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Reframing the service environment in the
fitness industry
Eric Macintosh
a
& Alison Doherty
a
a
School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Health Sciences , The University of
Western Ontario , London, Ontario, Canada , N6A 3K7
Published online: 17 Sep 2007.
To cite this article: Eric Macintosh & Alison Doherty (2007) Reframing the service environment in the fitness
industry, Managing Leisure, 12:4, 273-289, DOI: 10.1080/13606710701546835
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13606710701546835
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Reframing the service environment in the
tness industry
Eric MacIntosh and Alison Doherty
School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Western Ontario London,
Ontario, Canada N6A 3K7
Understanding how to be competitive within the tness industry requires a fundamental awareness
of the service environment at the club level. To date, research on the tness industry has placed con-
siderable focus on the notion of service quality, particularly such elements as equipment, pro-
grammes, facilities and ancillary services, and its role in client satisfaction and retention. Recent
research suggests that an organizations culture the values, beliefs and assumptions that reect
how things are done within an organization may be perceived outside the organization as well.
The objective of the study was to examine the relationships between what have thus far been ident-
ied as key service elements for tness organizations, organizational culture values, and the atti-
tudes and intentions of client members from one private tness company operating in Canada.
Findings showed that both the service elements and the corporate values were signicantly associ-
ated with members satisfaction and intentions to stay. The ndings suggest that what has typically
been conceptualized as the service environment of tness clubs should be revised to include organ-
izational culture elements.
INTRODUCTION
The role the tness industry plays in offering
an environment where people can engage in
physical activity is important for both indi-
vidual and community wellbeing. Popular
trade literature contends that the service
environment of a tness organization is a
factor in member satisfaction and retention
and also bottom line protability (Gerson,
1999; McCarthy, 2004). Understanding the
impact of the service environment in satisfy-
ing and retaining members is vital for tness
managers. The business of managing a
tness organization requires placing a con-
siderable emphasis on servicing the client
member. Essentially, the belief is that by
focusing on the service environment,
members will be satised and more likely
to stay, and the organization can benet
from revenue streams and reducing the
costs associated with attracting new
members (McCarthy, 2004). Therefore, cater-
ing to the needs of the membership base is of
the utmost concern to management strategy
in this competitive industry.
In order to compete, survive and prosper in
the tness industry, the service environment
needs to be operating at a high level. Cavnar
et al. (2004), in their study on the quality of
recreation facilities, noted such things as the
cleanliness of the restroom, the equipment
and amenities, and maintenance and safety
issues as being important to the customers
assessment of the facility. These elements
are also important across the tness industry,
whether the facility operates in the private or
public sector, is a womens-only club, or a
coed club. Today, most tness clubs focus
on cleanliness, have similar workout equip-
ment and facilities that are alike in both
Managing Leisure ISSN 1360-6719 print/ISSN 1466-450X online # 2007 Taylor & Francis
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
DOI: 10.1080/13606710701546835
Managing Leisure 12, 273289 (October 2007)
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concept and design, are staffed with educated
personnel, and even offer comparable pro-
gramming (i.e., step-classes, spin-classes and
mind-body classes). Arguably, these elements
of the service environment have become a
blueprint or standard of excellence to
achieve competitive success.
Within sport and recreation management
literature, much has been written about
managing a tness facility, such as the chara-
cteristics that comprise facility operations,
the importance of a clean and well-kept
environment, and the importance of servicing
the client member (e.g., Alexandris et al.,
2004a, b; Bodet, 2006; Chang and Lee, 2004;
Chelladurai and Chang, 2000; Chelladurai
et al., 1987; Howat et al., 1996; Howat et al.,
1999; Huset-McGuire et al., 2003; Kim and
Kim, 1995; Lam et al., 2005; Lentell, 2000;
Papadimitriou and Karteliotis, 2000). The
common focus of these studies has been the
notion of service quality.
The literature suggests that organizational
culture may be another aspect of the service
environment that can inuence client
member attitudes and behaviour (Hatch
and Schultz, 1997; Kowalczyk and Pawlish,
2002). Organizational culture is commonly
known as the values, beliefs and basic
assumptions operating within an organiz-
ation (Schein, 1991), and has been expressed
as how things are done around here
(MacIntosh and Doherty, 2005). Elements of
an organizations culture that are observable
to the naked eye include artifacts and
symbols such as staff dress or uniforms,
grooming standards, posters and/or paint-
ings around the club, company logo and/or
visible mission statement, among others
(e.g., Smith and Shilbury, 2004). These
things reect what is valued in an organiz-
ation. Culture is also manifested in the
actions and behaviour of an organizations
staff, as it provides a guideline for their per-
formance (e.g., Smith and Shilbury, 2004).
Research on organizational culture has
focused almost exclusively on the effect of
culture on the staff of the organization.
However, there is reason to believe that
organizational culture has a notable impact
on people outside of the operational unit;
for example, the client member (Hatch and
Schultz, 1997; Kowalczyk and Pawlish, 2002).
Consumers perceptions of what is valued in
the organization, as reected in company arti-
facts, organizational policies and procedures,
and employee behaviour, help form their
image of the organization. The image or
impression left in the mind of an individual
can have important consequences with
respect to their attitude and behaviour
towards the organization (Robinson, 2006).
Ultimately, the concern for all managers
operating in the service sector is howthe con-
sumer of their service interprets the worth of
that service, and in the case of the tness
industry, the worth of the membership.
It would seem that part of this appraisal
may include the corporate values operating
in the organization that the client member
can feel and identify with. These may be
known to client members through their obser-
vation of artifacts and symbols of the organi-
