Effects of service quality, perceived value, and consumer satisfaction

Journal of Physical Education and Sport

(JPES), 18(3), Art 216, pp. 1459 - 1468, 2018

online ISSN: 2247 - 806X; p-ISSN: 2247 – 8051; ISSN - L = 2247 - 8051 © JPES

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Corresponding Author: KYONGMIN LEE, E-mail: dsuk[email protected]m

Original Article

Effects of service quality, perceived value, and consumer satisfaction on

behavioral intentions in virtual golf

CHULHWAN CHOI

, T. CHRISTOPHER GREENWELL

, KYONGMIN LEE

Department of Golf Industry, Kyung Hee University, KOREA, REPUBLIC

Department of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Louisville, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Department of Sports Coaching, Jeonju University, KOREA, REPUBLIC

Published online: September 30, 2018

(Accepted for publication July 19, 2018)

DOI:10.7752/jpes.2018.03216

Abstract:

In the sport industry, the latest technology has not only brought about dramatic changes in consumption

patterns but has also generated new types of sports (Young & Pederson, 2010). For example, virtual golf, an

emerging sport using virtual reality to simulate playing golf, allows consumers to experience a whole new type

of sport related experience. Given the considerable differences in how virtual golf is delivered compared to

traditional golf, a better understanding of how the service encounter influences key outcomes is essential to

understand how to satisfy and retain consumers. A total of 209 virtual golf participants were surveyed, and

structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to investigate relationships among core service, peripheral service,

perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. From the structural model, four standardized

path coefficients were significant: (a) core service to perceived value, (b) core service to consumer satisfaction,

findings should contribute to further development of leisure studies involving virtual sports.

Key words: service quality, perceived value, consumer satisfaction, behavior intentions, virtual golf

Introduction

Rapid technological advances have altered fantasy into reality, and computer-based environments have

enabled individuals to experience virtual reality. In the sport industry, advancing technology has drastically

changed an individual's consumption pattern by offering diverse options to enjoy sports (Young & Pederson,

2010) such as video games or fantasy sports. Virtual golf, golf through a virtual reality simulator, has attracted

consumers and has experienced outstanding growth, even threatening the popularity of outdoor golf. Even

though virtual golf is based on an existing sport (golf), virtual reality allows customers to experience a new sport

entertainment genre. Thus, as an independent genre in sport industry, it is necessary to explore consumer

behaviors unique to the sport, as applying previous results of leisure research to virtual golf would be inadequate.

Investigating significant factors (service quality, perceived value, consumer satisfaction, and behavioral

intentions) in a recreational leisure facility environment is crucial in that these factors are closely related to

profitability of sports facilities (Yiannakis, 1989; Yu, Zhang, Kim, Chen, Henderson, Min, & Huang, 2014).

Specifically, consumer satisfaction (Murray & Howat, 2002; Howat, Murray, & Crilley, 1999; McDougall &

Levesque, 2000; Yu, et al., 2014) and service quality (Bitner & Hubbert, 1994; Howat, Crilley, Milne, & Absher,

1993; Ko & Pastore, 2004; Yiannakis, 1989) have been considered significant elements. In addition, the

influence of perceived value on consumer behaviors gained attention in the sports industry as a mediator

between service quality and consumer satisfaction (Cronin, Brady, & Hult, 2000; McDougall & Levesque, 2000;

Murray & Howat, 2002; Petrick, Backman, & Bixler, 1999; Shukla, 2010; Yu et al., 2014; Zeithaml, 1988).

When it comes to the effect of virtual reality in the sport industry, a better understanding of how the

service encounter influences key outcomes is essential to understand how to satisfy and retain consumers.

Furthermore, by expanding the literature regarding service quality, perceived value, consumer satisfaction, and

behavioral intentions, the results of this study should contribute to future research in consumer behavior

regarding technology-driven sport industries striving to attract potential consumers and maintain existing

consumers. Therefore, the primary purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships among service quality,

perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions to understand consumers' decision-making

processes and to suggest useful information to researchers and practitioners in the recreational sport industry.

