How public sport centers can improve the sport consumer experience

International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship How public sport centers can improve the sport consumer experience Journal: International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship Manuscript ID IJSMS-02-2017-0008.R1 Manuscript Type: Research Paper Keywords: sport consumer experience, sport center, knowledge management, PLSSEM International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship How public sport centers can improve the sport consumer experience Abstract The sport consumer experience is becoming an important aspect of sport center management as the consumer increasingly expects more from their sport center. Knowledge is now a critical resource for managing both public and private sport centers and this study focuses on the knowledge-based strategies applied in public sport centers to improve the sport consumer experience. The paper therefore explores and examines the relationship between a knowledge management process, such as absorptive capacity, and the sport users’ experience. The paper also proposes that internal knowledge management processes (i.e. knowledge storage and knowledge application) act as mediators in that relationship. The study offers empirical insights by applying the consistent PLS algorithm (PLSc-SEM) to the analysis of data from 156 sport centers in Andalusia (Spain) and 3,150 sport users. The results demonstrate that a sport center’s absorptive capacity for external knowledge is crucial for enhancing the sport consumer experience and also that this effect requires additional knowledge management, such as the sport center’s knowledge storage and knowledge application. The practical implication for sport center managers is that knowledge management processes have a very strong influence on the sport consumer experience, when they are managed in a sequential way. Keywords: Sport center; sport consumer experience; PLS-SEM; knowledge management Page 1 of 39 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship How public sport centers can improve the sport consumer experience 1. Introduction The success of a sport center depends on its sustained ability to generate sport services for its users (Athanassopoulou and Mylonakis, 2009). While many sport centers are facing changing environments, they are also experiencing hypercompetitive conditions, characterized by the scarcity of resources, competition, and uncertainty (Tsitskari, Tsiotras and Tsiotras, 2006; Martinez-Moreno and Díaz-Suarez, 2016). In these highly dynamic environments, the importance of knowledge relating to these changing environments, the sport consumer experience, and the ways in which this knowledge is managed, becomes critical for improving sport services (Vrandecic et al., 2005;Yildiz and Kara, 2012; Zargar etal. 2011). Indeed, sport centers are looking for new ways to configure their organizational knowledge in order to increase their leveraging of the sport consumer experience (Kim and Trail, 2011; McCunn and Gifford, 2014 ) by offering new sport services. This study focuses on how public sport centers in Spain are adopting new services (such as e-services), as this is an appropriate context in which to assess the sport consumer experience within a sporting organization. The definition of a public sport center used in this paper is a public sport facility that offers sport services to the local citizens and community. Its range of services may sometimes constitute the entirety of a town’s sport services. New services in these sport centers require the development and establishment of new processes (De-Miguel, 2010; Klingelhöfer et al., 2015; Ha, Kang, and Ha, 2015). These new processes are crucial for updating the sport service portfolio and in turn are the result of the management of new knowledge, as reflected in Cohen and Levinthal’s (1990) concept of absorptive capacity. Page 2 of 39International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship These authors state that absorptive capacity draws on managerial skills, prior knowledge, organization-specific competences (internal capabilities) and access to knowledge sources outside the sport center; in other words, external linkages (Cepeda et al., 2012). Yet the effective leveraging of a sport center’s absorptive capacity in order to manage sport services (such as eservices) also requires the appropriate storage and application of knowledge within these sport centers (Cepeda and Vera, 2007). However, the existing literature does not explain how knowledge storage and application assist in leveraging a sport organization’s absorptive capacity when improving their consumer experience. Indeed, prior research fails to provide any empirical testing of whether absorptive capacity, with regard to the knowledge storage and application processes, has any relation to the sport consumers’ experience of these services, or if it does, how this is achieved. In addressing this gap in the research, this study responds to the call for the inclusion of diverse configurations of (knowledge) management processes in order better to understand sport consumers’ behaviors (Gerrard, 2015; Ratten, 2016) and to test this through quantitative research (Gerke et al., 2017). This study improves our understanding of the effect of knowledge