How golf players’ satisfaction from golf experience predicts their loyalty intentions? Mediating role of perceived value

Purpose – This study aims to evaluate the perceptions and behavioral intentions of golf players by means of the relationship between customer satisfaction, perceived value and loyalty concepts. Design/methodology/approach – The data used in testing the hypothesis developed were gathered by face-to-face survey method from the golf players using four golf courses in Antalya, Turkey during the peak season (March, April, May, October). At the end of the data screening period, 351 usable questionnaires were gathered. The proposed model was estimated through a mediation analysis with parallel multiple mediator model. Findings – The roles of perceived value dimensions between satisfaction and loyalty were revealed within the context of the proposed model. Moreover, the relative importance of perceived value dimensions in the causal relationship between satisfaction and loyalty were determined. Research limitations/implications – The research was limited to a specific topic in service industry. The possible effect of several demographic factors, such as country-of-origin of the respondents, their experience levels, etc. has been overlooked. Future studies could measure the mediating role of perceived value between satisfaction and loyalty intention in different service settings and could obtain specific results for consumer segments with more homogenous subsamples. Further studies also would provide knowledge on the role of social value dimension, which could not be proved in the current research. Practical implications – The research underlines the relative importance of perceived value dimensions in affecting loyalty intentions. That will enable managers to focus on the effective dimensions in creating customer loyalty. Originality/value – The effects of satisfaction on loyalty have long been known, yet the function of value dimensions as mediators between satisfaction and loyalty intention in a service setting is the original contribution of the study.