Virtual Reality and Golf

The term of virtual reality has been used globally as “a predominantly visual-based computer

simulation of a real or imaginary environment” (Craig, 2013, p. 164). In sport context, until recently the use of

this highly advanced technology has been limited in ball sports in training specific skills and in implementing

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virtual reality exercise (Miles, Pop, Watt, Lawrence, & John, 2012). Nevertheless, it is obvious that virtual

reality has pushed forward the boundaries of a player’s performance and has provided new directions in training

athletes (Craig, 2013). Furthermore, virtual reality has become one of the advanced technologies more accessible

to the public, and the first target market is golf.

Golf participation has been stagnant in the last 20 years (National Golf Foundation, 2015), as golf has

been considered a time consuming and elite sport which might be hard to learn (Garvin, 2016; Powell, 2014).

Golf participation is also hampered by location, time, and weather (Han, 2004; Petrick et al., 1999; Zhang,

2007). Meanwhile, virtual golf, which was invented to encourage beginners to play golf without any financial

difficulties anywhere and whenever, has become one of the most popular sport-related businesses in the

Republic of Korea as it satisfied desires of avid golfers experiencing limitations to playing golf (Choe, 2008;

Kim, Seo, Kim, & Chang, 2014). Virtual golf, also known as screen golf, is enjoyed indoors with real golf clubs,

balls and consumers’ own swings in front of a high definition golf simulator, a sensor, and a computer graphics

engine (Jung, Park, Kang, Lee, & Hahn, 2010).

Since a daily green fee costs approximately 200 US dollars to play golf in the Republic of Korea, virtual

golf costing approximately 20 US dollars is an attractive option for avid golfers (The Korea Golf Association,

2014). Furthermore, given that virtual golf offers relatively easier format to play golf than the existing outdoor

field golf (Choe, 2008), individuals with lower mastery in golf have enjoyed virtual golf without physiological

burdens. In other words, by offering affordability and playability to consumers, virtual golf has threatened the

actual sports industry in the Republic of Korea (The Korea Leisure Research Center, 2016). Since 2012, the

world’s first professional virtual golf tournament (G-Tour), has opened in the Republic of Korea on a nationwide

scale (Noe, 2012), showing that the virtual golf industry was not a simple alternative which might overcome the

limitations of outdoor golf, but a newly growing sport market which might have enormous potential.

Nevertheless, there have been few investigations in virtual golf focusing on technological aspects (Jung et al.,

2010; Kim et al., 2014) and social aspects (Lee, Chung, & Lee, 2013). Given this emerging sport has received

little attention from a marketing perspective, an investigation is warranted to see how advanced technology

affects consumer behaviors in sport.

Service Quality

The concept of service quality, defined as overall subjective impression after consumption (Bitner &

Hubbert, 1994), is important for consumers, researchers, and marketers alike (Howat et al., 1993). Since diverse

consumers' tastes might exist in various service environments, research on service quality should be able to

examine the unpredictability and diversity of consumer evaluation. Efforts to explore how service quality

impacts consumers' dissatisfaction and satisfaction in recreational leisure facility environments is vital to sport

managers because those factors were closely related to profitability of sport facilities (Yiannakis, 1989). That is,

service quality is the most essential element in satisfying consumers, retaining individuals, and enhancing a

consumer base (Yu et al., 2014). In the same vein, in the virtual golf industry, it is necessary to offer satisfactory

services through advanced technology and well-trained service personnel to attract new consumers and retain

current consumers. Therefore, the concept of service quality would play a vital role in investigating consumer

behaviors in virtual golf from a marketing perspective and in looking for ways to provide better services to

consumers (Murray & Howat, 2002).

Over the years, previous research has suggested service quality is impacted by both core (principal role

functions) and peripheral (secondary services) elements (McDougall & Levesque, 2000). That is, while core

elements in sport participation represent what is delivered, such as the activity, facility, and equipment,

peripheral services represent how the service is delivered (McDougall & Levesque, 2000). Previous researchers

(Byon, Zhang, & Baker, 2013) found that core and peripheral service quality had a vital role in consumer

satisfaction and behavioral intentions of sport fans. However, given that relative impacts of diverse elements

related to service quality tends to vary with the nature of the sport or activity (Ko & Pastore, 2004), it is

necessary to investigate how each may impact consumer behaviors in a given sport context. In other words, it

would be important to investigate which role service quality can do in an emerging sport using virtual reality and

how virtual reality can change the existing concept of service quality.