management on the sport consumer experience by clarifying the impact of three important elements –absorptive capacity, knowledge storage and knowledge application– on these experiences. The authors put forward a research model that considers several conditional mediation effects of knowledge storage and knowledge application on the main relationship between absorptive capacity and the sport consumer experience. This study also contributes to the thinking that relates to the service literature by analyzing the role of sport consumers (and their experiences) as part of a sport center’s knowledge leverage. To this effect, the arguments are tested using two data sources: (1) sport centers and (2) their users (sport consumers). Page 3 of 39 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship The paper is organized as follows. The following section sets out the theoretical foundations and the proposed research model with its hypotheses. The method section then describes the approach adopted for empirically testing the hypotheses. The results are presented in the subsequent section, followed by an outline of the findings. The paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and practical contributions and draws conclusions for future research. 2. Theoretical background and research hypotheses Cohen and Levinthal (1990, p. 128) define absorptive capacity as “the ability to recognize new external knowledge, assimilating and applying it to commercial ends.” This concept therefore refers to a key element within the organizational learning process. These authors also suggest that this capacity is critical for any organization that seeks to attain sustainable competitive advantage, achieve its goals, or leverage its sport consumer experience. Cohen and Levinthal (1990) also suggest that absorptive capacity depends largely on the level of prior knowledge that the organizations already possess. Zahra and George (2002) further refine this conceptualization and distinguish between potential and realized absorptive capacities. The conceptualization of potential and realized absorptive capacities encompasses different capabilities. Potential absorptive capacity involves acquisition and assimilation capabilities and enables firms to acquire and assimilate external knowledge (Lane and Lubatkin, 1998). Potential absorptive capacity captures an organization’s ability to evaluate and acquire external knowledge (mainly from the market, competitors, and external consumers), although this capacity does not always lead to knowledge exploitation. Conversely, realized absorptive capacity refers to the capabilities for transforming and exploiting knowledge. Potential absorptive Page 4 of 39International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship capacity and realized absorptive capacity are essentially distinct concepts, and consequently may access different structures, objectives, and strategies (Cepeda at al., 2012). Drawing on Cohen and Levinthal’s (1990) work, an organization’s absorptive capacity represents not only its ability to acquire knowledge but also to exploit this acquired knowledge. Acquisition and exploitation capabilities are therefore path dependent. These capabilities are strengthened by two complementary knowledge management processes: knowledge storage and knowledge application. Knowledge storage stems from the concept of organizational learning, where the organization is a learning system resulting in the accumulation of knowledge. Members of an organization possess, acquire, and accumulate knowledge through experimentation, the observation of stimuli, and the interpretation of the results. Ravasi and Verona (2001) point out that knowledge storage always exists in an organization as individually or collectively-held knowledge: in the organizational routines, databases, knowledge bases, intranet, etc. In one sense, some authors include knowledge storage in the organizational memory concept that has been defined as the persistent representation of knowledge and information from organizational history (Chou et al., 2007). According to the knowledge-based view (Grant, 2002), an organization’s existing knowledge storage defines its scope and ability to understand and locate new knowledge for decision-making, problem-solving, or innovation (Ahuja and Katila, 2001). Knowledge breadth and depth are two distinct dimensions of knowledge storage that reveal both the structure and content of an organization’s knowledge. Knowledge breadth refers to the extent to which the firm’s knowledge repository contains distinct and multiple domains. Knowledge depth describes the level of sophistication and the complexity of that knowledge in key fields (Zhou and Li, 2012). Page 5 of 39 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship To improve performance, organizations must fulfill two requirements: to both broaden and deepen their knowledge storage (Cepeda and Vera, 2007). On one hand, firms with broad knowledge accumulate expertise across a variety of disciplines and heterogeneous market domains by means of extensive knowledge exploration (Prabhu et al., 2005). In addition to knowledge sharing, broad knowledge storage provides the basis for sharing knowledge, which enables organizations to connect and integrate their broad knowledge (Wolfe et al., 2005). On the other hand, organizations