Conceptualizing of why people buy Gym membership in Emerging Markets: An Empirical Analysis on University of the Punjab Students

The 2015 Gymnasium’s membership University of the Punjab Lahore
Institute of Business Administration (IBA) P a g e | 1
Conceptualizing of why people buy
Gym membership in Emerging Markets:
An Empirical Analysis on University of
the Punjab
Institute of Business Administration, University of the Punjab, Lahore,
Pakistan
Hafiz Dabeer 005
Ali Hamza 012
Hassan Habib 015
Amina Tahir 023
Rukhsar Shahzadi 029
Muhammad Usman 047
Saima Manzoor 048
Hafiz Zubair 054
BBA (Afternoon) 2013-2017

1. Abstract:
This research examines relationship between factors that affect the buying behavior of
gymnasium membership of consumers. Gym consumerism refers to recycling, purchasing and
using environment friendly equipment’s that make their body fit and healthy. The research
focuses on influence of four major independent variables derived from literature including
motives, choice criteria, usage behavior and satisfaction on the dependent variable buying
behavioral intention of gymnasium’s membership of the students of University of the Punjab in
Pakistan. The statistical analysis of the data reflects that Motives, Usage Behavior, Choice
Criteria, Satisfaction do influence Gym Membership Buying Behavior Intention of consumer.
1.1.Key words:
Motives, choice criteria, usage behavior, satisfaction, behavioral intention, Gymnasium’s
membership.

2. Table of Contents:
1. Abstract:.................................................................................................................................2
1.1. Key words:......................................................................................................................2
2. Table of Contents:..................................................................................................................3
3. Table of Figures:....................................................................................................................7
4. Introduction:...........................................................................................................................8
4.1. Introduction / Purpose: ...................................................................................................8
4.2. Background of the Study:.............................................................................................10
4.3. Problem Formulation:...................................................................................................12
4.4. Problem statement: .......................................................................................................13
 Significance of the Study (Aims):........................................................................................13
6. Theoretical framework:........................................................................................................13
7. Research objectives:.............................................................................................................14
7.1. Specific objectives:.......................................................................................................14
8. Literature Review: ...............................................................................................................14
8.1. Introduction: .................................................................................................................14
8.2. Gym Membership Buying Behavior Intention:............................................................18
8.2.1. Writing Review and Research Hypotheses: ...............................................18
8.2.2. The impact of gym users’ perceived value of fitness centers:....................19
8.2.3. Types of customers of fitness centres and their profile:.............................20
8.2.4. Types of Gym membership according to their behavior:...........................23

8.2.5. Membership Rules:.....................................................................................24
8.2.6. Behavioral intentions:.................................................................................27
8.3. Motives:........................................................................................................................27
8.3.1. Motives to become a member of a fitness center: ......................................30
8.4. Choice Criteria..............................................................................................................30
8.4.1. Self-Criteria:...............................................................................................30
8.4.2. Provide material resources: ........................................................................31
8.4.3. Scientific and Social Criteria:.....................................................................31
8.4.4. The contribution of research to the advancement of knowledge:...............31
8.4.5. Disseminate the results of the study:..........................................................31
8.4.6. The formulation of the problem and questions:..........................................32
8.4.7. Criteria for the formulation problem: .........................................................32
8.4.8. Criteria for evaluating the problem: ...........................................................32
8.4.9. Fitness center choice criteria: .....................................................................33
8.5. Usage Behavior: ...........................................................................................................33
8.5.1. Considerations for fitness tech design:.......................................................34
8.5.2. Usage behavior in the center: .....................................................................36
8.6. Customer Satisfaction:..................................................................................................37
8.6.1. Factors affecting satisfaction in the fitness center:.....................................40
9. Research questions and Hypothesis:....................................................................................40
9.1. Main research question:................................................................................................40
9.2. Research Hypotheses:...................................................................................................41

9.2.1. Null Hypothesis..........................................................................................41
9.2.2. Alternative Hypothesis:..............................................................................41
10. Methodology:.......................................................................................................................41
10.1. Research Methodology:................................................................................................43
10.1.1. Introduction: .............................................................................................43
10.1.2. Research Design:......................................................................................45
10.2. Population/Sample:.......................................................................................................47
10.3. Strategy of Inquiry:.......................................................................................................48
10.4. Measurement of Questions:..........................................................................................49
10.5. Important Tasks by Respondents: ................................................................................49
10.6. Problems and Error in Survey: .....................................................................................50
11. Data Analysis:......................................................................................................................50
11.1. Validity and Reliability: ...............................................................................................51
11.1.1. Reliability Statistics:.................................................................................53
11.2. Analysis Procedure:......................................................................................................53
11.2.1. Demographics:..........................................................................................53
11.2.2. Qualification of the Students:...................................................................54
11.2.3. Gym Members:.........................................................................................55
11.2.4. Analysis and Results: ...............................................................................55
11.3. Pearson Correlation: .....................................................................................................56
11.4. Linear & Multiple Regressions: ...................................................................................58
11.4.1. Model Summary:......................................................................................58

11.4.2. ANOVA (Analysis of the variances):.......................................................59
11.4.3. Coefficients: .............................................................................................62
11.4.4. Charts:.......................................................................................................64
11.4.4.1. All variables Charts:..............................................................................64
11.4.4.2. Motives Charts: .....................................................................................66
11.4.4.3. Choice Criteria: .....................................................................................69
11.4.4.4. Usage Behavior .....................................................................................72
11.4.4.5. Satisfaction ............................................................................................75
11.5. One Sample Test: .........................................................................................................78
11.6. Chi Square ....................................................................................................................79
11.6.1.1. Age * Behavioral Intentions..................................................................80
11.6.1.2. Education * Behavioral Intentions ........................................................80
11.6.1.3. Motives to become member * Behavioral Intentions ..........................81
11.6.1.4. Choice criteria * Behavioral Intentions.................................................82
11.6.1.5. Usage Behavior * Behavioral Intentions...............................................82
11.6.1.6. Satisfaction * Behavioral Intentions......................................................83
12. Conclusion and Recommendations:.....................................................................................83
12.1. Conclusion:...................................................................................................................83
12.2. Suggestions and Recommendations: ............................................................................84
12.3. Limitations and directions for further research: ...........................................................86
13. References:...........................................................................................................................88

3. Table of Figures:
Table 1 Questionnaire ...................................................................................................52
Table 2 Reliability........................................................................................................53
Table 3 Gender..............................................................................................................53
Table 4 Age...................................................................................................................54
Table 5 Education..........................................................................................................54
Table 6 Gym Member ...................................................................................................55
Table 7 Descriptive Statistics........................................................................................55
Table 8 Correlation........................................................................................................56
Table 9 Model Summary...............................................................................................58
Table 10 ANOVA .........................................................................................................59
Table 11 Motivation ANOVA ........................................................................................60
Table 12 Choice Criteria ANOVA..................................................................................60
Table 13 Usage Behavior ANOVA.................................................................................61
Table 14 Satisfaction ANOVA .......................................................................................61
Table 15 Coefficients ....................................................................................................62
Table 16 Residuals Statistics...........................................................................................63
Table 17 One-Sample Test............................................................................................78
Table 18 Case Processing Summary..............................................................................79
Table 19 Age * Behavioural Intentions CHI-SQUARE .................................................80
Table 20 Education * Behavioural Intentions CHI-SQUARE.......................................80
Table 21 Motives to become member * Behavioural Intentions CHI-SQUARE ..........81
Table 22 Choice criteria * Behavioural Intentions CHI-SQUARE ...............................82
Table 23 Usage Behavior * Behavioural Intentions CHI-SQUARE .............................82
Table 24 Satisfaction * Behavioural Intentions CHI-SQUARE ....................................83

4. Introduction:
Gym consumerism refers to recycling, purchasing and using environment friendly
equipment’s that make their body fit and healthy. Such decisions include do not use high power
supplements, using own power to build their body, buying and eating locally grown vegetables
and fruits. More and more equipment’s are using in the gymnasiums, either out of their interest
in using equipment’s or saving the time.
Regular physical activity is essential for good health and wellbeing, bringing about a
range of physical, social and mental health benefits that are important for both the individual and
society. As people become more aware of these rewards, the prevalence of people going to the
gym (also known as fitness centres or health clubs) is rising, with over a hundred new facilities
opening in the Pakistan in 2013 alone, and with memberships rising to 12.6% of the Pakistan
population. Although users’ behaviors and needs regarding mobile fitness technology have been
investigated, there is little research on technology use at the gym and many studies use self-
reported and retrospective data independent of the context of use (e.g. As behavioral insights are
obtained after the interactions occur and independent of their context, it is argued that such
methods do not elicit comprehensive information about the actual behavior as it happens in the
real world (O’Kane, 2015).
4.1.Introduction / Purpose:
Knowing your customers and being able to provide what satisfies them is a critical issue
for today’s service providers and at the core of today’s marketing paradigm. Knowledge of
consumer behavior helps in effective segmentation and in creating successful service offers.
However, consumer behavior varies across industries and is considered to be multidimensional