Perceived Value

Perceived value garners a great deal of attention in sport-related service industries (Cronin et al., 2000;

McDougall & Levesque, 2000; Murray & Howat, 2002; Petrick et al, 1999; Shukla, 2010; Yu et al., 2014;

Zeithaml, 1988). Perceived value can be measured by the difference between cost incurred by the consumer and

benefits received (McDougall & Levesque, 2000; Yu et al., 2014). To respond to changes of business

environment, consumer needs, or competitors, the perceived value could be flexibly changed: "(a) offering

comparable quality at a comparable price, (b) offering superior quality at a premium price, or (c) offering

inferior quality at a discounted price" (Petrick et al., 1999, p. 43).

From conceptual perspectives, when interpreted as a mediator between service quality and consumer

satisfaction, perceived value potentially greatly affects a consumer's future intention (McDougall & Levesque,

2000; Murray & Howat, 2002). Considering disappointments about lower service quality compared with

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consumers' expectations could be adjusted by positive influence via perceived value, perceived value would be a

significant marketing resource. Therefore, service quality (core and peripheral in this study) and perceived value,

which are causative factors in consumer satisfaction, should be positively related to satisfy consumers.

Maintaining a positive relationship between two elements would be the most significant task in sport-related

service industries. Likewise, perceived value in this study is also a crucial factor to satisfy virtual golf

consumers. Considering that golfers playing on outdoor courses in the Republic of Korea pay relatively inflated

costs (approximately 200 US dollars for a daily green) in accordance with government policy, perceived value

may play a greater role in choosing to play virtual golf (approximately 20 US dollars for a round) (Choe, 2008;

The Korea Golf Association, 2014). We hypothesize that core and peripheral service will influence perceived

value.

H1: Core service has a direct positive influence on perceived value.

H2: Peripheral service has a direct positive influence on perceived value

Consumer Satisfaction

Regardless of industry characteristics, the ultimate marketing goal would be to satisfy and retain

consumers. Consumer satisfaction has been one of the most important concepts in marketing thought and

practice, as satisfaction has been significantly associated with consumers' purchase, re-purchase, attitude, and

brand loyalty (Carlson & O'Cass, 2010; Churchill & Surprenant, 1982; Lee & Kang, 2015; Yoshida & James,

2010). For virtual golf as a participation sport, participants' satisfaction with physical activity was a significant

element in understanding consumers, planning marketing strategies, and maintaining positive relationships with

customers in competitive sport business industry (Theodorakiset, Alexandris, Rodriguez, & Sarmento, 2004).

Previous research (Ko & Pastore, 2007; Kyle, Theodorakis, Karageorgiou, & Lafazani, 2010; Murray & Howat,

2002; McDougall & Levesque, 2000) on participant satisfaction has noted that satisfaction was a consequence of

service quality, and strongly impacted consumer re-participation intentions that affected profitability. As noted

above, the proliferation of research about consumer satisfaction has been implemented, and the efforts have

contributed to understanding consumers' decision-making processes. In the same vein, the current study

examined consumer satisfaction of virtual golf with other constructs (service quality, perceived value, and

behavioral intentions) which are formed in the unique nature of an emerging sport using virtual reality. We

propose the following hypotheses.

H3: Core service has a direct positive influence on consumer satisfaction.

H4: Peripheral service has a direct positive influence on consumer satisfaction.

H5: Perceived value has a direct positive influence on consumer satisfaction.

Behavioral Intentions

Previous research (Murray & Howat, 2002; Howat et al., 1999; McDougall & Levesque, 2000) has

noted that consumers’ behavioral intentions have been positively correlated with other factors such as service

quality, perceived value, and consumer satisfaction. Particularly, according to Yu et al. (2014), customer

satisfaction was the most significant factor on customers' behavioral intentions when compared with other

factors. Considering that behavioral intentions have been acknowledged as a significant consequence to

determine complex consumer behavior in participation sports (Du, Jordan, & Funk, 2015; Kaplanidou, Jordan,

Funk, & Rindinger, 2012), the importance to investigate relationships among the factors would be vital.

