Análisis de Importancia-Valoración (IPA) y Modelo Kano aplicados a centros fitness de la Comunidad de Madrid

The growing interest in physical activity in last years has turned fitness centers into a key part in healthy lifestyle promotion. The competitiveness among companies in the fitness industry requires an in-depth study of their management. A hybrid approach of Importance-Performance Analysis and Kano Model is proposed to deepen the customer perception. A questionnaire was designed and distributed to 419 fitness centers members of the Community of Madrid (243 men and 176 women) with a mean age of 32.33 years (SD = 11.50). The results showed the priority elements for managers, as well as statistically significative differences (p<0.05) according to business model, genre, seniority, academic training and closeness to member homes. Cleanliness and hygiene, level of maintenance, kindness in customer service, closeness to member homes and days and hours of operation were identified as priorityEl creciente interés por la actividad física en los úl-timos años ha hecho que los centros fitness se hayan convertido en un pilar fundamental para la promoción de hábitos de vida saludables. La competitividad entre empresas del sector del fitness hace necesario el estu-dio en profundidad de la gestión que en ellas se está llevando a cabo. Se propone la aplicación conjunta del Análisis de Importancia-Valoración y del Modelo Kano para profundizar en la percepción del usuario. Se di-señó un cuestionario y se distribuyó a 419 usuarios de centros fitness de la Comunidad de Madrid (243 hom-bres y 176 mujeres) con una edad media de 32.33 años (SD = 11.50). Los resultados permitieron profundizar en los elementos con mayor necesidad de atención por parte de los gestores, así como establecer diferencias es-tadísticamente significativas (p<0.05) según el modelo de negocio, género, antigüedad, formación académica y tiempo de desplazamiento. Se identificaron como ele-mentos prioritarios la limpieza e higiene, el estado de conservación, la amabilidad en el trato, la proximidad a los hogares y el horario y días de apertura de los centros fitness.Actividad Física y Deport

Use of video games in Physical Education and self-concept development in adolescence: sex-based differences

Adolescence is the period of growth where major changes occur in all the dimensions that make up the human being. Also, the great current use of new technologies should be considered, specifically for this age group, the video games. The main aim of this study was to explore the relationship between the use of a video game in the field of Physical Education and the development of self-concept in adolescents, taking into account differences by sex. In addition, the effect of the video game used in the practice of the individual technique in basketball was analyzed. The analyses revealed that there was no improvement in self-concept in either the experimental or the control group, but that there were differences between sexes. Girls showed a greater improvement in physical and emotional self-concept than boys. In the case of basketball, there were improvements in individual basketball technique in both groups as well as by sex. In this way, it can be concluded that the use of video games in adolescence can positively influence the improvement of the individual basketball technique and the self-concept of girls.La adolescencia es el periodo de crecimiento donde se producen mayores cambios en todas las dimensiones que componen al ser humano. A este hecho hay que sumarle el gran uso actual de las nuevas tecnologías, concretamente para este grupo de edad, los videojuegos. El objetivo principal de este estudio fue explorar la relación entre el uso de un videojuego en el ámbito de Educación Física y el desarrollo del autoconcepto en adolescentes atendiendo a las diferencias por sexos. Además, se analizó el efecto del videojuego utilizado en la práctica de la técnica individual en baloncesto. Los análisis revelaron que no hay mejoras en el autoconcepto ni en el grupo experimental ni en el grupo control, pero que sí hubo diferencias entre sexos. Tras la intervención se observó una mejora en el autoconcepto físico y emocional mayor en las chicas que en los chicos. En el caso del baloncesto, sí se produjeron mejoras en la técnica individual del baloncesto en ambos grupos como por sexo. De este modo, se puede concluir que el uso de videojuegos en la adolescencia puede influir positivamente en la mejora de la técnica individual del baloncesto y en el autoconcepto de las chicas

Commitment to the Future: The Tour de France Rides for a More Sustainable World

(a) Situation faced: The Tour de France, with more than a century of history, provides great opportunities for raising awareness of socially responsible behaviors among citizens, not only from France but also from other regions in the world; (b) Action taken: The Tour de France is committed to the future. Responsible actions are deployed in three main axons: sustainable transportation, commitment with the charter of 15 eco-friendly commitments, and specific in-route measures; (c) Results achieved: Currently, the Tour de France is a leading sport event in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility. Their actions positively influence large social masses from all over the world; (d) Lessons learned: This case provides good examples of a socially responsible sport event that spreads messages to national and international spectators.Sin financiaciónNo data WoSNo data Scopus670 SPI - ICEE (2018), 4/26 Economía - Editoriales extranjerasUE

