Participants' Service Quality Perceptions of Fantasy Sports Websites: The Relationship between Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction, Attitude, and Actual Usage

The purpose of this study was to examine participants’ perceptions of the service quality of fantasy sports websites and to understand the relationship between service quality, satisfaction, attitude, and actual usage associated with the websites. Furthermore, this study compared the proposed service-quality model with a rival model to examine the role of satisfaction and attitude as mediating variables. The proposed servicequality measure consisted of four perceived service quality dimensions (i.e., ease of use, trust, content, and appearance). A convenience sample of 279 participants was collected from message board users of four fantasy sports websites (i.e., ESPN.com Fantasy Games, Yahoo! Fantasy Sports, FOX Fantasy Sports, and NFL Events: Fantasy Sports). Structural analysis revealed that satisfaction and attitude acted as mediating variables connecting service quality and actual usage of fantasy sports websites. These results are discussed and the study’s theoretical and practical sport marketing implications are detailed. 78 Volume 19 • Number 2 • 2010 • Sport Marketing Quarterly Sport Marketing Quarterly, 2010, 19, 78-87, © 2010 West Virginia University Se rv ic e Q u al it y of service quality and explaining its relationship to customer satisfaction, attitude, and behavioral intentions. This is important because a company’s service quality plays a critical role in satisfying customers, building consumer loyalty, and enticing customers to revisit websites (Parasuraman et al., 2005). However, the findings of each study have resulted in different arguments in terms of the direction and effect of service quality on these constructs. For instance, Cronin and Taylor (1992) indicated that perceived service quality is an antecedent factor in influencing customer satisfaction. In their findings, significant path coefficients existed between service quality and customer satisfaction, and between customer satisfaction and purchase intention. On the other hand, Bitner (1992) suggested that a direct effect exists between service quality and behavioral intentions. Such discrepancies have provoked important questions about the relationships between service quality, satisfaction, attitude, and behavioral intentions (e.g., purchasing, revisiting). In addition, while there have been various service quality studies (e.g., Harris & Goode, 2004; Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1994; Spreng, Harrell, & MacKoy, 1995; Woodside, Frey, & Daly, 1989) there have been no studies conducted related to the service quality of fantasy sports websites. Therefore, the current study sought to identify the dimensions of perceived service quality associated with online fantasy sport participants and investigate the relationship between perceived service quality, customer satisfaction, attitude, and actual usage of fantasy sports websites. Review of Literature Service Quality Service quality has been one of the most significant and widely studied issues in the marketing and service literature (Parasuraman et al., 2005). Service quality is a comparison of customer expectations about real service performance (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1985). During the last few decades, many studies have been conducted on service quality because consumers’ perceptions of service quality can affect consumer loyalty and behavioral intentions (Parasuraman et al., 2005). For example, Parasuraman et al. (1985) identified 10 determinants of service quality (i.e., reliability, responsiveness, competence, access, courtesy, communication, credibility, security, understanding/ knowing the customer, and tangibles). In a following study, Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) proposed a theoretical model, SERVQUAL, which contains the five dimensions of service quality (i.e., tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy). The SERVQUAL model has been broadly used to measure various sectors such as banks, hotels, and leisure sports (e.g., Alexandris, Dimitriadis, & Markata, 2002; Knop, Hoecke, & Bosscher, 2004). However, the SERVQUAL model has faced criticisms in regard to how it interprets service quality as it is related to websites and the Internet because such types of electronic service quality have different and exceptional processes in terms of service delivery (Parasuraman et al., 2005). Therefore, several researchers have proposed additional dimensions for electronic service quality to be used to measure websites and Internet service quality. Liu and Arnett (2000) proposed four factors associated with website success (i.e., information and service quality, system use, playfulness, and system design quality). Loiacono, Watson, and Goodhue (2002) proposed the use of the WebQual instrument to measure consumers’ perceptions of website service quality using 12 dimensions (i.e., informational fit to task, interaction, trust, response