Similarly, Fornell (1992) argued that "loyal customers are not necessarily satisfied customers but satisfied

customers tend to be loyal customers" (p. 7). That is, consumers determined their continuance or discontinuance

after purchase based on their level of consumer satisfaction (Backman & Crompton, 1989). Therefore,

considering that satisfied consumers tend to be more likely to have positive future intentions (Yu et al., 2014),

the final hypothesis states that customers’ satisfaction with their experiences will influence their behavioral

intentions in participating in virtual golf, which is an emerging sport striving to enhance its fan base.

H6: Consumer satisfaction has a direct positive influence on behavioral intentions.

Methods

Participants

The target population for this study was individuals who have experience in golf in the Republic of

Korea. The data collection was implemented at five virtual golf centers, two driving ranges, two outdoor golf

country clubs, and a multi-purpose sports center with various facilities (e.g., a gym, swimming pool, indoor

driving range, and restaurants). All study participants responded to a question about their golf experiences, and

the answers were the criteria to determine who were appropriate in this study. A total of 550 questionnaires were

distributed, and 412 questionnaires were returned (approximately 74.9% of response rate). Of that, a total of 209

questionnaires were utilized in this study after excluding 23 incomplete questionnaires and 180 questionnaires

completed by individuals who had never played virtual golf.

Measures

Service quality. The current study applied a concept of service quality from previous studies

(Alexandris, Zahariadis, Tsorbatzoudis, & Grouios, 2004a; 2004b) investigating perceived service quality of an

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indoor leisure facility, corresponding with service environment of virtual golf. Specifically, the current research

utilized three dimensions (i.e., responsiveness, personnel, and tangibles) in accord with the virtual golf context

and excluded two dimensions (e.g., perceived outcome and reliability) since a virtual golf facility does not

provide instructional programs. The three dimensions of service quality were measured with 9 items on a 7-point

Likert-type scale. The items of Responsiveness (2 items) were "Respond quickly to consumers' requirements"

and "Work enthusiastically." Next, the items of Personnel (4 items) were "Are polite," "Are reliable," " Are

knowledgeable," and "Provide individualized attention." Lastly, the items of Tangibles (3 items) were

"Equipment is well-maintained," "The atmosphere in the facility is attractive," and "Facility is clean."

Perceived value. The concept of perceived value has been developed from previous researchers as: (a)

"the consumer's overall assessment of the utility of a product based on perceptions of what is received and what

is given" (Zeithaml, 1988, p.14), (b) the difference between cost and benefit (Yu et al., 2014), and (c) "benefits

received relative to costs" (McDougall & Levesque, 2000, p.393). Based on the previous literature, the

dimension of perceived value had 4 items (7-point Likert-type scale). Those were "Is reasonably priced," "Offers

high value for money," "Is a good product for the price," and "Would be economical."

Consumer satisfaction. Consumer satisfaction was measured with 3 items on a 7 point Likert-type scale,

developed by Ko and Pastore (2007). Those were "I am satisfied with my decision to play virtual golf," "I am

happy about my decision to play virtual golf," and "I believe I did the right thing when I decided to play virtual

golf."

Behavioral intentions. Behavioral intentions were measured with 3 items on a 7 point Likert-type scale,

which were developed by Cronin et al. (2000). The items included "The probability that I will use this facility’s

services again is," "The likelihood that I would recommend this facility’s services to a friend is," and "If I had to

do it over again, I would make the same choice."

Semantic Equivalence

In order to create a semantically equivalent survey instrument in Korean, the five steps recommended

by Sousa and Rojjanasrirat (2011) were closely followed: (a) translation from English into Korean with two

translators (TL1 and TL2), (b) Comparison among TL1, TL2, and the original instrument, (c) back-translation

from the preliminary initial translated version of the instrument (PI-TL) into English with two translators (B-TL1

and B-TL2), (d) Comparison among B-TL1, B-TL2, and the original instrument, and (e) Pilot test with bilingual

individuals (62 usably completed surveys out of 91 surveys). Translation/back-translation procedures involved in

these five steps technically ensured a semantic consistency by determining potential translation errors (Choi,

Seo, Scott, & Martin, 2010). Four bilingual doctoral students in a sport management program were tasked in

these steps.