zation, as well as through their contact with
employees whose behaviour reects the
organizations culture. Thus, both organi-
zational culture and service elements may
be important factors in customer perceptions
of an organization.
The purpose of this study was to examine
the relationships between both organiz-
ational culture values and standard service
elements and customer satisfaction and
retention in one private tness organization
in Canada. This paper considers whether
what is typically regarded as the service
environment in the tness industry should
be reframed to include the corporate values
operating within an organization. The follow-
ing review of literature identies how the
service environment in the tness industry
has been conceptualized and measured to
date, and the potential role of organizational
culture in that environment.
274 MacIntosh and Doherty
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CONCEPTUALIZING THE FITNESS
SERVICE ENVIRONMENT
Leveraging the value of ones service can
assist in both retention and expansion of
the existing membership base (Zeithaml,
2000). The service environment in general
has been shown to have a positive effect on
revenue streams via the intermediate goals
of membership satisfaction and strength-
ened retention (Meyer and Blumelhuber,
1998). When a member perceives they are
receiving a high level of service for their
money, or receiving good value, they will
be more loyal to their service provider
(Ham et al., 2003; Venetis and Ghauri, 2004).
In the tness industry, there have been
several efforts to conceptualize and
measure the service environment.
Chelladurai et al. (1987) developed the
Scale of Attributes of Fitness Services
(SAFS), a model which consists of ve dimen-
sions of tness services that represent the
members experience in a tness organiz-
ation: (1) primary core professional services
(e.g., qualications of those who test
member tness, number and variety of
tness classes, motivation provided by
instructor); (2) primary core consumer ser-
vices (e.g., number and variety of tourna-
ments organized, price of renting courts,
ease of reserving courts); (3) primary periph-
eral services (e.g., enthusiasm of reception-
ists, reputation of nursery staff, location of
reception); (4) primary facilitating goods
(e.g., clubs hours of operation, cleanliness
of equipment, type of weight training equip-
ment available); and (5) secondary consu-
mer services and facilitating goods (e.g.,
dining area, price of drinks in bar, variety of
the menu).
The primary segment includes all aspects
of the service that relate to tness, such as
instructors, equipment, reservation system,
and courts (Chelladurai et al., 1987, p. 161).
The secondary segment includes all the
goods and services within the tness club
that do not relate to tness per se, [such
as] food and beverage services (Chelladurai
et al., 1987, p. 161). As well, the authors con-
ceptualized peripheral services to include
the parking, laundry, and re safety pro-
cedures. Chelladurai et al. found that
primary facilitating goods was rated as the
most important dimension, although female
subjects rated the primary core professional
dimension as equally important. The authors
noted that, when consumers evaluate
whether to join a particular club, they may
base their decision on those aspects of the
club they can see, the physical evidence of
the tangible facilities and goods (p. 169).
The authors also noted that clubs attempt
to differentiate from their competition by
promoting secondary goods and services.
Yet, ndings showed that all groups ranked
secondary services and facilitating goods as
the least important dimensions (Chelladurai
et al., 1987).
Building on the SAFS model, Huset-
McGuire et al. (2003) agreed that primary
tness services offered by a tness organiz-
ation include three main dimensions (1)
core services, (2) facilitating goods and (3)
peripheral services but they expanded
the conceptualization of these dimensions.
The dimension of core services, as noted
by the authors, includes the professional ser-
vices and consumer services identied in the
SAFS model, but also programme services
which was added based on the work of
Chelladurai and Chang (2000), Howat et al.
(1996), Howat et al. (1999) and Kim and Kim
(1995). The programme services dimension
consists of the variety of tness intensity
levels, the convenience of the exercise
sessions, and the availability of rewards or
incentives (Huset-McGuire et al., 2003).
Huset-McGuire et al. also expanded the
conceptualization of professional services
to include any service that requires special
knowledge and comprehensive training of
the individuals responsible for delivering
the service (p. 263). Professional services
Reframing the service environment in the tness industry 275
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make up a large component of their model
and include elements such as tness testing
and screening, training and instruction,
leader feedback, leader social support and
leader physical traits. The dimension
labelled facilitating goods was separated
into supporting facilities (i.e., cleanliness,
ventilation, temperature and size and
layout of workout area) and equipment (i.e.,
maintenance, accessibility, variety). The
nal dimension of the model, peripheral ser-
vices, includes the venue aesthetics (i.e.,
general ambiance) and participants (i.e.,
social context) with consideration given to
the participants social support and physical
traits (Huset-McGuire et al., 2003).
Thus far, conceptual work on the tness
service environment has focused on such
things as the core services offered through
professional staff certications, training,
education and testing. Consideration has
also been given to the number and variety
of tness classes offered and the general
tness leadership. The cleanliness and
variety of the equipment found in the clubs
and the state of the locker rooms have
been of interest, as have the hours of oper-
ations and parking. Focus has also been
placed on secondary or peripheral services
offered by a tness organization like the
juice bar or restaurant. These elements of
the service environment have been pro-
posed as key factors in club members atti-
tudes and behaviour.
MEASURING THE FITNESS SERVICE
ENVIRONMENT
Several tools have been used to measure
service quality in tness organizations
including both general service quality and
industry specic measures. A common
instrument used to assess level of service is
SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al., 1985, 1988).
This instrument has been used extensively
in the nancial and commercial sector, but
has also been used and adapted for tness
and leisure centre management (Alexandris
et al., 2004a; Williams, 1998; Wisniewski,
2001). The SERVQUAL instrument is a multi-
item tool used to quantify the service expec-
tation-perception gap of the dimensions of
reliability, responsiveness, assurance, tangi-
bles and empathy. Some of these service
attributes may be consistent with an organiz-
