Customer Loyalty and Fitness Centers Competitiveness: The Role of Service Convenience and Multidimensional Perceived Value

The fitness industry has been the subject of numerous studies aimed at analyzing the perceived quality within management systems and strategies as a formula to survive the competition. This study analyzes the loyalty chain through the service convenience and its influence on different dimensions of perceived value, and their effect on customer satisfaction as a way to achieve the behavior intention, and with it, increase the competitive capacity, management efficiency and economic growth of sports services within the fitness industry. Data from 326 participants were collected using a convenience sampling technique. The data was analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) in Amos (v.22). The results showed that the service convenience has a positive influence on the four dimensions of the perceived value (social value, functional value, emotional value, and economic value). However, only two of these dimensions offered a significant influence on customer satisfaction, with the economic value dimension showing the highest predictive value. Finally, a direct positive effect was found between customer satisfaction and behavioral intention. Therefore, the current study provides a significant sequential pathway between service convenience, economic value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intention, allowing to improve the understanding of the multidimensionality of the perceived value construct and representing an important contribution to the literature on the fitness industry and to improve the competitiveness of organizations.