Scale Validation

To ensure the instrument measured what it intended to measure, a series of pre-tests was performed to

examine the reliability, validity, and readability of the instrument. Three steps, proposed by Dillman, Smyth, and

Christian (2008), were conducted so that each step evaluated what the other steps could not: (a) panel of experts,

(b) field test, and (c) pilot study.

As the first step of instrument pre-tests, the survey with a brief explanation of the current study was

distributed to several doctoral students and professors in sport management at Midwestern U.S. universities to

get feedback on content validity and readability. Following the reviews of experts, a field test was conducted via

telephone interviews as suggested by Dillman (2007). The participants in this step were five graduate students,

who were physically located in the Republic of Korea during the period of data collection, in a sport

management program who were fluent in both English and Korean. Also, they were not involved in the main

study of this research and had experiences in golf and virtual golf in the Republic of Korea.

Finally, following modifications of the survey instrument based on feedback from the panel of experts

and the field test, a pilot study was performed through internet-based surveys to ensure scale reliability. Closely

observing parallel research conditions (i.e., sampling and data collection procedure) with the main study, a

survey link of Qualtrics.com was distributed through emails and mobile phone text messages to individuals who

were not involved in this study. Preliminary analysis of the 62 completed surveys (out of 91) yielded acceptable

levels of internal consistency reliability coefficients, which ranged from .756 to .926 including staff (α = .756),

facility (α = .778), perceived value (α = .844), consumer satisfaction (α = .881), and behavioral intentions (α =

.926).

Results

The final sample consisted of 185 (88.5%) males and 24 (11.5%) females, which is similar to existing

research related to golf (Jun & Kyle, 2011a, 2011b) and technology-based sports (Ko & Ross, 2006).

Furthermore, previous research in virtual golf indicated that nearly 70% to 80% of total participants were male

(Han, Beak, Lee, & Huh, 2014; Lee, 2010; Lee et al., 2013). Respondents' ages ranged from 21 to 75 years old

with a mean age of 40.25 (SD = 11.30). Approximately 78% (n = 163) of the sample was under 49 years old and

66% were married (n = 137). A majority of the participants had a Bachelor's degree (n = 133, 63.6%), followed

by a master's degree (n = 53, 25.4%), a high school degree (n = 17, 8.1%), and a doctorate degree (n = 6, 2.9%).

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Finally, approximately 77% of the sample reported household incomes over 50 million Korean won

(approximately USD 43,000).

Factor Structure of Consumer Behaviors in Virtual Golf

To select indicator variables for the five constructs used in SEM, a principal component analysis (PCA)

with orthogonal rotation (Varimax) was conducted on the correlations of the 19 items measuring consumer

behaviors in virtual golf. The Kaiser Meyer-Olkin measure verified the sample adequacy for the analysis, KMO

= .864, exceeding the criteria (.70) (Field, 2009). Barlett’s test of sphericity (χ

= 3013.057, df = 171, p < .001)

was statistically significant, further indicating the data were appropriate for a factor analysis. The extracted

communalities were generated to reflect the proportion of variance explained by the retained factors, and the

values ranged from .597 to .894. To decide on how many components to retain, this study applied three criteria:

(a) eigenvalue greater than 1.0, (b) parallel analysis, and (c) the amount of total variance explained by factors

(greater than 70%) (Stevens, 2009). Based on the three criteria, five factors, explaining 77% of total variance and

greater than 1.0 eigenvalue, were retained.