with knowledge depth are likely to benefit from the knowledge acquired by their market and customers. Organizations with deep knowledge storage and knowhow regarding existing technologies and markets can develop core competencies and are able to assimilate the value of their sport consumers at an organizational level (Farrell, 1996). Prior research suggests that maintaining a balance between depth and breadth is critical for successful knowledge leverage (Cepeda and Vera, 2007). The size and structure of organizational knowledge storage can determine how well a firm manages its knowledge resources and creates capabilities (Yayavaram and Ahuja, 2008). However, without effective knowledge application, it makes little sense to leverage knowledge appropriately, because organizations generate, acquire, store, and share knowledge in order to apply it, with the ultimate aim of improving organizational competitiveness. There has been little research, however, into knowledge application. For example, Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) discuss an organization’s ability to create knowledge, and they assume that once the organization has created knowledge, it is then effectively applied. The notion of organizational competitive advantage does not lie in knowledge itself but in its application (Alavi and Leidner, 2001). As Martelo-Landroguez et al. (2011) state, if an organization seeks to capitalize on its knowledge, it must understand how knowledge is applied. Page 6 of 39International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship One of the more common methods of knowledge application is the adoption of environmental best practices when identifying and applying relevant knowledge (O’Dell and Grayson, 1998). Knowledge application implies the use of knowledge that is generated through an organization’s absorptive capacity, which can be accessed through its organizational knowledge storage. For an organization to apply its knowledge, it has to be internalized. Vorakulpipat and Rezgui (2008) suggest that knowledge can be viewed as a means of creating value through experiences. Gebert et al. (2003) suggest that the management of knowledge can have an inherent impact on users’ behaviors. In this context, Vorakulpipat and Rezgui (2008) define knowledge-related processes as the set of processes that allow organizations to use what they know to create value for consumers. Indeed, organizations carry out a number of internal processes to generate better experiences for their users. User experience has been defined as the internal and subjective response of users to both direct and indirect contact with an organization (Verhoef et al., 2009; Koo et al., 2009). The user experience has been described as the core of the service offering and service design (Zomerdijk and Voss, 2010; Engelberg, Skinner, and Zakus, 2011). Creating a superior consumer experience is seen as a key objective for firms wishing to build consumer loyalty (Badgett, Moyce and Kleinberger, 2007; Kim and Kim, 2009). From the firms’ perspective, consumer experience management requires the manipulation of the interactive elements of the service delivery system in order to elicit positive user responses (Pullman and Gross, 2004). As Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2004, p.137) state, “value creation is now focused on the experiences of users.” Value is no longer embedded in tangible offerings, but instead is co-created with consumers through relational exchanges in interactive sport experiences (Vargo and Lusch 2004). Therefore, “by definition, a good consumer experience is a good service, thus the consumer Page 7 of 39 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship experience is the service” (Berry, Wall and Carbone, 2006, p. 44). However, further research is still required to clarify its importance (Helkkula, 2011). 2.1. Theoretical Framework for Sport Centers Following the arguments set out above, we developed a theoretical framework that is adapted to sport center management. From the proposed consumer’s perspective, it is therefore crucial for any sport organization to manage the sport consumer experience in order to (co-)create and develop value through direct and indirect contacts. Direct contact with sport consumers generally occurs when a sport service is provided, and is usually initiated by the sport user. Indirect contact may involve unplanned encounters with sport center employees who provide services for the sport consumers. Indeed, research into the role of the sport consumer as a cocreator of their own sport experience remains scarce (Ponsignon, Klaus and Maull, 2015; Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2004). Sport users` experiential perceptions are contextual, since they respond to interactions differently, depending on the setting (Lemke et al., 2011). Since sport centers and their consumers operate in situations that are characterized by information intensity, intangibility, technical-based user relationships, and emotions (Garcia-Fernandez et al., 2017), this setting is appropriate for examining the role of knowledge management in (co-)creating the sport consumer experience (Ponsignon et al., 2015; Yoshida, James, and Cronin Jr., 2013). For sport centers, the ability to access knowledge is a part of their competitive advantage as they