Exploring the Impact of Gender and Membership Duration on How Tennis Club Members Perceive Corporate Social Responsibility, Trust and Loyalty towards the Club
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26253/heal.uth.ojs.ispe.2024.2258Keywords:
gender, years of participation, corporate social responsibility, trust, loyaltyAbstract
In the multidimensional and constantly evolving field of sport, the discovery of the factors that influence the customer-member relationship with the sport organization is of critical importance for the effective management and development of the sport industry. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is widely acknowledged as a pivotal marketing strategy for business operations and corporate sustainable development. In the context of sport, it is an emerging sector that promotes social contribution, environmental awareness and economic sustainability. This research aimed to examine the impact of gender and membership duration, as important demographic parameters, on the assessment of CSR, trust and loyalty among participants in a tennis club. The questionnaire was distributed to all club members aged 15 and over, and was completed and returned by all participants, totaling 250. The assessment of CSR was conducted using a questionnaire developed by Park, Lee, Kwon and Del Pobil (2015), with six variables and three factors (economic, social and environmental responsibility). Trust in the organization was assessed using four variables proposed by Chaudhuri and Holbrook (2001), while loyalty was assessed through Oliver’s (1999) questionnaire, which included four variables. Through, two-way analysis of variance and Scheffe tests, no statistically significant differences were found in the assessment of the factors under consideration between men and women. However, the years of participation influenced the CSR rating on the environmental initiatives, as well as participants’ trust. Although the interaction between gender and years of participation revealed some differences, in more detailed analysis no statistically significant differences were found. The survey findings emphasize the necessity to adopt or adapt CSR strategies that consider the demographic characteristics of members. This adaptation has the potential to foster a supportive and trustworthy environment by promoting the social and environmental contributions of members. Furthermore, the importance of further exploring the parameters that shape the trust, loyalty and well-being of member-customers in the sport organization is highlighted, thereby offering practical benefits in the development of CSR strategies in sport.