(Zeithaml, 1996).
Many researchers have investigated the effect of various factors, such as service quality;
customer satisfaction; perceived service value, and cost of services on consumer behavior in
different industries including banks; fast-foods; dry cleaning; athletic services; entertainment;
thematic parks, and health institutes (Wang, 2008).
In athletic services, research has focused on service quality and customer satisfaction
dimensions and how these affect current and potential behavioral intentions (Afthinos, 2005).
In fitness centers, Papadopoulos et al. (2004) conclude that there is a strong relationship
between all service quality dimensions and positive word-of-mouth communications of
customers whereas (Afthinos, 2005) find that demographic factors such as gender affect
perceived service quality customer expectations of services, and therefore influence consumer
behavior. Furthermore, (Wang, 2008) seek to analyses consumer behavior in fitness centres and
conclude that most customers belong to the 18-35 και 36-55 age categories although mature
customers are increasing rapidly. Also, they find that customers tend to be more educated and the
% of students is increasing. Major customer motives for becoming members in a fitness center
include training and staying fit as well as losing weight. Moreover, customers choose fitness
center based on criteria such as cost; quality of environment; building, and equipment; group
exercise program content, and quality of instructors. Although this study provides some deeper
insights regarding the way consumers behave in fitness centres, there is a need to analyses further
this behavior. Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyze consumer behavior in fitness
centres. In detail, we aim to study consumers’ profile (demographic and psychographic); their
motives for becoming members in a fitness center; the selection criteria they use; their usage
behavior in the fitness center; the factors that affect their satisfaction from the fitness Centre, and
their future behavioral intentions regarding the fitness center.

4.2.Background of the Study:
Exercise is well studied in the domains of sports psychology and behavior change. The
concepts behind some persuasive technologies to support physical activity are loosely based on
health behavior change theories, featuring elements of social support, motivation and self-
efficacy. Motivation is a key feature in exercise behavior and can account for individual
differences in behaviors inspiring people to engage in exercise. Intrinsic motivation is described
as performing a behavior for its own sake; exercising for the enjoyment of the experience. It has
been shown that performance feedback and having a personal choice of the type of music to listen
to influences situational motivation. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation is doing something
as a means to an end as opposed to for its own sake, for instance exercising for the purpose of
rewards such as achieving a weight loss target. It has been found that tracking one’s activity is
beneficial for fitness behavior change. Setting goals for oneself is also a well-known strategy that
has been shown to contribute towards behavior change for fitness activity. The design of many
mobile fitness applications revolves around activity tracking and goal setting with the aim of
increasing user’s physical activity. As well as the influence of individual personal goals on
motivation, research has also demonstrated the motivational effects of external stimulation during
physical activity. Engaging in technology for entertainment such as watching TV and listening
to music has been discovered to have positive psychological and physiological effects on exercise
performance. In a review, Karagoris and Priest summarized that during repetitive, endurance-
related anaerobic activities, listening to self-selected motivational music demonstrated
performance enhancing effects (e.g. an increase in stamina). Music was found to reduce
perceptions of exertion; it is hypothesized that this may be due to the ‘dissociation’ effect in
which music distracts attention away from the pain associated with the exercise. Another way in
which music has been shown to increase performance is through the characteristics of
synchronous music, whereby the rhythm moderates movement patterns (O’Kane, 2015).

The fitness industry is made up of around 300-360 club operators within New Zealand1.
The types of businesses that make up the fitness industry include large standalone clubs,
franchises, large club chains, council gyms, university recreation centres, community clubs,
women only clubs, working men’s clubs and corporate clubs. It is estimated that around 8-9% of
New Zealanders hold a gym membership at any one time.
Fitness centres offer a wide range of solutions to members, some of which include weight
loss, muscle toning, cardiovascular fitness, stress management, and injury
prevention/rehabilitation.
Fitness center services can include, cardio equipment (treadmills, cross-trainers, etc.),
weight machines, a free weights area, group fitness workouts, resistance training aids, and access
to supplementary fitness aids such as Swiss balls, medicine balls, boxing equipment etc. and
personal training options. Toilet and shower facilities are an essential part of most fitness centres.
Most fitness centres offer a flexible workout timetable and so operate outside of the
traditional workday hours –operating an extended workday anywhere from 12 hours a day to 24
hours a day 7 days a week.
Fitness centres can have an impact on the environment in a number of ways including:
• energy consumed by, powered equipment; embodied in the materials used in gym
equipment, fitness center fit out, or consumables used; and operational consumption
(i.e. use of air conditioning, heating systems and lighting);
• Air and water quality; cleaning chemicals, particularly disinfectants, can have a
detrimental effect on water quality in the environment and can emit volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) which can have a negative effect on indoor air quality and cause
respiratory problems. In the USA, cleaning products are reported as responsible for
approximately 8% of nonvehicle emissions of VOCs2 and the US Environmental
Protection Agency reports common organic pollutants to be 2-5 times higher indoors

than outdoors in both rural and industrial areas3; and
 The types of materials used in the fit out of fitness centres and in the production
of gym equipment can also place a significant burden on the environment. The
most important impacts are related to sourcing and producing the materials that
are used in the fit out or to manufacture gym equipment. Any hazardous
substances used in manufacturing can also become incorporated in these materials
and can result in discharges from the finished product which can have adverse
effects on human health during use (for example heavy metal use in electronics).
Fitness centres have the opportunity to contribute positively by careful and considered
procurement policies of equipment, cleaning exercise Motivation Inventory calls, consumables
and services and by actively participating in energy and water conservation reviews and
processes.
4.3.Problem Formulation:
Many latest reports show that the demand for fitness center’s products is increasing day
by day. Understanding people concern about fitness and their behavior is important not only for
academics but also for the manufacturers and marketers of the fitness centres. If consumers are
health conscious and having buying behavior of gym membership then it became necessary for
profit seeking organizations to apply the concept of gymnasium in their operations Thus to
understand the behavior of consumers in a country regarding health, a good starting point is to
see how people in a country view fitness problems and how their views effect their behavior
related to their purchases a gym membership.

4.4.Problem statement:
To examine the impact of buying behavior of gym membership of the students of a
University of the Punjab in Pakistan by examining five variables which are:-
 Motives
 Choice Criteria
 Usage Behavior
 Satisfaction
 Behavior Intention
 Significance of the Study (Aims):
This study is useful for businesses and marketers because it provides insight about gym
membership buying behavior of the students of University of the Punjab market potentials and
help them to target gym consumers. It contributes to the following areas:
a) Increasing awareness about the factors that can affect the joining behavior of gym
membership.
b) Provide assistance to businesses to increase understanding of the gymnasium market
potential and increase their market share
c) Provide assistance to increase the understanding of the purchase behavior of fitness and
environment conscious consumers.
6. Theoretical framework:
This study explore the relationship between gymnasium’s membership of students which
is taken as a dependent variable and motives, choice criteria, usage behavior, satisfaction and
behavioral intention as independent variables.