often bring ideas based on an opportunity analysis of potential benefits (Damanpour and Aravind, 2012; Ratten, 2016). An organization or sport organization can exploit new knowledge only if it can acquire and store this knowledge (Ratten, 2016). The relationships between knowledge management processes (absorptive capacity, knowledge storage and knowledge application) are associated with the concept of the knowledge management corridor (Martelo- Page 8 of 39International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 4.1. Outer model The results show that the outer model meets all of the commonly stipulated requirements. First, the individual items are reliable because all standardized loadings are greater than 0.7 (Table 2). Second, because all of Dijkstra and Henseler’ ρ are greater than 0.8 (Table 3), the model satisfies the prerequisite of construct reliability. Furthermore, the scores for average variance extracted (AVE) exceed the threshold of 0.5 (Table 3) for sport centers’ unidimensionality, and these latent variables therefore achieve convergent validity. Finally, all the variables attain discriminant validity, since all HTMT are below 0.85 (Table 3). --------------------- Table 2 here Table 3 here ---------------------- 4.2. Inner model As Henseler et al. (2009) comment, the use of bootstrapping (5,000 resamples) produces standard errors and t-statistics to assess the statistical significance of the path coefficients. All the direct effects in Table 4 are supported, with the exception of b 1 (knowledge storage on citizen experience). The percentile bootstraps at the 95% and 99% confidence interval have this outcome (Table 4). The results also demonstrate that the structural model has satisfactory predictive relevance for the value variable (Q 2 = 0.40). The analytical approach described by Nitzl et al. (2016) is used to test the three mediation hypotheses (Hypothesis 1, Hypothesis 2, and Hypothesis 3). ----------------- Table 4 here ------------------ Page 15 of 39 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship Table 5 shows that the product of the path coefficients for each of the paths in the mediational chain are used to estimate the mediation effects (Nitzl et al., 2016). The results demonstrate the non-existence of any mediation effect between sport centers’ absorptive capacity and the sport consumer experience through knowledge storage alone (rejecting Hypothesis 1). However, the other two hypotheses were supported; the results demonstrate the existence of a single mediation of knowledge application in the relationships between sport centers’ absorptive capacity and the sport consumer experience (supporting Hypothesis 2) and one sequential mediation of knowledge storage and knowledge application on the former link (supporting Hypothesis 3). The use of bootstrapping allows the mediation hypotheses to be tested (Nitzl et al., 2016). This study’s 5,000 resamples generate 95% and 99% bias-corrected confidence intervals for the mediators. As Table 4 shows, sport centers’ absorptive capacity has a significant direct effect on the sport consumer experience (c’ = 0.46) and these results therefore show a partial mediation between sport centers’ absorptive capacity and the sport consumer experience, since the indirect effects that are captured in Hypothesis 2 and Hypothesis 3 are significant. However, the results fail to support Hypothesis 1 (Table 5). This study also calculates the variance accounted for (VAF) index (Hair et al., 2014), which determines the size of the indirect effect in relation to the total effect. When the outcome of the VAF is between 20% and 80%, there is an expectation of a partial mediation, and this is seen in this case, given that the VAF for the indirect effect alluded to in Hypothesis 2 is 36.74%, and in Hypothesis 3 it is 28.21% (Table 4). ----------------- Table 5 here ----------------- 5. Discussion Page 16 of 39International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship The Spanish sport center system is facing a number of challenges, including limited and scarce resources, and an uncertain environment (Garcia-Fernandez et al., 2017; Martinez-Moreno and Suarez, 2016). Efficient sport center management is therefore critical for maximizing the quality and quantity of the sport services offered to their consumers. By undertaking an empirical study of 156 sport centers in Andalusia (Spain) and 3,150 sport consumers, this study provides an insight into the influence of knowledge management processes (absorptive capacity, knowledge storage and knowledge application) on the sport consumer experience. Specifically, the analysis focuses on the relationship between the sport centers’ absorptive capacity for external knowledge and the sport consumer experience alongside the indirect effects of both knowledge storage and knowledge application, and the continuous sequential effect of knowledge storage and knowledge application. This study’s first contribution is that it further clarifies the relationships between sport centers’ knowledge management processes and the sport consumer experience. The approach adopted is to place the sport center’s absorptive capacity at the beginning of the process –what Martelo-Landroguez and Cegarra (2014) call the start of the knowledge management corridor. We consider this to be the main antecedent