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Sport Science and Sustainable Social Development
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Sport Science and Sustainable Social Development

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Psychology of Sustainability and Sustainable Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 11641

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Rómulo Jacobo González-García

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Campus Capacitas, Universidad Católica de Valencia, 46001 Valencia, Spain
Interests: inclusive education; social communication; inclusive higher education
Dr. Gabriel Martínez-Rico

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Campus Capacitas, Catholic University of Valencia, 46001 Valencia, Spain
Interests: inclusive education; social communication; inclusive higher education
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Carlos Pérez Campos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Campus Capacitas, Universidad Católica de Valencia, 46001 Valencia, Spain
Interests: inclusive education; social communication; inclusive higher education
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the UN has laid the groundwork for a new path to improve the quality of life in society. This fact established 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which include the challenges we face as a society and provide a vision on how to improve society globally. Specifically, the field of sports science has been developing strategies and resources with the aim of improving the quality of life of the population. Thus, from the different areas encompassed by this sector, we have tried to respond to the various issues involved in aspects, such as health and well-being (objective 3), quality education (objective 4), gender equality (objective 5) or aspects that, to a greater or lesser extent, have been promoted through the development of this sector due to its multidisciplinary nature, such as decent work and economic growth (objective 8); industry, innovation and infrastructure (objective 9); or sustainable cities and communities (objective 11). To this end, these approaches need to be addressed in an inclusive manner, facilitating development towards a more just and sustainable society. The aim of this Special Issue is to give visibility to works that, by making use of physical activity and sport, manage to respond to one of the Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore, all researchers are invited to present their work on how sporting activity responds to the model of sustainable social development through this Special Issue.

Dr. Rómulo Jacobo González-García
Dr. Gabriel Martínez-Rico
Prof. Dr. Carlos Pérez Campos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sport sustainability
  • sports sector
  • inclusive sport
  • sports management applied
  • sports organizations
  • Sustainable Development
  • physical activity
  • sport society
  • sport well-being