ations core values. The instrument has
come under some scrutiny due to its lack of
consideration regarding the role that per-
sonal culture and values play in evaluations
(Imrie et al., 2000), and its limited applica-
bility across different industries (Alexandris
et al., 2004a), however it is still considered
to be amongst the most popular models to
examine service quality (Alexandris et al.,
2004a; Wisniewski, 2001).
Indeed, Howat et al. (1996) drew from this
instrument, along with customer focus group
meetings, to develop the Centre for Environ-
mental and Recreation Management (CERM)
model to assess customer service quality
(CSQ). The CERM CSQ questionnaire is com-
prised of 15 core attributes used to measure
customers expectations compared to their
perceptions of service quality at the macro
level in leisure centres (Howat et al., 1996).
Four dimensions emerged from this ques-
tionnaire; core services, staff quality,
general facility and secondary services.
The authors noted that it is not surprising
that the CSQ dimensions are different from
the SERVQUAL dimensions since leisure
industry services include a range of very
different attributes compared to nancial
services (Howat et al., 1996, p. 87).
Further criticism levied against the
popular SERVQUAL application in the
tness and leisure industry is that the instru-
ment is missing one key dimension: outcome
quality (Alexandris et al., 2004a). Thus,
Alexandris et al. (2004a) incorporated the
outcome dimension of service into the
SERVQUAL and collected data in a private
health club operating within a larger chain
of clubs in Greece. The authors were
276 MacIntosh and Doherty
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interested in examining the ability of the
service quality dimensions to predict custo-
mers commitment to exercise programmes
(Alexandris et al., 2004a). Conrmatory
factor analysis did not support the original
structure of the SERVQUAL model in their
study. Furthermore, the SERVQUAL dimen-
sions that were supported predicted only
15% of the variance in client commitment,
although an additional 11% of the variance
was explained with the further consideration
of the outcome dimension. The authors
noted, providing quality services might not
be enough for health clubs to retain custo-
mers [and] might be one of the reasons for
the low retention rates reported in the
tness industry (Alexandris et al., 2004a,
p. 289). Thus, as Lentell (2000) noted, the
original hope of adopting the SERVQUAL
format and customizing it according to
industry has not been well founded (p. 4).
In another study on the Greek tness
industry, Alexandris et al. (2004b) tested a
simplied service quality model proposed
by Brady and Cronin (2001) that comprises
three dimensions: (1) interaction quality
(interpersonal interactions between custo-
mers and staff), (2) physical environment
(ambient conditions, facility design, and
social factors), and (3) outcome quality
(waiting time, other tangible elements).
Alexandris et al. (2004b) were interested in
examining its applicability for measuring
service quality in the tness industry
(p. 37). The authors found support for the
three-factor structure and noted that the
physical environment had the greatest
inuence on members satisfaction. They
also commented that a strong relationship
between the physical environment and
satisfaction was expected because custo-
mers of private tness clubs have high
expectations from the physical element of
the services (Alexandris et al., 2004b,
p. 46). The authors suggested that the inu-
ence of the service environment will spread
through word-of-mouth communication,
and thus a satised member is a highly
desirable asset for helping to market the
organization.
The Quality Excellence of Sports Centres
(QUESC) instrument was designed by Kim
and Kim (1995) to measure service quality
specically in the tness industry. This
instrument was developed for tness
centres in Korea, and consists of 12 dimen-
sions: ambiance, employee attitude,
reliability, information giving, programming,
personal consideration, price, exclusivity,
ease of mind, convenience, stimulation, and
social opportunity (Kim and Kim, 1995). As
Kim and Kim noted, the QUESC instrument
overcomes the weaknesses of SERVQUAL
by taking the form of an attitude model
based on customers importance-weighted
evaluations of performance for specic
service dimensions and by being tailored to
a specic industry (p. 211). However, the
QUESC model is not without its critics.
Poor factor structure and low internal con-
sistency values call into question the validity
and reliability of the scale (Alexandris
et al., 2004b). Likewise, Papadimitriou and
Karteloliotis (2000) tested the model and
found that it was an inadequate measure of
tness service quality in its original form,
however their study supported a four-factor
solution that included the dimensions of
tness instructor quality, facility attraction
and operation, programme availability and
delivery, and other service factors (e.g.,
safety, cost).
More recently, Lam et al. (2005) designed
and developed the Service Quality Assess-
ment Scale (SQAS) specically for health
and tness clubs to evaluate their level of
service. The tool was constructed by consid-
ering elements of the SERVQUAL instrument,
the SAFS and other service quality models
found in the literature (Lam et al., 2005).
The SQAS consists of six factors that
emerged after rigorous testing and validation
measures, and include: staff, programme,
locker room, physical facility, workout facility,
Reframing the service environment in the tness industry 277
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and child-care. As Lam et al. suggested when
applying the SQAS in the health-tness
setting, the top management can simply
examine the mean service-quality score of
each factor of the SQAS to determine the
area of improvement (p. 106). This instru-
ment, while still in its infancy, is a promising
development for the tness management eld.
Recently, Bodet (2006) investigated the
nature of service attributes contributing to
customer satisfaction in a health club
context and found that the quality of
human factors, such as staff behaviour,
and non-tangible factors, such as image
were relatively important determinants of
participants satisfaction (p. 149). Results
of Bodets research tend to reduce the
importance of facilities or physical evi-
dence claimed by several authors (p.
160). Bodet noted that the focus to date
on basic service attributes seems to
describe a market sector that is not
mature yet (p. 160). Indeed, like the con-
ceptual models, the measurement of
service quality in the tness industry has
predominantly focused on the service
elements of physical environment, the
workout facility and equipment, tness pro-
gramming, supporting facilities and the
staff attitude towards the member.
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE WITHIN THE
FITNESS SERVICE ENVIRONMENT
To date, much is known about the service
