The impact of service quality and sport-team identification on the repurchase intention

Abstract

During the last few decades, the role of the service sector in the overall economic activities has become more significant in many countries, particularly the most developed ones. This has provoked increased scholars' interest so they have begun researching many service markets more extensively. Their interest has been further stimulated by growing competition, development of new technologies and changes in consumer behaviour. These market changes have forced sport clubs' management to focus on providing higher service quality and strengthening team identification among consumers. The research presented in this paper was conducted on the fans of the Croatian football club Hajduk Split and it examines the relationship between service quality and team identification on the one hand and service quality and repurchase intention on the other as well as the intermediary role of word-of-mouth communication in the relationship between service quality and repurchase intentions. The results show that there is an indirect positive influence of service quality on repurchase intention through word-of-mouth communication, as well as a direct positive link between team identification and repurchase intention.