7. Research objectives:
The aim of this study is to look at the factors that will affect the behavior intention of
students.
7.1.Specific objectives:
Following are the specific objectives:
 That Motives affects consumer gym Membership Buying Behavior Intention.
 That Usage Behavior affects consumer gym Membership Buying Behavior Intention.
 That Choice Criteria affects consumer gym Membership Buying Behavior Intention.
 That satisfaction affects consumer gym Membership Buying Behavior Intention.
8. Literature Review:
8.1.Introduction:
Gym consumerism refers to recycling, purchasing and using environment friendly
equipment’s that make their body fit and healthy. Such decisions include do not use high power
supplements, using own power to build their body, buying and eating locally grown vegetables
and fruits. More and more equipment’s are using in the gymnasiums, either out of their interest

in using equipment’s or saving the time.
‘Going to the gym’ can be perceived as a singular activity in a box; people going in,
exercising and coming out. However, the findings of this situated exploratory study show that
this is not the case; the gym is a complex and dynamic environment. This includes variety in the
physicality of exercises, the physical design, and the facilities as well as how an exercise changes
over its course. The most dominant factor is the difference in types of exercise performed in the
gym influencing the use and nonuse of digital technology: exercises are inherently different in
the way that they are performed and what they demand from the individual. For example, the
physicality of the context of exercising at the gym meant a participant was looking for distraction
on their smartphones during the ‘dead time’ between reps or when they were bored on the
treadmill, but were very frustrated by any disruption when they were concentrating on form or
particularly when counting reps on non-digital resistance machines. Across the data set, exercise
was found to influence the occupation of physical space, the physical equipment and how people
were feeling in the moment, and therefore influenced the technologies available and participants’
use and non-use of technology. Beyond the complexity of the environment, we found that the
people who go to the gym can have very different technology needs. There are many available
technology choices in the gym and participants used and adopted them in different ways. This
variety in use was related to participants’ motivations for exercise, their health goals, how they
valued exercise, their individual preferences towards certain technologies, and simply their
personal taste. For example, intrinsic motivation to exercise meant that participants monitored
in-the-moment heart rate information or avoided technology altogether to achieve a sense of
‘flow’, but extrinsic motivation meant that other participants actively avoided low performance
values on a Fuel band or prioritized watching TV on their phone for distraction and therefore did
not use resistance machines. With regards to fitness technologies, we found there were
differences in the way that individuals used the activity tracking technology, in line with Rooks

by et al. Rather than independently determining behavior, the complexity of the environment and
the complexity of individual differences are intertwined in how they influence the use and non-
use of technology in the gym. Non-use has been gaining attention in the HCI domain in recent
years. Satchell and Dourish talk about different types of non-use of technology such as active
resistance, disenchantment, and disinterest, but these categories do not cover the non-use that we
found among the fitness informatics adopting participants. Our participants opted in and opted
out of using technology based on the type of exercise they were doing, the physical space afforded
near that exercise, and the point they were at in a particular exercise. This opting in and opting
out of technology use was also closely linked to people’s individual differences, particularly their
values, motivations, and preferences. This study took a step towards expanding our understanding
of the influence that context of use can have on the rhythms/routines of the gym visit and
rhythms/routines of technology use. However, even with this targeted scope, it did not access the
complete complexity of the gym context. This study involved a limited amount of participants,
focused on working out alone at the gym and participants may have been influenced by the
presence of a researcher observing them, which influence its representativeness. If the study
involved the recruitment of participants who come to the gym to exercise with a partner (or ‘gym
buddy’) or observed people in group classes, it might have uncovered factors relating to how the
social context influences fitness technology use. Features such as sensors and pedometers are
being added to smartwatches under the assumption that this is what people want and are able to
use throughout different settings, including during exercise. In reality, a large number of people
choose the gym as their regular source of physical activity, and this context influences what
people want to use and what they can actually use. We found that if participants want to use some
of these features, they choose to alter the way they exercise, for example where a participant with
a wrist Fitbit did not use the handlebars on the elliptical and felt unbalanced while gaining
pedometer information. Similarly, people can opt out of features of the technology entirely if it

does not fit into their exercise preferences, as was the case where text notifications were disabled
on the Samsung Gear Fit to prevent disruption. This research has particular relevance to the
growing trend for wearable technologies, especially those geared towards fitness, such as the
Samsung Gear Fit or Apple Watch. The use of these increasingly popular technologies has not
been comprehensively explored in the context of everyday life, and much work still needs to be
completed focusing on how different aspects of people’s lives influence use and nonuse, and how
the use of the technology in turn influences people’s lives. By using a situated approach, the
current study reveals use and non-use tensions that arise for fitness technologies that may be used
in the gym, as it is a complex space and individual differences are wide-ranging. We should be
wary of context-independent design and research of wearable technologies that are meant to be
useful in all environments, including in and outside of the gym and in conjunction with the use
of a variety of other technology. Wearable technology is inherently mobile and therefore its use
is influenced by the unfolding and dynamic context in which it is used, as well as the individual
using it. As such, a situated approach to design and ‘in the wild’ evaluation would allow for the
investigation of contextual factors that influence the various uses and non-uses of these emerging
technologies.
“I try not to think about what I am doing so I watch TV on my phone. Distraction is my
key. When I cannot use my phone I have to concentrate on it and I feel every second of it”
(Juliette, observation and dialogue).
(Referring to the machine display and music) “Having something else to concentrate on
takes my mind away from pain and tiredness” (Andy, interview) “I try not to think about what I
am doing so I watch TV on my phone. Distraction is my key. When I cannot use my phone I have
to concentrate on it and I feel every second of it” (Juliette, observation and dialogue).
“I think exercise should be a time to get away from unnecessary technology and
distractions and just focus on exercising and being in the zone, that’s why I don’t even bring my

phone with me” (Kevin, interview).
“When I am too busy to exercise as much, I don’t wear the Fuel band. I don’t like to see
that I have not reached my goal so would rather not wear it at all on some days” (Harry, interview)
8.2.Gym Membership Buying Behavior Intention:
8.2.1. Writing Review and Research Hypotheses:
It is essential to comprehend where client worth fits in the chain of customer recognitions
as distinctive variables add to pre and post buy esteem recognitions (Sweeney 2003). His study
concentrates on post-buy client impression of worth. This is on the domains that the quality of an
exercise center enrollment may not be totally shaped by the client before beginning a wellness
program particularly since the exercise center part needs to experience the administration and see
the outcomes of their work out schedule to completely admire the estimation of the
administration.
To compress, this study tests the accompanying theories:
Ha: The apparent useful estimation of wellness focuses has a positive effect on the nature of
Life view of exercise center individuals/clients. Hob: The apparent money related
estimation of wellness focuses has a positive effect on the nature of life view of exercise center
individuals/clients. Ch.: The apparent enthusiastic estimation of wellness focuses has a positive
effect on the nature of life impression of rec center individuals/clients. Had: The apparent social
estimation of wellness focuses has a positive effect on the personal satisfaction impression of rec
center individuals/clients. He: The apparent social collaboration estimation of wellness focuses
has a positive effect on the personal satisfaction view of rec center individuals/clients. Definition:
Behavioral intention (BI) is characterized as a man's person's perceived probability or
"subjective likelihood that he or she will participate in a given conduct" (Committee on
Communication for Behavior Change in the 21st Century, 2002, p. 31).BI is conduct particular
and operationalized by direct inquiries, for example, "I mean to [behavior]," with Liker scale

reaction decisions to measure relative quality of goal. Expectation has been spoken to in
estimation by different equivalent words (e.g., "I plan to [behavior]") and is particular from
comparable ideas, for example, yearning and self-forecast (Arbitrage & Conner, 2001). Janzen
(1991) contended that BI reflects how hard a man is willing to attempt, and how persuaded he or
she is, to perform the conduct .In principle in which is it included, BI is the most proximate
indicator of conduct (Janzen, 1991), and conduct is eventually the variable that most wellbeing
correspondence mediations expect to impact.
Two primary speculations utilized as a part of wellbeing correspondence that incorporate
BI are the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) (Fishbone & Janzen, 1975) and the Theory of
Planned Behavior (TPB) (Janzen, 1991).
Knowing your customer and satisfying their needs is at the core of today’s marketing
paradigm. However, consumer behavior varies across industries and is considered to be multi-
dimensional (Zenithal et al., 1996). many researchers have investigated the effect of perceived
service value or cost of services , on consumer behavior in different industries including banks;
fast food ; dry cleaning ; athletic service and health institutes ( e.g. Binge et al .,2005) in fitness
centers, we conclude that there is strong relationship between all service quality dimensions and
positive word of mouth communications whereas Fashions et al ., (2005) find that demographic
factors such as gender effect perceived service quality expectations and therefore influence
consumer behavior .finally, only Wang et el (2008) analyses consumer behavior in fitness center
and how it has changed in recent years
8.2.2. The impact of gym users’ perceived value of fitness centers:
In behavioral aims, we must note that the most vital aim is verbal correspondence. Most
respondents are willing to give positive informal exchange to their wellness focus and are very
dedicated to their supplier regarding buy goals now and later on. Likewise, most respondents are
not exceptionally value delicate and their whining expectations are low (see table 5 for means for