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 955 KiB  
Article
A Hybrid Model for Fitness Influencer Competency Evaluation Framework
by Chin-Cheng Yang, Wan-Chi Jackie Hsu, Chung-Shu Yeh and Yu-Sheng Lin
Sustainability 2024, 16(3), 1279; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031279 - 02 Feb 2024
Viewed by 892
Abstract
Fitness influencers are an emerging profession in recent years. At present, the main research on fitness influencers focuses on their personal traits, professional knowledge and skills, and course content, while there is still a large research gap on the social media marketing strategies [...] Read more.
Fitness influencers are an emerging profession in recent years. At present, the main research on fitness influencers focuses on their personal traits, professional knowledge and skills, and course content, while there is still a large research gap on the social media marketing strategies of fitness influencers, how they interact with fans, and the reasons for their influence on fans. There is a lack of a comprehensive evaluation framework for fitness influencer research, and there is no clear research on what competencies are required to become a qualified fitness influencer. Therefore, it has become an important issue to establish a comprehensive fitness influencer competency evaluation. In this study, a hybrid model of fitness influencer competency evaluation framework was developed based on government competency standards and expert knowledge using the Multiple Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) model perspective. This evaluation should expand to include the principles of sustainable development, emphasizing the influencers’ role in advocating for environmental responsibility, social equity, and economic viability within the fitness industry. First, the study developed 21 criteria in six dimensions of fitness influencer competencies through a literature survey and interviews with several experts. The 21 criteria resonate with many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). The Bayesian Best-Worst Method (Bayesian BWM) was used to generate the best group weights for fitness influencer competencies. Then, a modified Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution Based on Aspiration Level (modified TOPSIS-AL) was applied to evaluate the performance ranking of major fitness influencers in Taiwan by integrating the concept of the aspiration level. The results of the study revealed that behavioral standards were the most important dimension, emphasizing the need for fitness influencers to establish a comprehensive set of norms for their own behavioral standards. The top five criteria for fitness influencers’ competencies were self-review, punctuality and prudence, creativity, rapport and motivation, and the need to conform to one’s body image. The performance ranking was used to compare the evaluated subjects to the desired level to obtain a basis for improvement. This study effectively identifies key fitness industry competency indicators and refines business performance through the management implications proposed in this study to facilitate the development of the fitness industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sport Science and Sustainable Social Development)
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24 pages, 1233 KiB  
Article
How Does Service Quality Improve Consumer Loyalty in Sports Fitness Centers? The Moderating Role of Sport Involvement
by Yihan Huang and Daehwan Kim
Sustainability 2023, 15(17), 12840; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712840 - 24 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2684
Abstract
In the context of sports fitness centers, understanding the relationship between service quality and customer experience is crucial for enhancing customer loyalty and building long-term relationships. This study aims to explore the impact of service quality factors on customer satisfaction, trust, commitment, and [...] Read more.
In the context of sports fitness centers, understanding the relationship between service quality and customer experience is crucial for enhancing customer loyalty and building long-term relationships. This study aims to explore the impact of service quality factors on customer satisfaction, trust, commitment, and loyalty, with a specific focus on the moderating role of sport involvement in shaping consumer experiences and perceptions. For this purpose, a cross-sectional survey was conducted with 606 consumers of sports fitness centers in Zhengzhou, China. The results of a latent moderated structural equation (LMS) analysis via Mplus version 8 indicate a positive relationship between tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy with customer satisfaction in sports fitness centers. Additionally, customer satisfaction positively affects trust and customer commitment, which in turn positively affect loyalty. Furthermore, sport involvement moderates the effects of reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy on satisfaction. Finally, trust and commitment mediate the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty. The present study has theoretical implications through illuminating the process mechanism of the effect of service quality on consumer loyalty, and it empirically shows different patterns of consumer experiences depending on sport involvement. Additionally, the results provide practical implications for developing effective service quality in sports fitness centers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sport Science and Sustainable Social Development)
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12 pages, 288 KiB  
Article
Customer Experience in Sports Centres: Adaptation and Validation of a Measurement Scale
by Fernando García-Pascual, David Parra-Camacho and Gabriel Martínez Rico
Sustainability 2023, 15(7), 5954; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15075954 - 29 Mar 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1796
Abstract
The service experience in fitness centres is important for understanding how users perceive and value the quality of the service. The service experience in fitness centres is constructed from the expectations and needs of the users and the capacity of the centre to [...] Read more.
The service experience in fitness centres is important for understanding how users perceive and value the quality of the service. The service experience in fitness centres is constructed from the expectations and needs of the users and the capacity of the centre to satisfy them. This paper aims to adapt and validate the consumer experience quality (EXQ) scale (Klaus and Maklan, 2012) that analyses consumer experience in the context of fitness centres. This research was carried out in a sports centre in Spain with a sample of 413 users (52% male, 48% female) and an average age of 36.5 years. A CFA was carried out to check the fit of the model and then to check the reliability and validity of the scale, as well as the correlations with other factors. It can be seen that after different steps, the model shows good fitting as well as good reliability and validity values. The research also shows that this scale significantly predicts the satisfaction and future intentions of the service users. Therefore, managers of sports centres should consider the perceptions and positive experiences of their users in order to improve the viability of their service. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sport Science and Sustainable Social Development)
15 pages, 335 KiB  
Article
Local Impact of a Sports Centre: Effects on Future Intentions
by Lucciano Testa, David Parra-Camacho, Ana María Gómez-Tafalla, Fernando Garcia-Pascual and Daniel Duclos-Bastías
Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5550; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065550 - 22 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 5288
Abstract
Analysing the social impact of sports facilities is important because they can have a positive impact on the health and well-being of the people who use them, foster social inclusion and participation, and be an important source of employment and local economic development. [...] Read more.
Analysing the social impact of sports facilities is important because they can have a positive impact on the health and well-being of the people who use them, foster social inclusion and participation, and be an important source of employment and local economic development. This study aimed to analyse the perception of residents of the city of Valencia on the impact of a sports facility and its influence on their future intentions about the services it provides. The sample consisted of 209 residents, of whom 113 were men and 96 were women. The sample rated positively all social impact factors of the sports facility analysed. Regression analyses revealed that two of the five social impact factors (health impact, socio-cultural impact, and image and promotion impact) significantly predict future intentions. Therefore, analysing the social impact of sports facilities provides managers with essential information to ensure a positive integration into the community and in turn, promote active and healthy lifestyles. As well as the influence of this impact on residents’ future behaviours towards the sports facility. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sport Science and Sustainable Social Development)
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