Combating Bullying and Judgment Through Socially Responsible Marketing

(a) Situation faced: More than 64.2 million members in 2021 support the United States as the leading fitness market in the world. Planet Fitness, with more than 13.5 million members and 2,124 stores has a great position for positively influencing society in several ways: increasing the adherence to physical activity, supporting general well-being, and promoting socially responsible consumption. (b) Action taken: Planet Fitness is self-proclaimed to be a Judgement Free Zone®, where people can exercise without any type of intimidation. All their centers are provided with a ‘Lunk Alarm’, a loud siren that goes off when members behave in an intimidating way. This is part of the Judgement Free Generation® project, designed to combat bullying and judgment in today’s society. (c) Results achieved: Planet Fitness was honored in 2017 with the Gold Halo Award in the social services category for excellence in corporate social impact. In 2021, this movement is one of the most important and influencing programs in the fitness industry worldwide. (d) Lessons learned: This case is unquestionably a great example of socially responsible marketing in the scope of the fitness and wellness industry. This work is essential for practitioners, educators, university students, and researchers from any field of work who wish to make a positive impact on consumers and society through socially responsible marketing. Case problem: How can large fitness center chains influence the responsible consumption of members?Sin financiaciónNo data WoSNo data Scopus88 SPI - ICEE (2018), 2/26 Economía - Editoriales extranjerasUE

Sustainability Marketing in the National Football League (NFL): The Case of the Philadelphia Eagles

A growing number of organizations are embracing green practices. In particular, the National Football League (NFL) has a long experience in successful marketing strategies, including sustainability marketing. In addition to being the biggest professional league in the world, it is also one of the most concerned about sustainability needs. The example of a particular football team is presented in this chapter. The Philadelphia Eagles run the Go Green campaign, which is the most influencing sustainability program of any professional sport club. Since 2003, they are developing a sustainability marketing strategy, which takes advantage of the power of the sport to influence fans, without losing interest in the game. Today, the Philadelphia Eagles stadium can produce about 33% of its entire yearly energy usage.Sin financiaciónBook Citation Index (Business; Management)No data Scopus104 SPI – ICEE (2018), 1/26 Economía – Editoriales extranjerasUE

Estudio de los factores críticos de éxito en los centros fitness de gestión privada de la Comunidad de Madrid

Tesis inédita presentada en la Universidad Europea de Madrid. Facultad de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte. Programa de Doctorado en Actividad Física y DeporteEl aumento de la práctica de actividad física en la sociedad actual ha producido un crecimiento exponencial del número de centros fitness. Ante la gran competitividad y la necesidad de seducir a un cliente muy experto, es necesario que la toma de decisiones de los gestores sea la acertada. Con el fin de determinar los Factores Críticos de Éxito en los centros fitness de gestión privada de la Comunidad de Madrid, se han desarrollado tres estudios diferenciados, aunque interrelacionados entre sí. El Estudio 1, mediante entrevistas semiestructuradas a una muestra de 23 gestores de centros fitness, determinó los elementos más importantes, identificó las principales preocupaciones existentes y estableció los estándares de gestión comunes. Por su parte, el Estudio 2 aplicó el Análisis de Importancia-Valoración en una muestra de 54 gestores. Por último, el Estudio 3 empleó el Análisis de Importancia-Valoración y el Modelo Kano de manera conjunta sobre una muestra de 419 clientes. Los resultados revelaron que la amabilidad en el trato con el cliente, unas clases colectivas impecables y actualizadas acorde a las tendencias del sector, la proximidad, limpieza, las acciones de marketing a través de redes sociales, la calidad en duchas y taquillas, así como una buena conservación del material, máquinas y espacios deportivos constituyen Factores Críticos de Éxito. Además, la amplitud y los servicios periféricos, como médico y fisioterapeuta, son determinantes en centros premium. Por su parte, la existencia de piscina o SPA debe estar sujeta a la necesidad de diferenciarse de la competencia. Toda esta información se considera fundamental para los gestores de centros fitness. [Resumen Teseo]The increase of the level of physical activity in today’s society has generated an exponential growth in the number of fitness centers. Given the great competitiveness and the need to seduce expert customers, managers’ decision-making should be appropriate. In order to determinate Critical Success Factors in privately managed fitness centers in the Community of Madrid, three different, but interrelated studies have been developed. Study 1, was conducted using semi-structured interviews on a sample of 23 managers, determined the most important elements, identified their main concerns, and established management standards. Study 2 applied Importance-Performance Analysis in a sample of 54 managers. Finally, Study 3 used a combination of Importance-Performance Analysis and the Kano Model on a sample of 419 users. The results showed that kindness dealing with clients, flawless group fitness classes according to the trends in the industry, closeness to members homes, cleanliness, marketing through social media, the quality of showers and lockers, as well as a high level of maintenance of material, equipment and activity spaces are Critical Success Factors. In addition, large activity spaces and peripheral services are critical in premium centers. Regarding swimming pools or SPAs, their presence should be subject to the need to differentiate from competitors. All this information is considered essential for fitness centers managers. [Resumen Teseo]UE