every sort of behavioral aims). The effect of exercise center clients' apparent estimation of
wellness focuses on their personal satisfaction recognitions (Ouschan, 2009).
Results show that respondents are 61% women and 39% men, most of them (45%) belong
to the 24-35 age category whereas 32 are from 36-50 years old. Almost half of the sample has a
bachelor’s degree (43%). The majority of respondents are not married (62%) and their income
level is mostly (43%) between €1000-2000. Respondents are employed as private employees
(40%), civil servants (26%), or free professionals (19%). Also, there are a lot of students members
of fitness centres (10%) (Ouschan, 2009).
8.2.3. Types of customers of fitness centres and their profile:
Name Sports-savvy
consumer
Health-
oriented
consumer
Athletic
consumer
Pressured
consumer
Characteristics Like to wear
athletic
clothing Read
sports media
Keep informed
of fitness trends
Follow an
athletic way of
life Have been
involved in
sports as
Have a specific
diet Often
follow diets
Have a healthy
lifestyle
View exercise
as fun
Consider
exercise as a
way of life
Devote their
free time to
other forms of
exercise (e.g.
cycling,
swimming).
Are bored in
gym Visit gym
because their
doctor says so
Perceive the
gym as a
necessary evil

amateurs
/professionals
Demographics Men & women;
23-35 years old
have bachelor’s
degree not
married work in
private sector
medium/low
income
Women mostly
36-50 & 23-35
y. old have
bachelor’s
degree private
employees/civil
servants
medium/low
income
Men & women
23-50 years
old have
bachelor’s
degree
married; work
in private
sector & as
freelancers.
Women mostly;
36 – 50 y. old,
high school
graduates work
as private
employees, civil
servants &
freelancers
medium/low
income
Motives Enhance fitness
state Increase
body mass
Control body
weight
Enhance fitness
state
Enhance
fitness state
Relaxation /
stress
Reduction
Health reasons
Control body
weight
Selection
criteria
Quality of
environment –
modern
Equipment
Value for
money aspects
Quality of
environment –
modern
Equipment
Supplementary
benefits
Quality of
environment–
modern
equipment
Supplementary
benefits
Value for
money aspects
of offer; Quality
of environment
– modern
equipment

of offer
Behavior in
the center
Mostly use
aerobic
equipment &
weights, and
sometimes do
group exercise
classes for 1.5
to 2 hours / visit
Mostly use
aerobic
equipment and
prefer group
exercise
classes; follow
trainers’
instructions &
use gym 1
to1.5h
They do
anything
depending on
their mood, for
1.5 to 2 hours.
Mostly use
aerobic
equipment and
anything else
depending on
the mood for
about 1hour.
Factors
affecting
Customer
satisfaction
Quality of
environment –
modern
equipment
Quality -
professionalism
of personnel
Quality of
environment –
modern
Equipment
Quality -
professionalism
of personnel.
Quality of
environment -
modern
equipment,
Security,
reliability &
organization
Economic
factors Security,
reliability &
organization

Behavioral
intentions
Positive word
of mouth
communication
(w-o-m comm.)
Rarely
complain Not
sensitive to
price
Committed to
supplier
Positive w-o-m
comm. May
complain
occasionally
for
temperature,
cleanliness,
space
Availability
Price sensitive
Likely to
switch in future
Positive w-o-
m comma
Rarely
complain. Not
sensitive to
price
Committed to
supplier
Negative w-o-m
comm. Often
complain for
trainers’
professionalism;
temperature;
cleanliness;
space
availability
Price sensitive
Likely to switch
in future
(Fitness) Found the following that Gym membership should be based on following types:
8.2.4. Types of Gym membership according to their behavior:
1.1.1.1. Individual Membership:
Access to all facilities 7 days a week with no restrictions and the
option to pay either monthly or annually
1.1.1.2. Over 55 Membership:
For people aged 55 and over. Proof of age required.
1.1.1.3. Youth Membership:
Discounted membership for 15 - 17 year olds. Proof of age required.

1.1.1.4. Student Membership:
Discounted membership for full time students. Proof of student status
required.
1.1.1.5. Family Membership:
For families comprising 2 adults and 1-3 children aged from 0-14.
8.2.5. Membership Rules:
 Sport Centre Terms and Conditions
 All Sports Centre members must comply with the Sports Centre T&Cs, the
Customer Code of Conduct, Rules and Conditions of Use displayed on notice
boards within the Sports Centre (‘Membership Rules’). We may make reasonable
changes to the Membership Rules at any given time but will give you advance
notice wherever possible.
 To gain admission a membership card is required at all times and must be swiped
on entry. Failure to have membership card three times will result in no entry or
the option to pay for a day visit.
 Membership is non-transferable and you must not allow your membership card to
be misused. Failure to comply with these rules may lead to a suspension in
membership.
 We are only liable for lost or damaged personal property where the loss or damage
results from our negligence.
 It is your responsibility to bring to our attention any changes in your medical
condition as stated on your health questionnaire.
 The opening hours of facilities may sometimes need to be changed due to repairs,
maintenance or other factors outside our control, but we will give you advance
warning wherever possible. The Sports Centre will be closed on all public Bank

Holidays and will also be closed during the University’s Christmas closure period.
 Minimum membership periods and cancellation
 Minimum periods of memberships are either 3 or 12 months.
 We may cancel your membership if you commit any serious or repeated breach of
the Membership Rules. To cover its reasonable cost, the University may retain
any part of the membership fees you have paid which relate to a period after
cancellation.
 You may cancel your membership if you are unable to use the Sports Centre
through serious illness or injury (but if requested you must provide a valid Medical
Certificate). We will refund any part of the membership fees you have paid which
relates to a period after cancellation. In all other cases (but except where the
university is in serious default), refunds for cancellation are at the discretion of
the management and will require relevant documentary evidence, e.g. proof of
your withdrawal from a University programmer or job relocation.
 Off Peak membership
 Access to the swimming pool and fitness suite is permitted Monday – Friday
9.00am-3.00pm, and throughout the weekend. Off peak members must have left
the Sports Centre by 4.00pm. Access to the Sports Centre outside of these hours
for Silver members will be charged at the daily rate, and access for Community
members is not allowed.
 Accommodation memberships
 Castle Irwell, Constantine and Horlock residents must bring valid student ID to
join the Sports Centre.
 John Lester and Eddie Colman residents must bring their tenancy agreements
(with valid dates) and valid student ID to join the Sports Centre.

 Inductions
 All new users must undergo a gym induction before they can use the Fitness Suite.
This is free of charge for all members.
 At least 6 hours cancelation notice must be given on any induction that is booked
regardless of membership type.
 Failure to attend a booked induction or provide the minimum cancellation notice
will result in you having to rebook a new induction and a £5 charge being added
to your account. You will be unable to use any part of the facility until this debt
has been paid.
 Class Bookings
 All bookings must be paid for at the time of booking. Excluding Platinum
members.
 At least three hours’ notice of cancellation must be given for all classes regardless
of membership type.
 The place of any member not present for the start of the class they have booked
will be given to anyone who is waiting. No refund will be given.
 Failure to attend any class or provide suitable notice of cancellation will result in
full payment being charged for Silver and Gold members. Platinum members will
receive a class strike.
 For Platinum members, two class strikes within 30 days results in loss of rights to
book classes for 30 days.

8.2.6. Behavioral intentions:
Factors Mean
Word of mouth communication 4.6
Complaining intentions 3.2
Purchase intentions (now and in the future) 3.5
Price sensitivity 3.3
*Likert scale from 1= extremely unlikely to 5 = extremely likely
In behavioral intentions, we must note that the most important intention is word-of-
mouth communication. Most respondents are willing to provide positive word of mouth for
their fitness center and are quite committed to their supplier in terms of purchase intentions
now and in the future. Also, most respondents are not very price sensitive and their
complaining intentions are low (see table 5 for means for each type of behavioral intentions)
(Ouschan, 2009).
8.3.Motives:
(Ouschan, 2009) Found the following:
Motives have passed through several evolutionary phases of time. After beginning in the
decade of 1960 with the name of gyming having a prime focuses on pollution control and power
conservation; it then expanded to include social pressures as well. Today companies have
surpassed the boundaries of Motives beyond simply recycling of waste, gym packaging, and
products’ redesigning & renewable products. Since the decade of 1990, Motives has evolved into
one of the pivotal issues. Countries like America and Europe have realized the importance of
environment in consumers buying decisions which commonly refer to as Gym marketing. Gym
marketing can also be termed as sustainable marketing or environmental marketing. Gym
marketing comprises activities related to design, promotion and distribution of products that have
a minimum carbon footprint, in perfect accordance with customers’ needs and desires. During