time, design, intuitiveness, visual appeal, innovativeness, flow, integrated communication, business processes, and substitutability). A study conducted by Li, Tan, and Xie (2002) developed a conceptual framework within which to examine web-based service quality using a modified SERVQUAL. The suggested model included six dimensions (i.e., responsiveness, competence, quality of information, empathy, web assistance, and call-back systems). Similarly, Wolfinbarger and Gilly (2002) developed the . comQ measure, which consists of four dimensions (i.e., website design, reliability, privacy/security, and customer service). However, those proposed measures were quite limited and not comprehensive enough (e.g., weak external validity) to evaluate electronic service quality as a whole (Parasuraman et al., 2005). Zeithaml, Parasuraman, and Malhotra (2000) proposed the e-SQ measure to identify electronic service quality, which is composed of 11 e-SQ dimensions (i.e., reliability, responsiveness, access, flexibility, ease of navigation, efficiency, assurance/trust, security/privacy, price knowledge, site aesthetics, and customization). Later, Zeithaml et al. (2002) proposed an improved model, which included two sets of dimensions. The first set, which contains four dimensions, is considered the core service scale (i.e., efficiency, reliability, fulfillment, and privacy), while the second set, which contains three dimensions, is regarded as the recovery scale (i.e., responsiveness, compensation, and contact). However, they discovered that the latter three dimensions were only significant when the consumers asked questions or reported problems. Finally, Parasuraman et al. (2005) redefined the previous model and proposed a new e-SQ scale, which utilized Volume 19 • Number 2 • 2010 • Sport Marketing Quarterly 79 two sets of scales: the E-Core Service Quality Scale (ES-QUAL) and E-Recovery Service Quality Scale (EResS-QUAL). As detailed above, while several studies have focused on the investigation of perceived service quality in various sectors, no studies have focused on identifying the perceived service quality of fantasy sport participants. Thus, based on previous literature, the proposed service-quality measure within this study identified four perceived service quality factors of fantasy sport participants (i.e., ease of use, trust, content, and appearance). The following section will explain the relationship between the perceived service quality, satisfaction, attitude, and behavioral intentions. Relationship between Service Quality, Satisfaction, Attitude, and Behavioral Intentions A number of studies (e.g., Harris & Goode, 2004; Spreng et al., 1995) have been conducted that relate to the antecedents, mediations, and consequences of each variable (e.g., service quality, satisfaction, attitude, behavioral intentions). However, discrepancies have appeared in the results of these studies. According to Parasuraman et al. (2005), service quality has been shown to invoke customer satisfaction, loyalty, and behavioral intentions. Researchers have also demonstrated that customer satisfaction is a significant predictor of customer attitude, which influences behavioral intentions (Woodside et al., 1989). Similarly, Cronin and Taylor (1992) proposed that perceived service quality leads to customer satisfaction as an antecedent factor. These findings were supported by the findings of Spreng et al. (1995), who indicated that perceived service quality serves as a forerunner to customer satisfaction. As a result, the following hypothesis was formulated for testing: H1: The perception of service quality of the fantasy sports participants will be positively and significantly related to the participants’ satisfaction with the fantasy sports websites. Studies (e.g., Harris & Goode, 2004) have also focused on the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty and proposed that customer satisfaction influences attitudinal loyalty. Several researchers have established that higher satisfaction brings greater customer loyalty, which is referred to as a positive attitude (Anderson & Sullivan, 1993; Fornell, 1992). Oliver (1999) suggested that customer satisfaction has a major role in connecting perceived service quality and customer loyalty. Research (e.g., Olsen, 2002) has suggested that a customer’s attitudinal loyalty is influenced by prior attitude and customer satisfaction. In addition, researchers (e.g., Harris & Goode, 2004, Johnson, Herrmann, & Huber, 2006) have indicated that attitudinal loyalty is positively and significantly related to behavioral intentions, such as purchasing and revisiting intentions. Based on the research findings noted above, the following two hypotheses were created: H2: The satisfaction levels of the fantasy sports participants will be positively and significantly related to the participants’ attitudes toward fantasy sports participation. H3: The attitude of the fantasy sports participants will be positively and significantly related to the participants’ actual usage of fantasy sports websites. As the literatu