Sports operations management: examining the relationship between environmental uncertainty and quality management orientation.

Bamford, David; Hannibal, Claire; Kauppi, Katri; Dehe, Benjamin

Abstract

The outcome of a sporting competition is uncertain and one of the key reasons for the sustained popularity of spectator sport. Whilst unique and exciting, this context poses challenges for the management of the sporting experience as there is no control over the outcome of the competition; a disappointing result on-field may translate to a disappointing overall experience for the spectators. We wish to understand if and how quality management practices can be used in off-field operations to mitigate on-field uncertainty, and thus have greater control over spectator perception of the sporting experience. A multi-country survey of operations managers of sporting stadia in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand was conducted. We operationalize environmental uncertainty as spectator co-creation and enforced collaboration, and assess quality management orientation from both a customer and process perspective. Linear regression is used for data analysis. Surprisingly, we find that environmental uncertainty does not encourage the orientation of quality management practices towards the customer. Instead, we find a greater application of process focus. In considering sporting fans as passive customers rather than active co-creators of value, quality management practices seem to have skewed towards process rather than person. s: Customer satisfaction appears as secondary to process performance in the sample of stadia examined. This is in contrast to studies that have encouraged a focus on the customer in contexts of environmental uncertainty. We suggest a renewed focus on the customer for the longevity of sporting stadia.

Citation

BAMFORD, D., HANNIBAL, C., KAUPPI, K. and DEHE, B. 2018. Sports operations management: examining the relationship between environmental uncertainty and quality management orientation. European sport management quarterly [online], 18(5), pages 563-582. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2018.1442486

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 14, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Feb 22, 2018
• Publication Date: Oct 20, 2018
• Deposit Date: Nov 20, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 28, 2023
• Journal: European sport management quarterly
• Print ISSN: 1618-4742
• Electronic ISSN: 1746-031X
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 18
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 563-582
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2018.1442486
• Keywords: Quality management; Operations; Customer; Process
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2015748