the past 10 years especially, there has been a steep rise in Motives and this has been attributed to
media, enhanced awareness levels of consumers, ozone layer depletion, power crises and voices
raised by environmental activists. Now consumers perceive nature’s preservation as a central
factor in their every purchasing decision they make. They have begun to take it not only as a task
obligatory on Government but also as everyone’s duty. Such consumers are termed as Gym
consumers and are pointed out as the ones who don’t use dangerous products not only for their
health but also for environmental health and well-being. Besides this, they also are cautious about
the ingredients used in products, if they are extracted from sources, which are already on a verge
of extinction. This enhanced awareness level has given birth to a new horizon for companies
today to grow.
Motives is not the only direct force that exerts influence on the specific ecological
behaviors, rather EC can be termed as the set of perceptions, emotional linkages, attitudes, values
and behaviors exhibited by the consumers. EC was initially studied with an operationalization
approach. Literature reveals that five sub-scales were established i.e. affect, knowledge, verbal
commitment and actual commitment by consumers (Ibáñez, 2006).
Today Motives is taken as a general attitude which revolves around cognitive and
affective evaluations of the environment’s preservation. One way, to see Motives is through
taking personal factors like age, income, etc. (Dunlap, 2000),
A second approach looks at the EC as a function of risks consumers adhere to (Dunlap,
2000). A third one takes EC as a development phenomenon like needs that come in higher-order
(Mohai, 2010).The next approach takes EC as a smaller part of bigger human moral concerns
about universal value (Mohai, 2010).The relationship between Motives and gym purchasing
behavior is low to mild (Bamberg, 2003). This discrepancy is handled by including situational
variables’ mediating effect between these relationships. Motives is now seen as an ideology
having an influence only on symbolic behaviors pertinent to environment. (Pickett-Baker, 2008)

presents Motives as a one-dimensional attitude and asserts that Motives has not any direct linkage
with the gym Membership Buying Behavior Intention and gym purchasing behaviors; instead EC
is directly linked to the perception & personal behaviors (Bamberg, 2003).
Environmental knowledge & concern greatly exerted an influence over GPI. Motives
greatly exerts an influence over the gym Membership Buying Behavior Intentions of consumers.
Attitudes play a mediator role between this relationship of Motives and Gym Membership Buying
Behavior Intention (Aman, 2012).
Motives is termed as a belief, stance and the extent of Motives a consumer has in his
mind. EC can be studied from seven angles: concern for waste, wildlife, biosphere, duties,
education, health, awareness of energy & environmental technology (Ahmadun, 2003). Motives
is a pivotal factor in consumer buying process. 3 dimensions of Motives were employed to define
gym consumers among British consumers which are: Environmental issues’ knowledge; attitudes
towards quality of environment and environmental sensitive behavior (Ahmadun, 2003)
Motives also can be defined as the extent of emotionality a consumer is linked to
environmental issues. EC also refers to the awareness of people about the threats posed to
environment and natural resources on the planet (Ali, 2011).EC can be multi-faceted and cane
exerts more influence on some consumer behaviors which are translated into daily human
activities. Motives exerts a strong influence on buying patterns of consumers and today increased
proportion of consumers is buying ecological products (Aman H. &., 2012). Environmental
consciousness can termed as the particular psychological factors which are linked to the
consumers’ propensity to involve in environmentally friendly behaviors (Lafuente, 2010).
The most important consumer motive to become a member of a fitness center is to
enhance their fitness state followed by relaxation – stress reduction (see Table 1 for mean scores
for each motive).

8.3.1. Motives to become a member of a fitness center:
Motives Mean
Enhance fitness state 4.35*
Relaxation –stress reduction 3.62
Control body weight 3.58
Health reasons 3.52
Increase body mass 2.88
Social interaction 2.39
*Likert scale from 1= not important to 5 = very important
The most important consumer motive to become a member of a fitness center is to
enhance their fitness state followed by relaxation – stress reduction (see Table 1 for mean scores
for each motive).
8.4.Choice Criteria
A choice criteria is defined as: the various attributes (and benefits) a consumer uses when
evaluating products and services (Jobber, 2013).
Choice Criteria of Research Problem Interested in the affairs research puts a number of
criteria that help the researcher in the selection problem Some of these standards researcher
himself, and others to external social factors
The following are the most important of these criteria:
8.4.1. Self-Criteria:
These standards relate to the researcher and his personality, abilities and inclinations
where they cannot Researcher to tackle a problem only if it had a tendency to this problem One
of the most self-criteria: Researcher interest: Researcher tends to choose the problems of concern
to the attention A person who personally tends Waller problem can make active efforts as a whole.

The ability of a researcher: the researcher must accompany the attention of the subject provide
the technical capacity And skills necessary to do this research, provide that if the research is being
done to reach and resolve the problem.
8.4.2. Provide material resources:
Some research requires considerable material has the potential of Are not available to the
researcher, which makes his task difficult and therefore must take into account the researcher In
his choice of problem to the availability of material resources necessary for its consideration. -
Information is available: The study of the research problem requiring access to information And
certain statements in the references, books or manuscripts in the Documentation Centers This
implies that the researcher confirmed the availability of references and information on the
problem of search.
8.4.3. Scientific and Social Criteria:
Standards made up in addition to the Self criteria sound basis for the selection problem
Search Among the most prominent scientific and social norms as follows: Interest scientific
research: The other side of applied research is very important because of the goals of scientific
research that Arrive at the facts and knowledge and scientific methods to help us improve the
living conditions Must be from a combination of the theoretical side of reality and scientific
applications
8.4.4. The contribution of research to the advancement of knowledge:
The researcher on that adds nothing to human knowledge, do not do running Researcher
in subjects duplicates not led to the discovery of information and new facts. The human
knowledge-building is connected to every researcher involved in this construction by adding new
this addition is the justification for the great efforts made by each researcher in the field.
8.4.5. Disseminate the results of the study:
Researcher tries to choose the design problem and urging him to have a general nature

and so Facilitate the dissemination of their results on similar cases, it is true that the generalization
is dangerous but What applies to a situation may not apply to another position, but there is a
degree of stability And sustained in the things that allows circular within acceptable limits. That
good research is to draw attention to a subject and addresses the aspects of this find Moa and
leave the door open to dozens of studies.
8.4.6. The formulation of the problem and questions:
There is no specific language drafted in the form of questions or phrases are expressive,
but in any formulation should be formulated quite clear.
8.4.7. Criteria for the formulation problem:
The clarity of the wording and accuracy. - Be clear in the wording and the presence of
variables. - That the formulation of the problem must be clear so that it can reach a solution which
are subject to immediate testing.
8.4.8. Criteria for evaluating the problem:
Do you deal with the problem the subject or the subject newly bias? - Do you contribute
to this subject in addition certain scientific? - Is the problem has been formulated in precise terms
and clear? - Will this problem to the attention research and other studies? - Is the benefit of
scientific results will be presented to the community?

8.4.9. Fitness center choice criteria:
Factors No of items Cronbach a
Quality of environment – equipment 4 0.762
Value for money aspects of the offer (opening hours – prices
– quality of personnel,)
3 0.659
Supplementary benefits (e.g. power plate, massage, hair
styling, sauna)
11 0.936
Social factors (social relations to personnel, friends already
members etc.)
4 0.762
The selection criteria customers use to choose fitness center belong to four major groups
(as determined by factor analysis on larger list): quality of environment & equipment;
supplementary benefits such as massage, solarium or hair-styling; value for money aspects of the
offer (opening hours – prices – quality of personnel), and social factors (social relations to
personnel, friends already members etc.) (Ouschan, 2009).
8.5.Usage Behavior:
Interestingly, because of the variety of different exercises you can undertake in a gym,
people’s desire to use certain technology often conflicted with what was possible within that
environment and people were forced to find workarounds.
For instance many fitness bands, such as the Samsung Gear Fit, were unable to capture
any useful data when people were using a static cycling machine, as the devices require GPS
from a smartphone. Additionally, the dynamic body movements and change of positions involved
in exercising posed practical restrictions on the ability to use certain devices; e.g. headphone
wires would get in the way and there were limitations for where smartphones could be placed
when on the resistant machines. I noticed situations where wearable activity trackers did not work
well for certain gym activities which consequently impacted on the way people exercised. I saw

for example that people did not hold onto the handle bars of the cross-trainer just so that their
Fitbit wristband could track their movement.
8.5.1. Considerations for fitness tech design:
The wearable technology industry is moving fast, especially when it comes to fitness.
Since my research new tracking devices have launched onto the market, such as the Apple Watch
Health Kit, which includes GPS and allows the measurement of both indoor and outdoor
exercises. It also somewhat caters for individual needs as the device can learn patterns of activity
over time and the user can set personal goals accordingly. Other health technologies are becoming
more connected with the development of activity tracking clothing and footwear. Additionally,
some gyms are proposing to provide a connected experience for their customers by introducing
fitness bands that enable tracking of workout history (e.g. Virgin Active).
Nonetheless, current means of tracking fitness is still siloes because wearable technology
and fitness apps are largely designed for tracking particular types of exercises, in certain contexts
(such as outdoor running). As a result, different activities are being measured using inconsistent
metrics (e.g. Fuel points on the Nike Fuel band) and data may be stored in multiple places.
Therefore, it seems that achieving a holistic and comprehensive view of an individual’s fitness
activity both inside and out of the gym is still some way ahead.
As my research showed, how people use technology within the gym is dependent on
individual preferences and the exercise being performed. When designing technology which is
either designed to fit within the gym experience, or join up across different contexts and types of
exercises, there are a number of things to be considered. Here are some initial thoughts, feel free
to add your own via the comments section.
Enable users to tailor how data is delivered to match their workout preferences e.g. hide
certain functions such as time, set the delivery of performance stats to appear when they want
them most i.e. middle or end of workout.