environment in the tness industry.
However, the impact of an organizations
culture on the client member is not yet well
understood. Perhaps this is not surprising
since organizational culture is one of the
most recent considerations in organizational
theory to garner attention on how it can
impact a companys performance (Slack
and Parent, 2006).
The literature on organizational culture
has given rise to many variations in its
meaning. Despite this, common themes
have emerged which include the values,
beliefs, basic assumptions, shared under-
standings, and taken-for-granted meanings
operating within a company (Slack and
Parent, 2006, p. 275). These particular
elements tend to be shaped by the leaders
and senior managers of a company and
shared to some degree by employees of the
organization (Schein, 1991). Although
culture can, in theory, be known at three
levels (artifacts, values and beliefs, and
basic underlying assumptions; Schein,
1985), it is typically measured and indicated
as the corporate values of the organization
(Ashkanasy et al., 2000).
Schein (1999) argued that culture is deep,
extensive, and stable. It cannot be taken
lightly. If you do not manage culture, it
manages you (p. 185). Tushman and
OReilly (1997) reasoned that a shared under-
standing among staff of how things are done
within the organization can help create a
more transparent and efcient working
environment. They wrote that the values
and norms that drive behaviour, which com-
bined form an organizations culture, are
among the most critical factors in determin-
ing long-term strategic success (p. 100).
This premise has been supported by
several researchers in a variety of settings
(e.g., Colyer, 2000; Deal and Kennedy, 1999;
Keyton, 2005; Leo and Alan, 2000; MacIntosh
and Doherty, 2005; Scott et al., 2003; Smith
and Shilbury, 2004). Research has conrmed
the importance corporate values have on
staff attitude and behaviour, and ultimately
company performance. A strong and positive
culture that corresponds with the organiz-
ations mission and mandate has been
shown to help human resource departments
acquire recruits that are a better t with the
company (Goodman and Svyantek, 1999),
contribute to higher retention among
current employees (Bretz and Judge, 1994;
Sheridan, 1992), and foster superior perform-
ance over the long term (Bretz and Judge,
1994; Deal and Kennedy, 1999). Within the
278 MacIntosh and Doherty
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tness and leisure setting, MacIntosh and
Doherty (2005) found that staff perceptions
of organizational culture were signicantly
associated with their satisfaction with the
organization and their intent to stay with or
leave their job. In general, it is believed that
a strong and positive organizational culture
will contribute to organizational effective-
ness (Deal and Kennedy, 1999).
Hatch and Schultz (1997) and Kowalczyk
and Pawlish (2002) argued that organiz-
ational culture impacts the environment
beyond the staff of a rm and its internal
operating boundaries. Their particular inter-
est was the inuence of perceived organiz-
ational culture on consumers image of a
rm. Consumers develop a sense of what is
valued in an organization through visible
artifacts and symbols such as the corporate
logo, mission statement, and staff dress, as
well as staff behaviour as an indicator of
how things are done around here. Organiz-
ational culture may be particularly percepti-
ble in service organizations, such as tness
clubs, where there is high customer-
employee interface (e.g., Chelladurai and
Chang, 2000).
The notion that organizational culture may
be perceived beyond the organization has
received limited empirical investigation to
date. However, Kowalczyk and Pawlish
(2002) found evidence of a link between the
external perception of organizational culture
and corporate reputation. Specically, the
corporate values of decisiveness and pre-
cision were found to be predictive of corpor-
ate reputation in the computer technology
industry. Thus, we may expect client atti-
tudes and further behaviour with regard to a
company to be inuenced, at least in part,
by their perception of the organizations
culture. It is of interest in this study to
examine tness club members perceptions
of both organizational culture and standard
service elements, and to consider their
association with client satisfaction and
intent to leave.
METHOD
Focal Organization
The focus of this study was a large tness
chain with well over 100 facilities across
Canada. The organization operates in the
for-prot sector of the tness industry
where members pay fees to join a club. All
of the organizations tness facilities offer
the same basic service elements, such as
tness equipment, locker rooms, tness pro-
gramming, certied personal training, and
customer service staff. A number of the
tness facilities offer additional amenities
such as a swimming pool, hot tub and/or
sauna, as well as child-care, chiropractic
care, massage therapy, and tanning beds.
The organizations clubs are designed with
similar policies, procedures and rules and
regulations for staff to follow (i.e., proper uni-
forms/dress, opening and closing pro-
cedures, front desk check-in procedures,
etc.). Such guidelines are instilled under the
umbrella of a similar mission, vision and
purpose for all clubs to follow.
Participants and Procedure
Study participants were 113 client members
of one of ve clubs in the focal organization.
They comprised 67 women (59%) and 46
men. The average age of the participants
was 38 years (SD 14.26), ranging from 18
73 years. With respect to education, 18.6%
of the participants indicated that they had
received a high school degree or lower,
53.1% had a college/university degree,
26.5% had a graduate degree and two
people did not respond. The average mem-
bership length of study participants was 4.2
years (SD 4.8), and facility usage was, on
average, about16 times in a month
(M 15.7 times/month, SD 4.9).
Instrument
A survey instrument was designed to
measure client member perceptions of
organizational culture values and service
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elements, as well as client member satisfac-
tion and intent to leave and discontinue
their membership with the organization.
Part of the instrument built on a previous
investigation of staff perceptions of organiz-
ational culture within the same focal organiz-
ation (MacIntosh and Doherty, 2005). In that
study, personal interviews were conducted
with the Chief Executive Ofcer (CEO) and
Chief Operating Ofcer (COO) to identify
the corporate values they strive to engender
in the organizations culture. Interviews were
then triangulated with company documents
(e.g., training manuals, books, newsletters,
company website). Ten corporate values
were extracted from this data and were vali-
dated by the CEO and COO. An instrument
was developed from that research to
measure the staff perceptions of organiz-
ational culture through multiple items that
represent the manifestation of the corporate
