Vahid Aghaei; shahram nazari; Rasool Norouzi Seyed Hosseini
Abstract
Abstract
The objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between decision-making styles and social power among consumers of table tennis sports brands, with a specific focus on comparing domestic and foreign brands. In today's dynamic market, where consumer behavior plays a pivotal ...
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Abstract
The objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between decision-making styles and social power among consumers of table tennis sports brands, with a specific focus on comparing domestic and foreign brands. In today's dynamic market, where consumer behavior plays a pivotal role, understanding the factors that shape consumer choices and the dynamics of social power is crucial for organizations and enterprises operating in the multi-billion dollar sports goods industry. Consumer behavior is influenced by various internal and external factors, including individual preferences, social interactions, and the power dynamics within consumer-seller relationships. By delving into the concept of purchase decision style, this study aims to understand how consumers make choices when selecting table tennis sports brands. The examination of decision-making styles will shed light on whether consumers prioritize factors such as quality, brand reputation, fashion trends, hedonistic experiences, price considerations, indifference, confusion, or loyalty. Furthermore, the study will investigate the notion of social power and its impact on consumer-seller relationships. Social power reflects the ability to influence or control others in social interactions, and in the context of the table tennis sports market, it encompasses the extent to which sellers can harness and dominate consumers' financial resources. Similarly, the power of sellers is influenced by their role as suppliers of goods and services that meet consumers' needs. The research will explore how the interdependence between consumers and sellers shapes their power dynamics and ultimately affects consumer behavior. To achieve these objectives, the study will employ a comprehensive scale designed to assess consumer power. This scale will measure various dimensions, including consumer influence, consumer resistance, social influence, and social resistance. By quantifying these dimensions, the research aims to provide a deeper understanding of the intricate relationship between decision-making styles and social power among consumers of table tennis sports brands. Ultimately, the findings of this research will contribute to the body of knowledge on consumer behavior in the sports goods market and provide valuable insights for organizations and enterprises seeking to succeed in this highly competitive industry. By recognizing the significance of decision-making styles and social power, companies can tailor their marketing strategies, enhance customer satisfaction, and establish long-lasting relationships with their target consumers.
The present study employed a descriptive-correlational research design to investigate the relationship between decision-making styles and social power among consumers of table tennis sports brands, specifically comparing domestic and foreign brands. The target population of the research included both male and female purchasers of table tennis sports products. Due to the unlimited and unknown size of the population, a sample size of 382 individuals was determined using Cochran's formula for unlimited populations. The sampling method used was convenience sampling. The data collection instrument consisted of two parts. The first part comprised demographic questions, including age, gender, marital status, education level, sports background, consumer type, and income. The second part of the research instrument consisted of two standardized questionnaires. The first questionnaire was the Sproles and Kendall (1986) consumer decision-making style questionnaire, which consisted of 41 items and eight subscales: quality-oriented, brand-oriented, fashion-oriented, hedonistic, price-oriented, careless, confused, and loyal. The second questionnaire was Brill's (1992) consumer social power questionnaire, consisting of 30 items and four subscales: consumer influence, consumer resistance, social influence, and social resistance. Both questionnaires utilized a five-point Likert scale, ranging from "completely disagree" (1) to "completely agree" (5). The face and content validity of the questionnaires were determined by obtaining feedback from fifteen university professors and experts in the field of sports marketing management. The reliability of the questionnaires was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. For data analysis, descriptive statistics including frequency and frequency percentage were computed using SPSS 25 software. Additionally, a structural equation model was employed to present the data using AMOS 24 software.
The results indicated that consumer decision-making styles, specifically the fashion-oriented, pleasure-oriented, and loyal styles, had a significant negative impact on consumers' social power. According to the determination coefficient of 43.9%, the variations in consumers' social power were related to pleasure-oriented, loyal, and fashion-oriented styles. Additionally, the research results from the ANOVA test revealed that decision-making styles, such as brand-oriented, pleasure-oriented, price-oriented, indecisive, and confused, differed between men and women. Furthermore, a significant difference was found in the social power of male and female sports consumers.
In conclusion, the findings of this study provide important insights into the relationship between decision-making styles and social power among consumers of table tennis sports brands. The results highlight the significant impact of specific decision-making styles on consumers' social power. Firstly, the research identified that fashion-oriented, pleasure-oriented, and loyal decision-making styles had a notable negative influence on consumers' social power. This suggests that individuals who prioritize fashion trends, seek hedonistic experiences, or exhibit strong brand loyalty may experience a decrease in their social power within the context of consumer-seller relationships. This finding emphasizes the need for marketers and organizations to consider the diverse decision-making styles of consumers and adapt their strategies accordingly. Moreover, the determination coefficient of 43.9% indicates that a substantial proportion of the variations in consumers' social power can be attributed to pleasure-oriented, loyal, and fashion-oriented decision-making styles. This highlights the importance of understanding and catering to these specific styles in order to effectively influence consumers' social power and ultimately shape their purchasing behavior. Additionally, the research results from the ANOVA test demonstrate that decision-making styles differ between men and women. Specifically, brand-oriented, pleasure-oriented, price-oriented, indecisive, and confused decision-making styles exhibited significant differences between the genders. This gender-based variation in decision-making styles emphasizes the need for marketers to consider gender-specific preferences and tailor their marketing strategies accordingly to effectively target and engage male and female consumers. Furthermore, a significant difference was found in the social power of male and female sports consumers. This indicates that the level of influence and control exerted by sellers may vary between genders within the table tennis sports market. Marketers should be cognizant of these gender-based dynamics and seek to develop strategies that empower both male and female consumers, thereby enhancing their social power and fostering stronger consumer-seller relationships.