of the impact of knowledge on the sport consumer experience, while knowledge storage and knowledge application play mediating roles between sport centers’ absorptive capacity and the consumer experience. The results show that knowledge application, to a greater extent, and knowledge storage to a lesser extent, partially mediate the effect of the knowledge absorption capacities of a sport center on their sport user experience. In this vein, the study highlights the need to handle the knowledge management processes jointly in order to improve the sport consumer experience, because the relationship between the knowledge management processes is significant. Page 17 of 39 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship Sport centers traditionally focus their efforts on improving absorptive capacity levels, trying to learn about and understand the numerous sport trends in their field, allowing them to leverage the sport consumer experience. A sport center’s absorptive capacity by itself improves the sport consumer experience, as the study shows in the value of c’=0.46, which is positive and significant. This result supports the idea that a sport center’s absorptive capacity continues to be a fundamental driver for the creation of its consumers’ sport experience (Polyakova and Mirza, 2016). A second contribution of this study is the suggestion that sport center employees can improve the sport consumer experience (Jaques, 2004; Anagnostopoulos, Winand, and Papadimitriou, 2016) when they deploy absorption systems, knowledge storage, and the application of knowledge simultaneously. The structural model shows that the positive effect of sport center’s absorptive capacity in the generation of knowledge storage does not have a significant effect on the increase in experience value (Hypothesis 1=a 1 b 1 =- 0.01 ns). However, to the extent that knowledge storage leads to greater knowledge application, a sequential mediation effect takes place through these two variables –knowledge storage and knowledge application (Hypothesis 3 = a 1 a 3 b 2 = 0.18). Finally, the most important indirect effect detected in this study is that which occurs through knowledge application. Thus, when sport centers’ absorptive capacity leads to knowledge application, it significantly increases the experience value (Hypothesis 2 = a 2 b 2 = 0.27). These findings reinforce the idea of synergy in the management processes. Our findings show that the sport consumer experience is better explained by the joint action of knowledge storage, knowledge application and absorptive capacity, as the supported mediation hypothesis demonstrates. It would appear that managing knowledge in an organization requires the implementation of all these processes. In fact, our study sheds light on the way that these Page 18 of 39International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship processes should be managed, given that it provides a sequential path to creating an impact on the sport consumer experience. In summary, the fact that absorbed knowledge is stored and that this knowledge increases the sport centers’ knowledge base does not, by itself, lead to an improvement in the sport consumer experience (Alavi and Leidner, 2001; Cohen and Levinthal, 1990). Hypothesis 1 reflects this effect, showing that if sport centers store but do not apply knowledge, then there is no improvement in the appropriation of the user experience that has been created (Jiménez- Jiménez et al., 2011). This finding tells us that sport managers need to employ all of the knowledge management processes (absorptive capacity, knowledge storage and knowledge application) if they are to have a meaningful impact on the sport consumer experience. Our hypothesis does not support that idea. A final contribution of our study is an empirical one. The paper addresses the call from Gerke et al.(2017) for empirical studies in the field of sport management. We also use a novel type of SEM (PLSc) and refer to the recent mediation analysis literature (Nitzl et al., 2016). 6. Conclusions and limitations This study examines how sport centers’ knowledge-related capacities can be applied to the sport consumer experience (Andersen and Vidar Hanstad, 2013). It views the sport consumer experience as the internal and subjective responses of sport users to both direct and indirect contact with their sport services. The study shows that sport centers’ absorptive capacity is an antecedent of the sport consumer experience, and that both knowledge storage and knowledge application play a mediating role, but with different impacts; in fact, knowledge application is more significant in explaining the sport consumer experience than knowledge storage on its own. The results support the proposal that sport centers’ absorptive capacity affects the sport consumer Page 19 of 39 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship experience both directly and indirectly through knowledge application, and through the combined effects of knowledge storage and knowledge application, although not through the mediating role of knowledge storage. Sport centers therefore have to apply the knowledge they absorb in order to improve the sport user experience. If sport centers store but do not apply their knowledge, they cannot create a better experience for their users. This means that when