values.
For the current study, the CEO and COO
were approached again to verify whether
the previously identied corporate values
were what they also intended to be trans-
mitted to the client membership base. With
the exception of the corporate value of
Growth, which focused exclusively on staff
personal growth, all of the corporate values
were retained. The nine values measured in
this study included Integrity (staff of the
organization follow through on promises,
do what they say they will do, are respon-
sible for their actions), Fitness (staff of the
organization are committed to tness of
members, value the role of tness, know
that tness makes a positive difference in
peoples lives), Peak Attitude (staff are
upbeat, motivated to serve, are energized),
Innovation (the organization is a leader,
information is cutting edge, staff are dedi-
cated to improving knowledge and skill),
Communication (members are listened to
and heard, information is easily accessible,
events and activities are clearly communi-
cated), Performance (organization is stable,
has a rich history, is successful), Trust
(members trust staff knowledge, have con-
dence in staff ability, can count on staff),
Care (staff care about members, members
come rst, members are respected) and
Passion (staff enjoy their work, are dedicated
to serving members, are passionate about
their job).
The items preserved from the original
survey were adjusted in order to represent
the members perception of the corporate
values. As an example, an original item for
the corporate value of Integrity was, the
organization does what it says it will do for
staff. This was adjusted to, the organization
does what it says it will do for members.
Hence, the items were adjusted from a staff
focus to a member focus while retaining the
essence of each corporate value. Another
example of an adjusted item was for the cor-
porate value of Trust, which initially was
employees can count on the organization
to look after them, and was adjusted to
members can count on staff to look after
them. In total, 43 items were used to
measure the corporate values as perceived
by client members of the organization.
The instrument also incorporated the
service elements found in the SQAS (Lam
et al., 2005). Several of the items in the
SQAS representing Staff corresponded with
items representing the corporate values of
the focal organization (i.e., Staff: willingness
to help, corresponded with Passion: staff
are passionate about helping members;
Staff: possession of required knowledge/
skills, corresponded with Trust: members
trust staff knowledge is up to date; Staff: cour-
tesy, corresponded with Care: staff are
friendly to members; and nally, Staff: com-
munication with members, corresponded
with the items of the corporate value Com-
munication). As a result, the SQAS scale
Staff was eliminated to avoid overlap. Consul-
tation with two top executive members of
the organization (COO and Director of
Member Services) also helped construct
280 MacIntosh and Doherty
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this portion of the instrument. From the con-
sultation, it was decided that the elements of
Ancillary Services (massage, sun-tanning,
food and drink), Memberships (reasonable
cost, good value, convenient payment
options) and Front Desk (convenience of
location, staff availability, easy check-in)
should be included as they are key elements
in the focal organization. The remaining
service elements included: Programmes
(variety, availability, convenience of sche-
duling), Equipment/workout facility (modern
looking, good variety, availability), Locker
Rooms (well maintained, clean, comfortable),
Facility (hours of operation, location,
parking, club layout), and Child Care (safe,
convenient hours, quality staff). A total of
34 items were used to measure the service
elements.
Participants were asked to indicate on a
scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly
agree) the extent to which they agreed or dis-
agreed that each item representing organiz-
ational culture values and service elements
was present within the tness club. Multiple
items were developed to measure client
member satisfaction. Respondents were
asked to rate on a scale of 1 (low) to 7
(high) their satisfaction with their member-
ship, with their club, and with the organiz-
ation as a whole. Further, respondents were
asked to rate on a scale of 1 (denitely not)
to 7 (denitely) whether they would rec-
ommend the club to others, and rate on a
scale of 1 (never) to 7 (always) whether
they would recommend the organization in
general to others. Multiple items were also
created for intent to leave. Participants
were asked to rate on a scale of 1 (never)
to 7 (always) how often they felt like drop-
ping their membership with the club, and
how often they felt like changing to another
tness club. They were also asked to rate if
they felt like they would 1 (leave very soon)
to 7 (always stay with the club), which was
reverse scored. Open-ended questions
asked participants what things they like
most and what, if anything, they dislike
about their club. Participants were also
asked to provide some basic demographic
data. The instrument was pilot tested with
a sample of current members (n 9) to
check for clarity of items and instructions.
No adjustments were needed.
RESULTS
Psychometric Properties
Cronbach alpha reliability analyses were per-
formed to determine the internal strength
and consistency of the scales. The reliability
values for all but one of the service element
scales were deemed adequate (DeVellis,
1991): Programmes (ve items, a 0.80),
Locker Room (three items, a 0.83), Child
Care (ve items, a 0.89), Membership
(three items, a 0.85), Ancillary Services
(four items, a 0.81), Equipment/workout
facility (three items, a 0.69), Front Desk
(three items, a 0.63). The reliability value
for the service element Facility (ve items,
a 0.57) was considered to be inadequate
and thus was removed from the study.
The reliability values for all of the corpor-
ate value scales were considered to be
acceptable (DeVellis, 1991): Care (seven
items, a 0.90), Passion (four items,
a 0.90), Trust (four items, a 0.88), Integ-
rity (six items, a 0.90), Fitness (three
items, a 0.84), Peak Attitude (four items,
a 0.88), Innovation (ve items, a 0.81),
Communication (ve items, a 0.85), Per-
formance (four items, a 0.81). The internal
consistency of the client member satisfac-
tion scale was acceptable (ve items,
a 0.94), as was the client member intent
to leave scale (three items, a 0.83).
Scale intercorrelations were used to
assess the interdependence among and
between the organizational culture values
and service elements (Table 1). Initially,
high correlations between the Care and
Passion scales (r 0.93) were observed,
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Table 1 Intercorrelation (r ) of service environment scales
Item 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Service Elements
1 Programmes 0.47