In conclusion, this study provides valuable insights into the relationship between decision-making styles, social power, and gender differences among consumers of table tennis sports brands. The findings underscore the importance of understanding and addressing diverse decision-making styles and gender-specific preferences in marketing strategies. By tailoring their approaches to accommodate these factors, marketers can effectively influence consumers' social power, enhance consumer satisfaction, and ultimately drive success in the competitive sports goods market.
Sports management, marketing
marjan saffari; fariba fayazi; Rasool Norouzi Seyed hossini
Abstract
Leisure under the effect of socio-economic developments and global values is one of the concerns of individuals. Leisure activities can affect people's physical health and lead to a better life and successful aging in adults. On the other hand, the growth and development of machine life, reduction of ...
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Leisure under the effect of socio-economic developments and global values is one of the concerns of individuals. Leisure activities can affect people's physical health and lead to a better life and successful aging in adults. On the other hand, the growth and development of machine life, reduction of working hours and activities, most importantly cultural changes, have made it impossible to ignore your leisure time. The statistics obtained in this field showed that the average lisure time in Iran is 90 days and in the world 80 days per year. The average amount of leisure time in Iran is 3 hours and 29 minutes per day, while the world average is 5 hours. This means that despite the fact that Iranians have more leisure time than the world per capita, the amount of time allocated to it is less and Iranians prefer to spend their budget on other things. Therefore, the vacuum created in this field is questionable as to what factors prevent people from doing leisure activities in their free time, and also the factors that increase leisure activities, to what extent can be increased and strengthened. Due to the tendency of sports and physical education managers and sports media towards championship sports, so far less attention has been paid to leisure sports activities. The subject to be investigated in this context is how much leisure time can affect the satisfaction of the activity and whether the factors affecting the increase of leisure time also increase the satisfaction or not. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of serious leisure on satisfaction from lelisure activities with the mediation of recreational involvement in amateur volleyball athletes. The research method was applied in terms of purpose and correlation interms of data collection, which was done in the field. Data collection tools were questionnaires of Gould et al (2008), Kyle et al (2005) and Ramkisson et al (2012). The target population of the study was non-professional athletes of Tehran Volleyball House who had at least 6 months of membership in this collection. PASS Software was used to determine the sample size and the sampling method was available. Finally, 274 questionnaires were used for statistical analysis. The face and content validity of the data collection tool was reviewed by 9 experts in this field. Cronbach's alpha was 0.95. In order to analyze the data, descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used using SPSS software version 26 and PLS version 3. The Findings showed that if a participant has serious leisure traits, more likely than others to understand the importance of the activity and enjoy its appeal. On the other hand, people should have characteristics such as individual efforts, perseverance and commitment in the activity to pursue recreational activities. one of the most important factors to increase people's satisfaction with leisure activities is recreational participation (Path coefficient 0.519). Among the dimensions of recreational participation, attraction has the greatest impact (Path coefficient = 0.449 and AVE = 0.747), so it can be said that the more irritable people are to an activity, the greater their satisfaction. Entertainment participation predicts 49% and serious leisure 42% of changes in leisure satisfaction, and 66% recreational involvement of changes depend on the serious leisure of volleyball players. taking into account the mediating role of recreational participation in the relationship between serious leisure and leisure satisfaction, the results showed that despite dimensions such as attraction, self-expression, centrality of lifestyle, the relationship between the two variables of serious leisure and leisure satisfaction becomes stronger. Recreational participation with its mediating role can create a positive experience in people and their satisfaction with recreational activities. According to the output of the software used in this research, 51% of the changes in satisfaction with leisure activities are related to recreational participation and serious leisure of non-professional volleyball players of Tehran Volleyball House. Therefore, considering a factor such as recreational involvement can be a great help to the officials in the field of leisure to attract and satisfy more customers of Tehran Volleyball House. In the present study, the relationship between perseverance and customs on leisure satisfaction was not significant. This issue can be interpreted as that the researches were conducted on old people and adults, but according to the descriptive findings of the research, 45.6% of the statistical sample of the current research were under 20 years of age, so they endure problems and hardships and barriers to leisure. Seriously, it's probably difficult for them, and they don't have a proper understanding of customs and subcultures. But the identity of volleyball players is very important in their leisure time. People who follow volleyball as a serious leisure identify themselves with volleyball, and their family and friends also know how important it is for a volleyball player to do volleyball activities. With the improvement of athletes' performance in this area and their efforts, their satisfaction with volleyball will also increase. Educators should know that by knowing the goals of their students, they can help them achieve their goals. The design of exercises that are accompanied by pleasure and happiness by volleyball coaches can attract athletes more to this discipline, so that they prefer volleyball to other sports. The participants in the volleyball field who are satisfied with their leisure activity in the volleyball house know that their life is connected to volleyball, so they plan in life in such a way that the position of volleyball is always reserved. The managers of the complexes can increase the attractiveness for the volleyball players or create suitable conditions for the participants who can show a good image of themselves to others, causing them to be satisfied with the activities they do, which ultimately leads to the loyalty of the volleyball players. For example, having up to date sports equipment, designing exercises with joy and pleasure, and giving athletes the opportunity to discuss volleyball can be very important in the field of loyalty of volleyball players. The participants in the volleyball field who are satisfied with their leisure activity in the volleyball house know that their life is connected to volleyball, so they plan in life in such a way that the position of volleyball is always reserved.