Social Sensing and Individual Brands in Sports: Lessons Learned from English-Language Reactions on Twitter to Pau Gasol’s Retirement Announcement

Pau Gasol announced his retirement on 5 October 2021. Subsequently, a number of users virtually reacted. Twitter is one of the most popular social media platforms, with more than 368 million active users, generating large-scale social data. This study used data from Twitter for analyzing social sensing related to an individual brand, Pau Gasol’s retirement announcement, from a quantitative and qualitative content analysis perspective. Pau Gasol’s farewell can be considered a unique event to which many people are emotionally attached, providing a great opportunity for understanding sports virtual ecosystems. A total of 2089 tweets in the English language were recovered from Tuesday 5 October 2021 at 3:00 to Thursday 7 October 2021 at 23:59, Greenwich Mean Time +00:00 time zone. During this time, posts were observed to be mainly influential during and right after Pau Gasol’s ceremony. The tweets that created more impact were published by news sources or by sports reporters. Lastly, the themes that emerged showed that the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA were the two most important milestones in Pau Gasol’s career. The data can be used to detect potential areas of controversy or other issues to be addressed in order to preserve the athlete’s public image. These results are considered of interest for reaching better knowledge of sport virtual environments through social sensing, supporting the idea of users acting as sensors

Service Perceptions in Fitness Centers: IPA Approach by Gender and Age

Background: The number of fitness practitioners has increased in the last decades. A deeper understanding of user perceptions is required for better service design. Methods: An importance-performance analysis (IPA) and correlational analysis were performed on a sample of 414 members (173 women and 241 men) with a mean age of 32.33 years (SD = 11.50) and recruited from 25 fitness centers of Community of Madrid, Spain. Results: The results show that women&rsquo;s levels of importance and performance are higher than men in most of the service attributes. Women also correlate with a higher priority than men in core elements of the service, such as the variety and number of activities, personal training and fitness service quality. Female members feel more attracted by services like swimming pools and other peripheral services, like a welcome pack and medical or physiotherapist service. According to age, older members feel less satisfied than young users with the cleanliness of activity spaces and with the safety of lockers. Conclusions: Differences in perceptions by age and gender were identified among members of fitness centers. These results should be considered by private and public organizations to provide the best practices and tailored services for engaging more people in physical activity

Best Practices for Fitness Center Business Sustainability: A Qualitative Vision

The growing interest in fitness services is demanding optimal service management and operation. This research aims to identify the best practices in fitness center management for increasing customer engagement and for long-term stability and sustainability of the business. A qualitative approach through 23 semi-structured interviews to fitness center managers was performed in Spain, covering private centers with diverse business models (7 low-cost, 13 mid-market, and 3 premium). The managers were asked about their characteristics, the fitness center characteristics, and the managerial decisions and individual opinion. The results showed the best practices divided into five sections: customer service, offered service, marketing, facilities, and general terms and conditions. Kind customer service, the existence of loyalty programs, enough tangible quality, and online marketing strategies are essential for fitness centers&rsquo; success. Additionally, a fair fee and a maximum of a 15 min trip to the center should be guaranteed. This information has clear implications for promoting sporting habits and for engaging more people in physical activity, complementing the extensive quantitative data in the existing literature

Impact of Products and Services Innovations on Consumer Behavior: The Portuguese Fitness Industry

The fitness industry is one of the reference services for increasing the adherence of society to physical activity. The high demands, the professionalization of the sector, and the pandemic outbreak have generated the need to adapt to new contexts. Thus, innovation plays a crucial role in the current context of the fitness industry. Portugal is one of the promising markets in the Ibero-American sports. With more than 1,100 fitness clubs serving 688,210 members (with a decrease of 30% after COVID-19), fitness service providers are required to seek new strategies to positively impact consumer behaviors. Specifically, three main lines of innovation are leading the change in Portugal: different business models; new price segments; high technology. All these elements potentially have a positive effect on consumer behavior. The case of GO Fit company is exhibited for illustrating the good practices performed by this fitness operator, which is an excellent example in the Ibero-American fitness industry.Sin financiaciónSPI 2022UE