On the first factor, six items loaded significantly, which accounted for approximately 41% of the total

variance post rotation. The items with significant factor structure coefficients on this factor included "Provide

individualized attention," "Are knowledgeable," "Are Reliable," "Equipment is well-maintained," " The

atmosphere in the facility is attractive," and " Facility is clean." Of the six items, the four items with the largest

factor structure coefficients reflected pivotal aspects of service quality (named "core service" in this study) in

virtual golf. Thus, these four items were served as four indicator variables in subsequent analyses. On the second

factor (perceived value), four items loaded significantly, which explained approximately 14% of the total

variance, including "Is reasonably priced," "Offers high value for money," "Is a good product for the price," and

"Would be economical." On the third factor (behavioral intentions), three items loaded significantly, which

explained approximately 9% of the total variance, including "I am satisfied with my decision to play virtual

golf," "I am happy about my decision to play virtual golf," and "I believe I did the right thing when I decided to

play virtual golf." On the fourth factor (consumer satisfaction), three items loaded significantly, which explained

approximately 8% of the total variance, including "The probability that I will use this facility’s services again

is," "The likelihood that I would recommend this facility’s services to a friend is," and "If I had to do it over

again, I would make the same choice." On the fifth factor, three items loaded significantly, which explained 5%

of the total variance. The three items included "Respond quickly to consumers' requirements," "Work

enthusiastically," and "Are polite," reflecting subjective and personal aspects of service quality (named

"peripheral service" in this study) in a virtual golf center (Table 1).

Table 1. Factor Loadings (β), Alpha Coefficients (α), Means (M) and Standard Deviations (SD) for Core

Service, Perceived Value, Behavioral Intentions, Consumer Satisfaction, and Peripheral Service in Virtual Golf

Variables β α M SD

Core Service .869

x1 - Attention

x2 - Knowledgeable

x3 - Reliable

x4 - Well-maintained

0.83

0.82

0.78

0.76

4.33

4.20

4.16

4.22

1.43

1.30

1.41

1.30

Peripheral Service .795

x5 - Respond quickly

x6 – Enthusiastically

x7 - Polite

0.90

0.85

0.66

3.90

3.87

2.82

1.71

1.62

2.06

Perceived Value .867

x8 - Good service

x9 - Reasonably

x10 - High value

x11 - Economical

0.82

0.80

0.78

0.66

4.32

4.31

4.33

1.32

1.33

1.39

1.30

Consumer Satisfaction .924

x12 - Right thing

x13 - Satisfied decision

x14 - Happy

0.82

0.81

0.78

4.27

4.41

4.37

1.24

1.25

Behavioral Intentions .948

y1 - Recommend

y2 - Same choice

y3 - Use again

0.85

0.82

0.81

4.80

4.73

4.66

1.30

1.35

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Scale Reliability

Cronbach’s alpha of items ranged from .795 to .948, including core service (α = .869), perceived value

(α = .867), behavioral intentions (α = .948), consumer satisfaction (α = .924), and peripheral service (α = .795)

(see Table 1). All estimates exceeded the .70 cutoff for good internal consistency reliability (Nunnally &

Berstein, 1994).

Structural Equation Model

This analysis applied five factors reconstructed by the principal component analysis (PCA) (i.e., core

service, peripheral service, perceived value, consumer satisfaction, behavioral intentions). Specifically, core

service and peripheral service served as exogenous variables (independent variables), and perceived value,

consumer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions served as endogenous variables (dependent variables).

Measurement model. The measurement model including 17 items and five latent variables was

examined using AMOS 18 (see Figure 1). All the observed fit statistics showed a good fit to the data (χ

=232.685, df = 109, p < 0.01, normed ﬁt index [NFI] = .915, comparative ﬁt index [CFI] = .952, root mean

square error of approximation [RMSEA] = .074). Given values of NFI and CFI above .90 (Kline, 1998) and

RMSEA of .08 or less (Browne & Cudeck, 1993) were considered adequate, the measurement of the latent

constructs was adequate in this study.

In terms of the extent to which each indicator variable was good measure of the given latent variable,

the measurement model also generated the result of squared multiple correlations. For example, the multiple R

of two indicators were relatively high (x5 = .924 and y3 = .958), indicating that more than 90% of the variance in

the indicators was accounted for by given latent variables. The multiple R

of three other indicators, however,

were relatively low (x7 = .243, x11 = .425 and x4 = .449), indicating that less than 45% of the variance in the

indicators was explained by given latent variables.

