Service Personnel as a Key Success Factor in a Sports Environment

Authors: Philipp Sauer, Brandon D. Spradley, Fred J. Cromartie

Affiliations: United States Sports Academy

Corresponding Author:
Philipp Sauer, Ed.D.
Breddestr.36
58452 Witten
Germany
japhil@t-online.de
+49 151 44510307

Philipp Sauer received his doctoral degree (Ed.D.) in Sports Management from the United States Sports Academy. Furthermore, he is an alumnus of the University of Liverpool, UK and the European University of Applied Sciences, Germany. His academic work mainly focuses on service and customer relationship management.

ABSTRACT
Organizations have learned that services contribute largely to the success of product selling. The arrival of the Internet has transferred power from the suppliers to the customers. There are several industries, which have experienced heavy changes in the last few decades. The financial and travel industries are two prime examples of how rigid structures have changed significantly.

Like organizations from traditional industries, sport organizations face the challenge of meeting the rising expectations of spectators. A successful philosophy that focuses on total quality orientation in the transaction of the provider with the consumer asks organizations to clearly define their customers for being able to identify and respond to needs, but also to influence what is perceived service quality by the targeted segment of the market (Papadimitriou & Karteroliotis, 2000).

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