Examining the Role of Perceived Service Quality in Predicting User Satisfaction and Behavioral Intentions in a Campus Recreation Setting

Since participant numbers are no longer sufficient to assess the success of campus recreation centers, alternative methods such as students' perceived quality of service, levels of satisfaction, and their intentions to reuse and recommend the programs and facilities were investigated. This study examined the impacts of three service quality dimensions, i.e., ambiance of the facility, operations quality and staff competency, and user satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Two hundred and forty-nine student users of a campus recreation center were surveyed. Participants reported relatively high levels of service quality perceptions, satisfaction, and intentions to re-use and recommend the center. Results reaffirmed the significant contribution of service quality to user satisfaction. However, improved staff competency and user satisfaction did not increase users' intentions to use the center again. Users' overall satisfaction, along with operations quality, explained 25% of the variance in users' intentions to recommend the center to others. Findings suggest management personnel of campus recreation centers should focus on improving service quality, which in turn will increase users' satisfaction levels with the center, and ultimately, will lead to positive word-of-mouth. Future studies should recognize the unique characteristics of campus recreation center clientele so that factors influencing users' intentions to re-use the campus recreation center can be identified.