Sports consumers conformity behavior: expectations from online vs. offline personal training studios sessions

Rationale/purpose: This study explores the influence of service quality dimensions on the satisfaction of personal training studios and gyms' customers in a physical and digital environment through online and offline training sessions. Also, it fills a gap in research concerning the existence of different expectations that trainees may have from the two types of training offerings. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on the service quality literature, SERVQUAL's dimensions were employed to test the six formulated hypotheses. Data were collected from 363 customers of personal training studios in Greece, which have experience in both online and offline training sessions, using the convenience sampling method, both online and offline training sessions. To test the first five hypotheses, regression analysis for both session types was performed, and as for hypothesis 6, the Laplace criterion was used. Findings: Findings indicate that for both online and offline training sessions, Perceived Value was the most important dimension, followed by Assurance, Responsiveness and last Reliability, whereas Empathy was insignificantly related. Also, results revealed a different expectation level between the two service offering methods, where trainees seem to expect more from offline than online sessions. Practical implications: The results indicate that among strong service quality dimensions are variables that are within the reach of management. Research contribution: The paper adds to the existing research on service quality in the sports and fitness industry by focusing on personal training studios and gyms, as well as on trainees' quality perception and expectations of the relatively new online channel of service provision in the specific area.