Enable measurement of a variety of exercises, including gym-specific exercises such as
lifting weights and static aerobic machines. Include specialized sensors on resistance machines,
or allow the wear of activity trackers on other relevant body parts, e.g. a band on the ankle to
capture cross-trainer strides
Fitness data recorded at the gym should integrate seamlessly with the individual’s fitness
data history, whereby all data is stored in one place on the smartphone or in the cloud. Exercise
machines should be able to connect to personal devices (via Bluetooth) to access individual’s
fitness achievements and aims in order to suggest realistic and personalized training programmers
and goals. This would provide a more connected and tailored experience for gym users.
The gym environment poses some interesting challenges for designers of technology and
particularly wearable devices, such as the individual preferences of the person exercising through
to the physical restraints of the exercise being carried out.
During my research I explored people’s current exercising behavior, their experience with
fitness related technology, and observed how they interacted with technology whilst exercising
in the gym. My findings were extensive so I’ve focused here on the most interesting themes from
my observations of how people use technology as an aid to exercise in the gym.
The main behaviors I observed were:
 Seeking distraction or avoiding disruption
 Seeking information vs avoiding information
 Exercise shaping tech usage and tech shaping exercise
Watching people exercise revealed some interesting nuances of behavior which impact
on the design of technology for exercise.
Some people actively sought out things to distract them from thinking about ‘the burn’ of
exercise and so used technology for entertainment purposes. I observed them using their
smartphones for watching TV, listening to audio books and messaging friends. This behavior was

most prominent in people whose primary purpose for going to the gym was to lose weight.
In contrast, people whose primary focus was on fitness actively avoided disruption. They
tended to only use technology which helped improve performance such as the activity tracking
display, or music to aid motivation and focus. Some purposely faced away from the TV screens
or turned off smartwatch notifications so nothing would disrupt their sense of flow.
In addition, the type of exercise and the amount of physical and cognitive concentration
needed also influenced the way people engaged with devices. When performing unvaried aerobic
exercises, such as running on the treadmill at a constant pace for a long time, most people I
observed used technology for distraction as the activity does not require a high level of attention.
8.5.2. Usage behavior in the center:
Factors Mean
Aerobic equipment (running belts, bicycles
etc.)
3.90*
Weights 3.68
What trainers tell me 2.99
Anything depending on my mood 2.57
Group exercise classes 2.53
*Likert scale from 1= never to 5 = very often
Although the sample is dominated by women, 82% use weights whereas only 54% take
part in group workout sessions. Most customers use aerobic equipment and weights very often
and many times they do what trainers tell them whereas they work out in groups less often (see
table 3 for means of usage behavior). A large 50% work out from 1 to 1.5 hours and 36% from
1.5 to 2 hours. Also, 56% come to the center from 17.00 up to 21.00 and 94% visit the center
from 2 to 5 times per week. More than half of respondents (55%) are members of the fitness
center for more than 1 year whereas 38% are members for more than 2 years (Ouschan, 2009).

8.6.Customer Satisfaction:
Customer Satisfaction is a term frequently used in marketing. It is a measure of how
products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation.
Customer satisfaction is a key factor in formation of customer’s desires for future
purchase. Customer satisfaction is the outcome felt by those that have experienced a company’s
performance that have fulfilled their expectations. Many researchers and aced Exercise
Motivation Inventory cairns highlight the importance of customer satisfaction. Many researchers
see that customer satisfaction has a positive effect on organization’s profitability. Much empirical
evidence also shows the positive connection between customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention.
Nowadays mostly all companies are realizing the significance of the delivering and managing
their service quality, which leads to the customer satisfaction. The quality of the services that is
delivered can meet or can exceed the customer expectations are mainly influenced by customer’s
prior expectations. Then these satisfied customers will probably talk to others about their good
experiences. This fact, especially in the Middle Eastern countries, where the social life has been
shaped in a way that the social communication with others enhance the society, is more important.
Satisfaction is an inner view, resulted from the customer’s own experiences from the services.
Finally, several researches have been done on the relation between service quality and
satisfaction: findings of some of these researches show that the satisfaction results in service
quality. Creating customer satisfaction by meeting their expectation has played as the initial and
important role in company. The higher level of customer satisfaction leads to greater degree of
the customer loyalty and retention. The customer satisfaction is very important factor that plays
an important effect on the revenues and profits of a firm. It is the fundamental pointer. It helps to
secure the future revenues of a firm. The positive word of mouth of the existing customers
decrease the cost of a firm or business of attracting and inviting new customers and heightens
the insight and overall status of a firm. While the dissatisfied and unhappy customers and

consumers have the contradictory effect on the reputation of a firm. Those firms and businesses
which provide the superior quality and value can enjoy the higher returns. In today's competitive
business environment marketing managers and chief executives are more influenced from the
consumer expectation and gathering the demand for customer satisfaction is very much important
for them. The customer satisfaction is a highly personal valuation that is greatly influenced by
the individual prospects. Customer satisfaction is the degree to which a customer perceives that
an individual, firm, organization or business has effectively and efficiently provided a product
or service or both that meets the customer’s wants and needs in the context in which the customer
is well aware of and / or using the product or service or both. Satisfaction is not inborn in the
individual or the product but it is a socially fashioned reply to the relationship between a
customer, the consumer, the product and the product provider/maker or service provider/ maker.
To the degree that a provider or maker can affects the numerous dimensions and extents of the
association, the provider or maker can influence the customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction
varies depending on the circumstances and the product or service. A customer can be satisfied
and gratified with a product or service, an experience, a purchase decision, a salesperson, store,
service supplier, or an feature or any of these. Some scholars completely avoid “satisfaction” as
a measurement objective because it is “too fuzzy an idea to serve as a significant benchmark.
“Instead, they emphasis on the customer’s entire experience with an organization or service
contact and the detailed valuation of that experience. For example, reporting methods developed
for health care patient reviews often ask customers to rate their providers and experiences in
response to detailed questions such as, “How well did your physicians keep you informed?”
These studies provide “actionable” data that disclose clear steps for enhancement and perfection.
Some explanations are based on the observation that customer gratification or displeasure and
discontent results from either the confirmation or disconfirmation of individual prospects
regarding a service or product or both. To avoid such difficulties stemming from the kaleidoscope

of customer expectations and variances, some specialists urge companies to “concentrate on a
goal that is more closely related to the customer equity. “Instead of inquiring whether customers
and consumers are satisfied and pleased, they encourage companies to determine how customers
hold them accountable. Because the customer satisfaction is a highly variable valuation that every
individual makes based on his/her own information, potentials, expectations, direct contact and
the interaction, and the impact, it makes sense to involve and consult the consumers when the
designing customer satisfaction methodologies.
According to Heyman, Burnam, Fitzpatrick and Corporan (2008), in a survey of market
research methods, of all companies surveyed, 74 percent of companies reported using customer
surveys to measure customer satisfaction across multiple industries. While one of the most
studied and researched customer satisfaction survey, SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al 1985), was
developed specifically to measure very minute and complicated concepts of customer
satisfaction, it is possible that its length is prohibitive to convincing customers to give up their
valuable time to answer it, as previous literature on web-based surveys indicates that shorter and
more direct questions are more likely to get honest and well-thought-out responses from survey
takers. The ease of access and time required to answer the survey seem to be the biggest barriers
to a higher survey 12 response rate in customer satisfaction surveys (Bramm 2012; Heyman et
al 2008; Puleston 2011; Singh, Taneja, and Mangalaraj 2009). Heyman et al (2008) suggested
that the online survey is the preferred method of customer opinion-gathering in the current
business world. Online surveys allow companies a low-cost and easy to access form of
communication that customers can participate in on their own time, with little to no risk involved
and generally yield an incentive to encourage the customers to participate.