Structural model. Core service and peripheral service were exogenous (independent) variables, and

perceived value, consumer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions were endogenous (dependent) variables. The

factors of perceived value and consumer satisfaction were also mediators in the model. All the observed fit

statistics showed a good fit to the data (χ

= 251.808, df = 112, p < 0.01, normed ﬁt index [NFI] = .908,

comparative ﬁt index [CFI] = .946, root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = .077). Given that

values of NFI and CFI above .90 (Kline, 2005) and RMSEA of .08 or less (Browne & Cudeck, 1993) were

considered adequate, the measurement model to the data was acceptable (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Measurement Model of Consumer Behaviors in Virtual Golf

This analysis (see Table 2 and Figure 2) found direct and indirect effects among variables. As

anticipated, consumer satisfaction had the largest direct effect (β = .692) on behavior intentions, indicating that

consumers in virtual golf who were more satisfied had stronger behavioral intentions. Perceived value also had a

significant direct effect (β = .491) on consumer satisfaction. Core service had a significant direct effect (β =

.268) as well as a significant indirect effect (β = .192) on consumer satisfaction, suggesting that core service was

not only directly related to consumer satisfaction but also indirectly related to consumer satisfaction via

perceived value (β = .390). Conversely, peripheral service had neither significant direct (β = .015) nor indirect (β

= .010) effects on consumer satisfaction, indicating that peripheral service was not related to consumer

satisfaction directly and indirectly via perceived value (β = .020). In short, all variables except peripheral service

had significant direct or indirect effects on given variables.

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Table 2. Standardized and Unstandardized Parameter Estimates, Direct, Indirect, and Total Effects among

Variables

IV DV Estimates Direct Effect Indirect Effect Total Effect

Core Value .379 (.390)*** .390 .000 .390

Satisfaction .343 (.268)*** .268 .192 .460

Peripheral Value

Satisfaction

.017 (.020)

.016 (.015)

.020

.015

.000

.010

.020

.025

Value Satisfaction .648 (.491)*** .491 .000 .491

Satisfaction Intentions .746 (.692)*** .692 .000 .692

Note. *** p < .001, Standardized estimates in parentheses

Figure 2. Structural Model of Consumer Behaviors in Virtual Golf

Note. The solid lines show significant paths (p < .01), and the dotted lines show non-significant paths.

Discussion

The current study investigated the relationships among various constructs (i.e., core service, peripheral

service, perceived value, consumer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions) in terms of consumer behaviors in

virtual golf. Since the significant factors examined in this study were interrelated and had a great influence on

each other (Yu et al., 2014), identifying the role and influence of each factor in a consumer's decision-making

process is a great opportunity in a sport-related service industry. As a new sport genre using virtual reality with

enormous potential, enhancing and developing the fan base through an investigation of consumer behaviors is

more important than anything else. Based on findings regarding the relations among significant factors in

consumer behaviors of virtual golf, this study provides practical and theoretical implications.

Theoretical and Practical Implications

According to previous literature, service quality influenced consumers' dissatisfaction/satisfaction

(Yiannakis, 1989), perceived value was a significant mediator between service quality and consumer satisfaction

(Murray & Howat, 2002), and consumer satisfaction, which might be the most essential element in consumer

behavior, tended to have positive effects on future behavior intentions of consumers (Yu et al., 2014). Results of

the current study exploring consumer behaviors in virtual golf mostly supported previous studies except the role

of peripheral service among factors. In other words, peripheral service did not have any influences on perceived

value, consumer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in virtual golf. The notable difference between the two

factors was that while core service directly and indirectly impacted consumer satisfaction and perceived value,

peripheral service had no effects on other factors. Although a study (Yosuke, Bennett, & James, 2007) also

found that secondary services might not be a considerable influence on consumer behavior, since an individual

consumption propensity varies depending on the nature of sports (Ko & Pastore, 2004), the results of this study

should be interpreted within the nature of virtual golf.