0.63

0.41

0.48

0.48

0.66

0.66

0.69

0.67

0.73

0.71

0.60

0.53

2 Locker Room 0.55

0.20 0.36

0.37

0.35

0.44

0.58

0.35

0.51

0.47

0.50

0.35

3 Equipment/workout 0.33

0.54

0.52

0.61

0.51

0.55

0.54

0.51

0.66

0.49

0.36

4 Child Care 0.37

0.58

0.30

0.51

0.52

0.42

0.38

0.49

0.51

0.25

5 Membership 0.61

0.51

0.42

0.63

0.50

0.47

0.47

0.47

0.27

6 Ancillary 0.55

0.54

0.63

0.50

0.49

0.55

0.54

0.40

7 Front Desk 0.50

0.53

0.43

0.49

0.52

0.44

0.35

Corporate Values
8 Trust 0.79

0.74

0.78

0.68

0.61

0.31

9 Integrity 0.76

0.79

0.79

0.81

0.42

10 Fitness 0.82

0.69

0.62

0.38

11 Peak Attitude 0.70

0.66

0.36

12 Innovation 0.79

0.51

13 Communication 0.47

14 Performance
Note:

Correlations signicant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Correlations signicant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
2
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and thus they were combined to form one
scale of Care/Passion (11 items, a 0.95).
Scale intercorrelations were recalculated
with the new variable of Care/Passion. High
correlations (r 0.85, Tabachnick and
Fidell, 2001) between Care/Passion and four
other corporate value scales were observed
and, as a result, the Care/Passion scale was
eliminated from the study. The remaining
corporate values and service elements were
considered to be sufciently independent
constructs (Tabachnick and Fidell, 2001).
Client Members Perceptions of the Service
Environment
It was of interest to consider the extent to
which members perceived service elements
and organizational culture values to be
present in the organization. With particular
reference to the service elements examined
in the study, Front Desk (M 6.21,
SD 0.64) and Equipment/workout facility
(M 6.13, SD 0.68) seemed to be the
most apparent service elements according
to the client members who participated
in this study. The remaining service
elements in descending order were Pro-
grammes (M 5.86, SD 0.71), Locker
Rooms (M 5.71, SD 1.06), Membership
(M 5.49, SD 1.01), Ancillary Services
(M 5.39, SD 0.88) and lastly Child
Care (M 4.94, SD 0.95). With particular
reference to the corporate values, Perform-
ance (M 6.02, SD 0.72), Fitness
(M 5.88, SD 0.87) and Peak Attitude
(M 5.76, SD 0.99) appeared to be
the strongest indicators of how things are
within the company. These were followed
in descending order by Trust (M 5.53,
SD 1.02), Innovation (M 5.44, SD 0.84),
Integrity (M 5.39, SD 1.07) and Communi-
cation (M 5.35, SD 1.01).
Client members satisfaction
Pearson correlations were used to analyse
the relationships between the constructs
and client members satisfaction. Cohens
(1992) effect size indices were used to dis-
tinguish between correlations representing
small (r 0.10), medium (r 0.30) and
large effects (r 0.50). A large effect indi-
cates a strong and meaningful relationship,
a medium effect represents a moderate or
apparent relationship, while a small effect
indicates what is likely a weak or trivial
association (Cohen, 1992; Parks et al.,
1999). Members satisfaction with the organ-
ization was signicantly associated with all
of the service elements and corporate
values in the study (p , 0.05) (see Table 2).
In particular, the service elements of Locker
Rooms (r 0.58), Programmes (r 0.58)
and Equipment/workout facility (r 0.57)
and the corporate values of Integrity
(r 0.68), Trust (r 0.58), Peak Attitude
(r 0.55) and Innovation (r 0.54), were all
found to be strongly associated with client
Table 2 Correlations (r) between corporate values,
service elements and members satisfaction and
intent to leave
Members
satisfaction r
Members
intent
to leave r
Integrity
2
0.68