sport managers capture external knowledge, they can leverage it to improve the service experience of their users (customers), but if this captured knowledge is applied to a new sport service, the sport experience improves more than previously. In fact, if the manager passes along the full length of the knowledge management corridor (absorptive capacity, knowledge storage and knowledge application) the sport consumer experience will improve even further. The insights arising from this study are very important for the sport center system. These bodies must understand that information and business intelligence systems must capture information and knowledge that can be applied to a sport center through new sport services, and should include this knowledge in their decision-making processes. This insight resonates with the findings of Ponsignon et al. (2015), and identifies some similar practices of sport consumer experience management within sport services. The first is to define the sport consumer lifecycle. Establishing the journey lifecycle represents the sport centers’ efforts to understand and recognize the sport consumer’s role in the experience and identifying co-creation opportunities. By developing a deep understanding of where and how sport users participate in the service, sport centers can help their consumers to co-create their experiences (Minkiewicz et al., 2013; Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2004). Each interaction provides an opportunity and sport centers therefore need to develop performance metrics at these interaction points, since sport consumers only assess value gradually throughout this journey (Lemke et al., 2011; Athanassopoulou and Mylonakis, 2009). Information intensity enables the collection of vast amounts of operational Page 20 of 39International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship information across all interactions. Knowledge acquisition is essential at this point, a finding which is also supported by the results attained in this paper. However, sport centers need to design processes to store and efficiently apply this acquired knowledge to develop sport services that will have an impact on new demands for the sport consumer experience. This study has some limitations. First, the results only offer a snapshot of current processes rather than a measure of the same process over time. Second, although drawing on relevant, applicable measurement models from existing literature demonstrates that a construct’s definition should be aligned as closely as possible to the measurement model, the constructs can only credibly act as proxies for an underlying latent phenomenon, which itself is only partially measurable (Rigdon, 2012). Third, the cross-sectional (rather than longitudinal) design of the study might misrepresent variables that refer to lengthy processes, the effects of which only become apparent over a long period. Finally, this study takes place in a specific geographical context; sport centers in Andalusia (Spain) with more than 15,000 users and sport consumers using the services provided by these centers. Researchers must therefore take care when generalizing these results and conclusions to different contexts. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies to assess how knowledge management corridors are developed over time and their impact on the sport consumer experience. An additional variable that would be worth including in the case of sport centers, for example, is the role of informal knowledge through gossip, hoaxes, and exaggerations. In fact, the majority of knowledge that exists today is based on this informal knowledge. We believe that this is an interesting subject for future discussion in the context of sport management. 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Page 24 of 39International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship PACAP: acap1 RACAP: acap2 PACAP 1: Our sport center has frequent interactions with other ones to acquire new knowledge 2: Our sport center employees regularly visit other sport centers 3: We collect industry information through informal means (e.g., lunch with industry friends, talks with trade partners) 4: We rarely visit other sport centers (reverse-coded) 5: Our sport center periodically organizes special meetings with users or third parties to acquire new knowledge 6: We are slow to recognize shifts in our market (e.g., competition, regulation, demography) (reverse-coded) 7: New opportunities and/or trends to serve our clients are quickly understood 8: We quickly analyze and interpret changing market demands RACAP 1. Our sport center regularly considers the consequences of changing market demands in terms of new products and services 2: Employees record and store newly-acquired knowledge for future reference 3: Our unit quickly recognizes the usefulness of new external knowledge for existing knowledge 4: It is clearly understood how activities within our sport center should be performed 5: Our sport center has a clear division of roles and responsibilities 6: We regularly consider how better to exploit knowledge 7: Our unit has difficulty implementing new products and services (reverse-coded) Page 31 of 39 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship Knowledge storage (1=strongly disagree and 7=strongly agree) ks1: