial arts programs may consider adopting the resultant theoretical framework as a general guide in their marketing efforts to recruit and retain program participants.

Measuring Sports’ Perceived Benefits and Aggression-Related Risks: Karate vs. Football

“…In line with the premise that gave raise to this study, perceived physical, emotional, cognitive, and social benefits were distinguishable outcomes of karate and football. Thus, for a fine-grained analyses of sports perceived benefits, it seems advisable to use multidimensional rather unidimensional scales, as done before ( Kim et al, 2009 ; Barfield and Malone, 2013 ; Kim and Zhang, 2019 ). Further supporting this conclusion, results on the convergent/discriminant validity between the two versions of the PBAR karate and football versions were also as expected.…”

“…According to literature on PA benefits (for a review see American College of Sports Medicine, 2012 ), perceived benefits were organized into four domains: physical, cognitive, emotional, and social. Four items were generated for each domain, in line with empirically based effects of sports in general and karate and football in particular, and inspired by other instruments, namely, the bi-dimensional scale of Kim and Zhang (2019) measuring psychological and physical benefits in martial arts; the uni-dimensional scale of Kim et al (2009) tapping personal benefits in taekwondo; the multidimensional scale of Lakes et al (2016) assessing physical, cognitive, emotional, and social benefits in partnered dancing; and the benefits sub-scale of the parent perceptions of PA developed by Lakes et al (2019) . Physical benefits focused on disease prevention as well as improvement of body posture, muscular strength, and motor coordination ( Oja et al, 2015 ; Rios et al, 2018 ; Kotarska et al, 2019 ; Zouhal et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Moreover, Barfield and Malone (2013) characterized the perceived benefits to exercise among power wheelchair soccer players, using a bidimensional scale tapping personal and environmental benefits. In the field of martial arts, studies on market demands used unidimensional scales targeting either psychological ( Kim et al, 2009 ), or physical and psychological benefits ( Kim and Zhang, 2019 ). Rogowska and Kuśnierz (2013) also used a measure combining cognitive, behavioral, and affective dimensions.…”

Attachment points, team identification and sponsorship outcomes: evidence from the Indian Premier League

“…The attitude that individuals form about a sponsor influences their consumer behaviour. Attitude towards a sponsor has been studied extensively in the sports marketing and sponsorship literature (Biscaia et al , 2013; Dick, 2019; Kyoum Kim et al , 2011; Kim and Zhang, 2019; Lee and Cho, 2009; Maricic et al , 2019; Mazodier and Merunka, 2012; Visentin et al , 2016; Zaharia et al , 2016a, b). According to Alexandris et al (2007), the development of a favourable attitude towards a sponsor is a pivotal element of sponsorship effectiveness.…”

A case study on service quality perceptions and member retention towards Taekwondo participants in North America

“…Therefore, the Business success and future growth in a highly competitive market environment depends on how well martial arts organizations understand their consumers and adapt to changes in consumer demand. It is important for the administrators of martial arts programs to identify unique variables that directly affect an individual's decision to retain a program (Kim et al, 2013;Kim & Zhang, 2019).…”