Integrity
2
20.60

Trust
2
0.58

Peak Attitude
2
20.46

Locker Room
1
0.58

Front Desk
1
20.46

Programmes
1
0.58

Communication
2
20.46

Equipment/
workout
1
0.57

Innovation
2
20.45

Peak Attitude
2
0.55

Trust
2
20.43

Innovation
2
0.54

Programming
1
20.41

Front Desk
1
0.48

Membership
1
20.41

Communication
2
0.47

Locker Room
1
20.39

Membership
1
0.45

Equip/workout
1
20.38

Ancillary
1
0.39

Ancillary
1
20.34

Fitness
2
0.37

Fitness
2
20.30

Performance
2
0.26

Child Care
1
20.18

Child Care
1
0.25

Performance
2
20.08
1
Service Element
2
Corporate Value
Note:

p , 0.01,

p , 0.05.
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members satisfaction. The service elements
of Front Desk (r 0.48), Membership
(r 0.45) and Ancillary Services (r 0.39),
and the corporate values of Communication
(r 0.47) and Fitness (r 0.37) were found
to be moderately associated with client
member satisfaction and are considered to
be visible to the naked eye (Cohen, 1992).
The corporate value of Performance
(r 0.26) and the service element Child
Care (r 0.23) were weakly associated with
member satisfaction. Thus, to the extent
that members perceive that the service
elements and corporate values measured
here are evident in their tness club, they
will be satised with the organization. The
small sample size of the study did not
permit any further analyses.
Client members intent to leave
Pearson correlations were also used to
analyse the relationship between the con-
structs and the client members intent to
leave. Members intent to leave the organiz-
ation was signicantly and negatively associ-
ated with all of the service elements and all
but one of the corporate values (p , 0.05).
The stronger the members perception of
these service elements and corporate
values, the less likely they are to leave the
organization. According to Cohens (1992)
criteria, members intent to leave the organ-
ization was strongly associated with the cor-
porate value of Integrity (r 20.60).
Members intent to leave the organization
was moderately associated with the service
elements of Front Desk (r 20.46), Pro-
grammes (r 20.41) and Membership
(r 20.41), and the corporate values of
Peak Attitude (r 20.46), Communication
(r 20.46), Innovation (r 20.46) and
Trust (r 20.43). Moderate relationships
were also found for the service elements of
Locker Rooms (r 20.39), Equipment/
workout facility (r 20.38), Ancillary Ser-
vices (r 20.34), and the corporate value
of Fitness (r 20.30). The service element
of Child Care and the corporate value of Per-
formance were not signicantly associated
with intent to leave.
Members open-ended comments
In response to what things do you like most
about your club? participants were most
likely to comment that they liked the staffs
positive attitudes, followed by the variety
and availability of exercise equipment, the
convenience of the club, the overall cleanli-
ness of the facility, and the variety of
tness programmes available. In response
to what things do you dislike (if anything)
about your club? participants were most
likely to comment that they disliked the
time it took to repair exercise equipment, fol-
lowed by the lack of tness programmes
available, the sales push to purchase per-
sonal training, and the lack of staff presence
on the gym oor.
DISCUSSION
Capturing and understanding all aspects of
the service environment impacting the mem-
bership base is an important task for tness
and leisure management. Chelladurai and
Chang (2000) noted that it is the consumers
who know the quality of a service as they
experience it (p. 10). For managers asses-
sing their operations, it is good practice to
include the consumers of the service in an
evaluation of the service environment
(Robinson, 2006). This study examined the
perceptions of consumers within one
private tness company in Canada, and
hence, it is important to note that the per-
ceptions of the service elements and organiz-
ational culture values examined here are
specic to this organization.
The ndings identied both organizational
culture and standard service elements which
have typically been the focus of the tness
service environment, to be meaningful to
the client members in this study. Cohens
(1992) effect size indices provide information
284 MacIntosh and Doherty
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about the relative strength of an association,
and thus are measures of practical signi-
cance or meaningfulness (p. 141, italics in
original). The ndings with regard to the
standard service elements revealed that
client members perception of the locker
room, programmes, and the equipment and
workout facility were meaningful to their sat-
isfaction with the club. This is further evi-
denced by the open-ended responses in
which participants indicated that they par-
ticularly liked the variety and availability of
exercise equipment in their club. This is con-
sistent with previous literature, which has
shown that the primary facilitating goods
(Chelladurai et al., 1987) or physical environ-
ment of a tness club (e.g., hours of oper-
ation, facility design, equipment) is the
most important aspect to clients (Alexandris
et al., 2004b; Chelladurai et al., 1987).
The current study further revealed that
the corporate values of integrity, trust,
peak attitude, and innovation were also
meaningful to client member satisfaction.
Again, this is further evidenced in part by
the open-ended responses in which partici-
pants indicated that they liked the staffs
positive and upbeat attitude. Interestingly,
none of the standard service elements
examined here were more than moderately
associated with members intent to leave.
This suggests that the links between the
standard service elements and intent to
leave were apparent, but were not as mean-
ingful as the strong association between
perceived integrity of the organization and
member intent to leave; something that
may be demonstrated by staff doing what
they say they are going to do, and taking
responsibility for their actions. The
corporate values of peak attitude, communi-
cation, innovation, and trust were also mod-
erately associated with members intent to
leave, thus framing a view of the service
environment in the focal organization that
includes both standard service elements
and corporate culture.
Huset-McGuire et al. (2003) noted that sec-
ondary services are often viewed as extras
by members, and thus have a relatively
minor inuence on overall perceptions of
the service environment. This was sup-
ported by Bodets (2006) work which indi-
cated that peripheral services were not
meaningful to health club clients satisfac-
tion. Arguably, both ancillary services and
child-care are secondary services, and
according to the participants of this study
were of little consequence to their satisfac-
tion and stay intentions. Another interesting
observation in this study was the apparent
role of the front desk in members satisfac-
tion and intent to leave. This is not an
element that has been included in existing
measures of service quality; rather, it was