From a practical marketing perspective, considering that the influence of peripheral service was modest

at best in virtual golf facilities in this study, it is necessary for virtual golf service providers to mainly focus on

core service, which plays the most important role in developing favorable consumer satisfaction and behavioral

intentions with perceived value. That is, the virtual golf industry must provide continuous technical improvement

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and maintain high standards of service quality through qualified service personnel. Virtual reality, which is more

realistic than reality (Lee et al., 2013), is the strongest asset in the virtual sport industry. Along with consumers'

rising expectations on advanced technology, it should be recommended for practitioners not to overlook that the

success of the virtual golf industry depends on technological innovations. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier,

since virtual golf is service business and service personnel is a person who might meet consumers on the front

line, employee training could be another way to improve core service in virtual golf. On the other hand, even

though the role of peripheral services was not significant in this study, the importance of peripheral service

should not be overlooked. That is, the secondary services, which might not be closely related to playing virtual

golf, will nevertheless be a marketing opportunity to develop the consumer experience. Since the kinds of

services that might be provided in a virtual golf center are very limited, efforts to find a way to increase the

quality and identify roles for peripheral service are required.

The second significant structural relationship in the study involved perceived value. The result that

perceived value had a significant direct effect on consumer satisfaction was consistent with previous literature

(Cronin et al., 2000; Yu et al., 2014). Furthermore, as mentioned above, core service had only an indirect effect

on consumer satisfaction via the mediating role of perceived value. This finding indicated the important role of

perceived value (affordability) in the consumer decision-making process in virtual golf. Previous researchers

(Cronin et al., 2000; McDougall & Levesque, 2000; Murray & Howat, 2002; Yu et al., 2014) indicated the

relative attributes of perceived value. Zeithaml (1988) argued that perceived value could be measured by

comparing "what is received and what is given" (p. 14) from the consumers' perspective. Perceived value is

determined by the differences between costs and benefits (Yu et al., 2014). That is, as a mediator, perceived

value plays a great role in building favorable consumer satisfaction. In the same vein, considering that virtual

golf offers relatively reasonable pricing, compared to outdoor golf in the Republic of Korea, the affordability of

virtual golf might be its strongest weapon in attracting consumers and having differentiation from outdoor golf.

Although the results in this study did not reveal that negative service quality was significantly mediated by

positive perceived value, perceived value was positively correlated with all other factors in this analysis. The

marketing strategy of virtual golf, which was invented so that consumers could enjoy golf without financial

burden (Choe, 2008), might therefore align closely with consumer behaviors.

The last meaningful relationship was a path between consumer satisfaction and behavioral intentions.

Consistent with the findings in previous literature (Churchill & Surprenant, 1982; Murray & Howat, 2002;

Howat et al., 1999; McDougall & Levesque, 2000), the current study found that the strongest direct effect of

consumer satisfaction was its influence on behavioral intentions when compared with other factors in virtual

golf. Given that the ultimate marketing goal of virtual golf is to expand its fan base, the result showed what is

important as an emerging sport. Furthermore, based on the statement that "loyal customers are not necessarily

satisfied customers but satisfied customers tend to be loyal customers" (Fornell, 1992, p.7), the virtual golf

industry should remember the value of satisfaction from a marketing perspective. Even if there was no assurance

that a satisfied customer will return, and a dissatisfied customer will not return (Petrick et al., 1999), it is evident

that the construct of consumer satisfaction could play a vital role in choosing to participate in virtual golf.

Conclusions and Directions for Future Research

This study was the first step to explore a newly emerging sport with virtual reality, showing that there

are differences and similarities from previous research from a marketing perspective. Given that the virtual golf

is also one of the sport-related entrainment business, understanding consumer behaviors and predicting their

consumption patterns, which might be a fundamental effort in sport marketing, should be mandatory. To attract

potential consumers and retain current consumers, it is necessary to understand significant factors (i.e., core

service, peripheral service, perceived value, consumer satisfaction, behavioral intentions) in individuals'

decision-making process of virtual golf as this study found.

Additionally, given that customer response to virtual reality would be a significant factor in

understanding consumer behaviors in virtual sports, new scale development for virtual sports would be an

opportunity to investigate the effect of virtual reality in detail from consumers' perspectives. The newly

developed instruments would be standards for future research in virtual sport. Furthermore, to understand

individuals' complex psychological status, the strengths of qualitative research design would provide in-depth

and more detailed information of consumer behaviors from a different point of view.

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