Organizational conversation keeps the lessons learned from the history of our service development at the front of our minds ks2: We always audit unsuccessful service development endeavors and communicate the lessons learned ks3: We have specific mechanisms for sharing lessons learned in the service development process ks4: Formal routines exist to uncover faulty assumptions about the service development process Knowledge application (1=strongly disagree and 7=strongly agree). ka1: My organization has processes for applying knowledge learned from mistakes ka2: My organization has processes for applying knowledge learned from experiences ka3: My organization has processes for using knowledge in the development of new services ka4: My organization has processes for using knowledge to solve problems ka5: My organization uses knowledge to improve efficiency ka6: My organization uses knowledge to adjust strategic direction ka7: My organization is able to locate and apply knowledge to changing competitive conditions ka8: My organization makes knowledge accessible to those who need it ka9: My organization takes advantage of new knowledge ka10: My organization quickly links sources of knowledge for solving problems Sport consumer experience (1=strongly disagree and 7=strongly agree). ue1: I feel calm at my sport center ue2: I feel that my sport center simplifies my problems ue3: The privacy and security of my data are guaranteed at this sport center Page 32 of 39International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship ue4: My own efforts help to make services more successful ue5: I feel informed of everything I need to be by the sport center staff ue6: I feel that the service provided by the sport center is under their control ue7: I have a friendly relationship with the sport center staff ue8: I am generally satisfied with the services provided by the sport center ue9: The service provided meets my expectations ue10: I will continue to use this sport center in the future ue11: Even if I could, I would not use a different sport center; I appreciate the relationship I have with the current one ue12: I would recommend the services of my sport center Page 33 of 39 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship Table 1 Global goodness of fit and bootstrap-based 95% and 99% quantiles Goodness of Fit Measure Value Hi 95 Hi 99 SRMR Standardized Root Mean Square Residual 0.032 0.053 0.060 d ULS Unweighted Least Squares Discrepancy 0.42 0.56 0.69 d G Geodesic Discrepancy 1.31 2.05 2.30 Page 34 of 39International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship Table 2: Indicator loadings Construct Indicator Value Sport center’s absorptive capacity acap1 0.894 acap2 0.936 Knowledge storage ks1 0.840 ks2 0.752 ks3 0.814 ks4 0.735 Knowledge application ka1 0.850 ka2 0.883 ka3 0.943 ka4 0.819 ka5 0.829 ka6 0.863 ka7 0.875 ka8 0.699 ka9 0.884 ka10 0.924 Sport consumer experience ue1 0.806 ue2 0.857 ue3 0.794 ue4 0.777 ue5 0.871 ue6 0.792 ue7 0.790 ue8 0.739 ue9 0.778 ue10 0.876 ue11 0.744 ue12 0.847 Page 35 of 39 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship Table 3: Reliability and validity of construct measurement Construct/ indices Dijkstra- Henseler’s rho (ρ A ) Jöreskog ’s rho (ρ c ) Cronbach’s alpha (α) Average Variance Extracted Maximu m HTMT Sport center’s absorptive capacity 0.912 0.911 0.911 0.837 0.854 Knowledge storage 0.938 0.883 0.891 0.668 0.676 Knowledge application 0.968 0.966 0.965 0.738 0.854 Sport consumer experience 0.958 0.957 0.957 0.652 0.783 Page 36 of 39International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship Table 4. Construct effects on endogenous variables (incl. lower and upper limits of 95% and 99% confidence interval) Effects on endogenous variables Direct effect Confidence intervals (95%- 99%) Significance of effect Cohen's fsquare R 2 of dependent construct 99%CI lo 95%CI lo 95%CI hi 99%CI hi SC’s absCapac -> SC experience (c’) 0.463 0.132 0.236 0.698 0.804 Yes 0.15 0.653 SC experience KnoAppl -> SC experience (b 2 ) 0.380 0.023 0.137 0.625 0.715 Yes 0.10 KnoStor -> SC experience (b 1 ) -0.006 -0.168 -0.111 0.103 0.148 No 0 SC’s absCapac -> KnoAppl (a 2 ) 0.708 0.523 0.592 0.826 0.868 Yes 1.11 0.756 Knowledge Application KnoStor -> KnoAppl (a 3 ) 0.217 0.022 0.087 0.349 0.414 Yes 0.10 SC’s absCapac ->KnoStor (a 1 ) 0.677 0.553 0.587 0.776 0.811 Yes 0.84 0.458 Knowledge storage Page 37 of 39 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship Table 5: Indirect effects on endogenous variables (incl. lower and upper limits of 95% and 99% bias-corrected confidence interval) Indirect effects on endogenous variables Indirect effect Confidence intervals (percentiles 95%- 99%) Support 99%CI lo 95%CI lo 95%CI hi 99%CI hi H1: SC’s absCapa ->KnoStor -> SC exp (a 1 xb 1 ) -0.001 -0.121 -0.101 0.079 0.101 No H2: SC’s absCapa ->KnoAppl -> SC exp (a 2 xb 2 ) 0.269 0.015 0.056 0.491 0.527 Yes H3: SC’s absCapa ->KnoStor- >KnoAappl -> SC exp (a 1 xa 2 xb 2 ) 0.182 0.010 0.037 0.339 0.373 Yes Page 38 of 39International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship Figure 1. Proposed model and hypotheses Sport center’s absorptive capacity Sport consumer experience c ’ Knowledge application Knowledge storage a1 a2 a3 b2 b1 H1= a1b1 H2= a2b2 H3= a1a3b2 Page 39 of 39 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60