included at the suggestion of the leaders of
the focal organization, who consider it to
be a key factor and were interested in explor-
ing that notion. The relative importance of
the front desk to the client members in this
study may be a function of a particular
emphasis on this element in the focal organ-
ization. Nevertheless, the ndings suggest
that it is a relevant service element, and
should be included in future research on
service quality in the tness industry, and
recognized in daily practice. Indeed,
McCarthy (2004) argued that the importance
of the front desk should not be taken lightly
since it is the front line for combating mem-
bership attrition (p. 19).
The front desk is certainly one key location
where client members have interactions with
staff, and where organizational culture
values may be transmitted. Kowalczyk and
Pawlish (2002) contended that these staff-
member exchanges help convey organiz-
ational culture, and are one way that
members pick-up signals about how things
are with the organization. Bentkowski
(2003) contended that tness staff will
have a leg up on membership retention if
all members are recognized and properly
addressed (p. 28). Further, McCarthy
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(2004) suggested that a staff culture that
appreciates every member every time they
enter the club can be a factor in membership
retention (p. 19). Findings from this study
showed that front desk in conjunction with
the corporate values of peak attitude and
communication were signicantly and mod-
erately associated with members intention
to stay with the organization. Together, the
ndings suggest that paying attention
to both standard service elements and
the manifestation of corporate values may
be critical to understanding the overall
service environment in the tness industry.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Consistent with previous research ndings,
tness clubs should continue to strive to
provide top quality service in terms of such
elements as the exercise equipment, types
of exercise programmes, the workout facility
and the locker rooms, which were identied
as particularly important in this study.
Further, recognizing the potential impact of
the location, stafng, and check-in pro-
cedures associated with the front desk of a
club as revealed in this study may assist
managers in enhancing the experience for
the client member. Findings from this study
also suggest that tness clubs should recog-
nize the potential inuence of their organiz-
ations culture on client attitudes and
behaviour. Though the corporate values
examined here were specic to the focal
organization and cannot be generalized to
other tness companies, the notion that
culture has an inuence on client members
should be recognized. Club leaders need to
identify the key corporate values within
their own organization and consider those
as a further component of the service
environment.
Organizational culture is manifested in arti-
facts and symbols such as the company logo,
mission statement, decor, staff dress, as well
as staff behaviour. Therefore, it is critical to
consider the extent towhichanorganizations
corporate values are in fact being played out
and perceived by client members. Percep-
tions of organizational culture can be
enhanced by increasing the presence and visi-
bility of artifacts and symbols that represent
key corporate values; for example, posting
photographs of staff helping client members,
or exhibiting certication credentials or
awards that staff have achieved. Staff beha-
viour is also a critical mechanismfor transmit-
ting organizational culture, particularly in the
service industry where there is high custo-
mer-employee interface. Training and devel-
opment must focus on reinforcing key
corporate values so that staff are well
equipped to deliver on those values.
In conclusion, managers operating in a
service environment need to appreciate
that the culture they engender likely has an
impact on the client members of their organ-
ization. In addition to ensuring that equip-
ment and programmes are up to date and
so on, tness managers must consider
clients perceptions of how things are
done within the club. Reframing what is typi-
cally known about the service environment
to include both the standard service
elements and the corporate values operating
within a rm may have important impli-
cations for helping tness organizations
serve their communities, and achieve
success in this competitive industry.
FUTURE RESEARCH
This study was a preliminary step in refram-
ing the service environment in the tness
industry, which has typically focused on
service elements such as equipment, pro-
grammes, and workout facility design.
Future research should include the consider-
ation of organizational culture, and the
meaning of the broader service environment
to client members. There were a number of
limitations of the study that could be
addressed in further investigations. First,
286 MacIntosh and Doherty
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the current study focused on one organi-
zation in the Canadian tness industry. The
line of research presented here should be
expanded to examine the nature and
impact of the broader service environment
in a wider sample of tness organizations.
Second, the current study focused on the
organizational culture specic to one organ-
ization and the ndings are limited to percep-
tions of the service environment in that
organization. Thus, future research should
consider whether, like industry-wide
service elements, there are industry-wide
organizational culture factors that could be
incorporated into a more complete
measure of the service environment. Third,
the study was limited by the sample size
which precluded more sophisticated statisti-
cal analyses. In future research, a sufciently
large sample size would enable regression
analyses that would permit a greater under-
standing of the relative impact of various
elements of the reframed service environ-
ment on client members. Assuming a
broader conceptualization of the service
environment in the tness industry, it will
be important to more specically identify
where tness managers should concentrate
their efforts to provide a high level of service.
Future consideration should also be given
to any variation in client perceptions and pre-
ferences with regard to the reframed service
environment, according to key consumer
demographics in the tness industry (e.g.,
gender, age, frequency of use, membership
length). This would help tness managers
understand how different clients perceive
the service environment, and what it means
to them. Consideration may also be given to
any variations in perceived service environ-
ment and impact by type of tness organiz-
ation (i.e., prot, non-prot, women-only, co-
ed). A re-conceptualization of the service
environment, and its broader measurement,
can enhance our understanding of the
factors that contribute to organizational
success in the tness industry.
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