8.6.1. Factors affecting satisfaction in the fitness center:
Factors Mean
Quality of personnel – professionalism 4.3
Economic factors 4
Quality of environment – equipment 4.3
Security, reliability and organization of
Activities
3.9
*Likert scale from 1= not important at all to 5 = very important
All categories of factors that affect satisfaction are important according to respondents as
it is shown in Table 4. However, the most important ones concern the quality of personnel and
the quality of environment of the fitness center (Ouschan, 2009).
9. Research questions and Hypothesis:
9.1.Main research question:
 Is Choice Criteria play an imperative role in affecting consumer Gym Membership
Buying Behavior Intention
 Is Motives play an imperative role in affecting consumer Gym Membership Buying
Behavior Intention
 Is Usage Behavior play an imperative role in affecting consumer Gym Membership
Buying Behavior Intention
 Is satisfaction play an imperative role in affecting consumer Gym Membership
Buying Behavior Intention

9.2.Research Hypotheses:
9.2.1. Null Hypothesis
H0: There is no relationship between Motive, Choice Criteria, Usage Behavior,
Satisfaction and Buying Behavior Intentions.
9.2.2. Alternative Hypothesis:
H1: A significant and positive relationship exists between Motives and Gym Membership
Buying Behavior Intention.
H2: A significant and positive relationship exists between Usage Behavior and Gym
Membership Buying Behavior Intention.
H3: A significant and positive relationship exists between self-image and Gym
H4: A significant and positive relationship exists between Satisfaction and Gym
10. Methodology:
The study is descriptive in nature intending to describe the way consumers behave in a
fitness center. A survey was done based on a structured questionnaire that was personally
administered to a purposive sample of 170 respondents from fitness centres of University of the
Punjab that are based in different areas in Lahore. The sample included different sizes of fitness
centres in order to cover for different environments. The questionnaire was divided into 6
sections, namely consumer motives; selection criteria; usage behavior, consumer satisfaction;
behavioral intentions; demographic & psychographic information. The analysis of the data
included descriptive statistics, factor analysis and anova. ]
The data was collected with lot of effort and hard work. The researcher had to visit seven
different major departments. It took almost three weeks to collect data. 170 questionnaires were

distributed among 170 students. In many cases, questionnaires were delivered to the participants
in first meeting and collected in next meeting. Sometimes researcher had to visit twice. Another
difficulty faced in data collection process, many students did not show any interest in research.
Some students were observed filling without paying proper attention or returning questionnaire
incomplete. The researcher had wait for many hours to receive completed instruments. To get
valid and reliable results this effort was mandatory. Two out of ten students accepted to
participate in the research process. To avoid these problems we distributed 70 out of 100
questionnaire through online, those people who are interested and have a time to filling the
questionnaire, they were filling with paying proper attention or give responses completely.
On contrary many interested participants showed keen interest and asked for brief
introduction about the aims and objectives of study. For many students Gym Membership Buying
Behavior Intention was a new concept for research purpose n University of the Punjab. Due to
awareness about importance of research these students became a good source of data collection.
With little instructions researcher managed to obtain data. The research was completed by using
both primary and secondary resources to conduct research. Primary data means data which is
gathered by approaching the students visiting their respective colleges and universities for filling
of questionnaire.
For examination of the data collected SPSS 20 software as used by running the findings
of questionnaires through Descriptive Statistics, Histogram, Scatter plots, Pearson
Correlation, Regression with regression equations and One Sample Test. This helped
researcher to scrutinize the impact of independent variables like Usage Behavior, Motives,
satisfaction and Choice Criteria, on Gym Membership Buying Behavior Intention as dependent
variable. Pearson Correlation is used on the research data to see that variables are related in a
linear straight line, to find out and indicate the associations among all the pairs of three or more
variables. Pearson Correlation and Spearman rho were two options. We selected Pearson

Correlation as our variables are scale, whereas Spearman is used when variables are ordinal
Further Bivariate regression is used to predict scores on dependent variable from other
independent/predictor variables. To measure complex associational statistic, multiple regression
is run to predict a scale/dependent variable from two or more independent variables.
10.1. Research Methodology:
10.1.1.Introduction:
Methodology means the selection of correct model out of various choices for planning
and implementing for our research. As research had to undergo various activities like preparing
appropriate models, case to study, data gathering techniques, format of data analysis selection of
correct methodology is most essential step (Silverman, 2006). This chapter explains which
research methodology is adopted, the developing research design as well as the methods adopted
that are enclosed with the research problem i.e. how varied independent variables sway the Gym
The selection had to be made from qualitative and quantitative research in general. The
research was conducted on qualitative method with particular discussion on the survey research
method. It also explains procedure of data collection and analysis at different phases. Further it
delineates the stratagem for ascertaining firmness, trust and fidelity of the research.
We can describe knowledge philosophically into following; in ontology knowledge is
what people say about knowledge; in epistemology how people know about knowledge; axiology
is what values go into knowledge; rhetoric is how people write about knowledge; and
methodology is the procedure to study knowledge (Creswell, 2003: 6).
In literature different terms are used such as, approach, strategy, mode of enquiry, method,
technique, and paradigm. In order to establish relationship between these terms philosophers have
incorporated research methodologies (qualitative, quantitative), paradigms (positivist,
interpretivist,) research methods (survey, case study, experimental research, ethnography,

action research, historical research) research techniques (interview, questionnaire, experiment,)
with the help of using research instrument (human, pencil, online and paper etc.) (Pickard,
2007), (Walliman, 2005). (Kumar, 1999) states that the study can be classified into quantitative,
qualitative and mixed approaches. Different theoretical perspectives on this strategy of inquiry
e.g. ethnomethodology, ethnography, discourse analysis, grounded theory, narrative analysis,
hermeneutics, frame analysis and conversation analysis, phenomenology. The work of
(Maione&Chenail, 1999), (Trochim, 2005) and (Denscombe, 2003) avows that qualitative
research is a term used for description and interpretation of social phenomenon. They all jointly
divide qualitative research approaches into following main approaches phenomenology,
ethnography, grounded theory surveys, field research case studies, experiment, internet research,
action research.
Quantitative research approach involves deduction i.e. formulation of hypotheses,
identification of variables which could measure the objectives and such measurement then used
for enquiry. Data collected then used for testing of hypotheses and really describe reality. Finally
the results of enquiry are matched with original hypotheses to modify or confirm the theory from
which original hypotheses was taken. The main objective of or research conducted through
qualitative approach was that our research could be generalized, to be objective and theories
could be tested. There are many strategies associated with the quantitative approach. It can be
experimental in which researcher act as an active agent involved in manipulation of independent
variable and observing effect on dependent variable. In survey strategy cross-sectional and
longitudinal studies are conducted by employing questionnaire or structured interviews for data
collection from a selected sample of population. This research is carried with the help of survey
on cross-sectional and longitudinal method by using questionnaire as data instrument to collect
data from students selected as sample population of students of University of the Punjab.

10.1.2.Research Design:
Our research design was based on the following dimensions; that research could express
causal connection between variables both between independent variables and dependent variables
and also expressed causal connection between independent variables as well. Research design’s
other dimension was also kept mind in this research that there must be large number of
participants should become the part of investigation. Therefore our research has covered seven
major departments in University of the Punjab and investigating 170 participants, so that our
research can be generalized.
Five different research designs are discussed in literature i.e. quasi-experiments, cross-
sectional or social survey design, case study design and comparative design (Creswell, 2003).
For our research cross-sectional or social survey design is selected.
Following steps were taken for research design. First of all a sampling plan was
developed. In this methodology sample was selected from population. Purpose of sampling plan
was to depict procedure by selecting sample, fixing the size of sample and medley of media by
which survey will be organized. In our research survey was conducted with the method of
distributing online and paper questionnaire to the respondents.
Secondly, procedures were adopted for estimation of reliability of population from which
the sample data and estimates were obtained. Reliability was a prime issue while conducting
research, as our concern whether a measure is stable or not.
Thirdly, inputs acquired from the people and participants through survey by measuring
identified variables. Validity was concerned with the veracity of conclusions that were produced
from research. Measurement validity is also known with the name of construct validity. This
concept means that the questions asked from the participant are bringing the same concept which
is required to ask by the researcher. If measurement validity is not stable then the results become
unreliable. The concept of internal validity is also kept in focus in this research. Internal validity

relates the issue of casualty i.e. the conclusion derived from the research incorporates causal
relationship among the variables is authentic and not formed by anything else.
The issue of external validity is although more important for qualitative research but it is
equally significant for quantitative research as well while maximizing opportunity for generating
a representative sample. The external validity means that the results can be generalized. It is only
possible if careful selection of participants is selected to participate in the research. Regarding
ecological validity arises whether or not the findings can be applied to people or not is important
for both qualitative and quantitative research.
Further, as mentioned in literature three key elements were kept in mind while developing
our research methodology to ensure correctness of our study i.e. sample selection, sample size
and survey media. Sample selection was based on population size and similarity index with
respect to its characteristic. The participants were selected at random but belong to the required
requirements for survey. The population as narrowed down as much as possible to keep the study
at level where approximate effect is achieved.
If null hypothesis is mistakenly accepted Type II error exists. To avoid this situation
reasonable size of sample is selected. Sample of this research was selected which possessed its
mean and variance. Literature states that a good sample must have capability of narrowing the
means there by decreasing variance, resultantly reducing the overlap of distributions and
providing better statistical results. As far units of analysis were concerned in the research
individual students were participants in the survey. The researcher’s resources allowed using the
choice of questionnaire for survey as it required minimum resources in terms of cost, time and
manpower required. Further written survey was adopted to get more pace and prompt response
of participants. Other methods like verbal and mixed mode survey methods were not used.
Some disadvantages or problems or errors were seen in the process of written surveys.
Written survey was subject to coverage error where population was quite vast and distinctly

situated. Written survey also had error of non-response. Also it was observed that in written
survey the participants referred to others respondents during the filling the questionnaire. Further,
item non response error is also observed in the survey method when some or many questions
were skipped intentionally of by mistake.
10.2. Population/Sample:
In this study probability sampling specifically Stratified Random Sampling technique
was used. It is used when the population comprises into homogeneous sub-sets. Also when these
sub-sets don’t overlap each other and called “strata”. Generally in strata based sampling subjects
can be classified on natural basis with respect to age, education and gender etc. In such setting
all groups got equal chance of participation and vigilant selection helps to concluded rationale
research findings applicable generally.
Further cautious selection was made for compilation of data from medley of students
belonging to varied colleges and universities engaged in different programs. For this purpose
students were selected on gender basis with respect to their years of study i.e. Bachelors, Masters
and PH.D.
Seven major Departments of University of the Punjab were selected. They are:
1. Institute of Business Administration
2. Hailey College of Commerce
3. Institute of Business and Information technology
4. Institute of Administrative sciences
5. Mass Communication
6. Agriculture Department
7. Chemistry Department

10.3. Strategy of Inquiry:
While developing the instrument for survey, the study focused on clear objectives of
translating the variables in to measureable factors. The researcher ensured that at any point the
spirit of the topic is not neglected. Consistency in administrating the survey was also focused.
The instrument developed has all qualities of a good instrument like, help full in quality data
collection, helpful in data processing and afterwards conducive for data analysis.
It was made sure that such questions must be designed that it could produce answers
something reliable and valid. The wording used was easily understood by participants according
to the educational level. Also the response given by the respondents must be clear. Unclear and
ambiguous statements were not included in the instrument which could create any problem of
understanding for the participants. The instrument developed fulfilled all civil and ethical
requirements and included such questions which the respondents should be willing to answer
with no hesitation. Biased wording, acronyms, abbreviations etc. we’re not used. Precaution were
taken while drafting the instrument that similar questions were not used in the beginning and
same at the end this could lead to difficult situation because respondent might answer differently.
No personal, objectionable and difficult analogies were included in the instrument. While drafting
the questionnaire length was also considered that it should not look a time consuming activity for
the respondents. For data collection a variety of instruments can be employed like questionnaires,
interviews and focus groups. For this particular research questionnaire was used to collect data
containing questions easily understandable for the participants. Few minutes were required by
the respondents and any ambiguity or confusion arisen at the time of filling the questionnaire was
discussed and clarified on spot.
Close-ended questions were used so that respondents could answer the questions quickly
after examining individual responses with available choices. To facilitate this process Five point
Likert scale was used. This tool is useful when researcher wants rank items in order of

preference. In third type of closed-ended question in which the respondent is asked to compare
possible responses and select one, or write in other.
10.4. Measurement of Questions:
Literature suggests Evaluative continua and Agreement continua used in closed ended
questions regarding describing and evaluating people, place and events. The problem might arise
if respondent misinterpreted numerical scales. Then the whole research could fail. For this
research Agreement continua was used. In this, respondents were simply required to respond to
questions with agree or disagree to given statements. These scales were easy for respondents to
understand and answer.
To measure knowledge, question is often used to evaluate respondents’ acquaintance with
a topic, to measure respondents’ capability to provide informed responses about a said knowledge
already available with the respondent. This method is to identify these responses with the help of
“True” and “False” or “Yes” and “No” format. Sometimes researcher mix or intentionally add
some possible or incorrect answers to check the correct knowledge with responses.
Clear and unambiguous questions are developed by carefully presenting one idea at a time
by using contents like “Strongly Agree”, “Agree”, “Neutral”, “Disagree” and “Strongly
Disagree”. However work of (Flower, 1995) suggests that emotional contents like “Strongly”
should be replaced by “Completely”, “Generally”, or “Mostly” instead. In this research five point
Likert scale is used to collect the responses.
10.5. Important Tasks by Respondents:
There were some important tasks required to be performed by respondents during survey
while answering a survey question. The first question is that the respondent must get what the
researcher is asking.
The second is response formulation that respondents have a propensity to make new
verdict as that is previous judgments need some adjustment while answering the question.

The third task of the respondent was corresponding ability to the researcher.
10.6. Problems and Error in Survey:
The literature as well as our research identified some problems of biases related with the
respondent. Many participants felt themselves important and behaved differently as observed in
study of Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Company 1927. Respondents, simply being
aware of importance of study, answer differently as per normal routine. Secondly, sometimes
respondents eagerly approved and go with positively-worded questions. Further it was observed
that respondents’ answer high or low rating this disturbs validity of the results.
11. Data Analysis:
For examination of the data collected SPSS 20 software as used by running the findings
of questionnaires through Descriptive Statistics, Histogram, Scatter plots, Pearson
Correlation, Regression with regression equations and One Sample Test. This helped
researcher to scrutinize the impact of independent variables like Usage Behavior, Motives,
satisfaction and Choice Criteria, on Gym Membership Buying Behavior Intention as dependent
variable. Pearson Correlation is used on the research data to see that variables are related in a
linear straight line, to find out and indicate the associations among all the pairs of three or more
variables. Pearson Correlation and Spearman rho were two options. We selected Pearson
Correlation as our variables are scale, whereas Spearman is used when variables are ordinal
Further Bivariate regression is used to predict scores on dependent variable from other
independent/predictor variables. To measure complex associational statistic, multiple regression
is run to predict a scale/dependent variable from two or more independent variables.

11.1. Validity and Reliability:
For the rationale of data collection, a questionnaire was so premeditated by the researcher
in which close-ended questions were prepared. Five-point Likert Scale was employed in
questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of 24 items representing with the following detail.
Gym Membership Buying Behavior Intention as dependent variable (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24).
Independent Variables Dependent Variable
1 to 5 shows the questions related to Motives. 20 to 25 shows the questions related to Behavior
Intention.6 to 10 shows the questions related to Choice Criteria.
11 to 15 shows the questions related to Usage Behavior.
16 to 20 shows the questions related to Satisfaction.

Table 1 Questionnaire
1 Gym enhance my fitness state?
2 When I go to gym, I feel relaxed?
3 Gym is very helpful in controlling my weight?
4 It is very helpful to go to gym to maintain my health?
5 Gym is a good source of increasing my body mass?
6 Gym must be used for social interaction?
7 High quality equipment urge me to choose a gym?
8 I prefer to go to that gym which provides me gym services at economical price?
9 It is necessary for gym management to provide supplementary benefits at gym?
10 Should gym promote social activities during gym timings?
11 Aerobic equipment (running belts, bicycles) are very useful in doing gym?
12 Weights are the most important parts of the gym?
13 I want to go that gym which provides me high standard trainer irrespective of price?
14 I will prefer trainer advice even if I have no mood of doing that particular activity at that time?
15 I prefer group exercises over individual exercises?
16 I satisfy to a gym when quality of professionals (trainers) is good?
17 I satisfy to a gym by when it is economically good?
18 I am only satisfied to a gym when it provides me latest equipment’s?
19 For me security & reliability of services is an important factor?
20 I feel supplement as an essential part of doing proper gym?
21 I choose a gym by word of mouth communication?
22 I chose that gym which don't have any sort of complain by the costumers?
23 Now or in the future I have an intention to purchase gym membership?
24 I am more sensitive to pricing over quality of service?
25 Gym monthly cost should not be greater than 500Rs?

Conceptualizing of why people buy Gym membership in Emerging Markets: An Empirical Analysis on University of the Punjab Students

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