Study of spectator satisfaction at a major athletics event

Abstract

Sporting events have become an important promotional tool for large cities, as they manage to generate levels of diffusion that would be economically unviable through advertising campaigns (Núñez, Calabuig, Añó, & Parra, 2014). These events have a high level of social repercussion and a strong presence in the media, thus generating a source of income for the cities (Añó, 2003). In this case, the relationship between the different dimensions of perceived quality and the competition elements regarding the satisfaction of the spectators of a Spanish Athletics Championship has been analysed to understand which elements have a greater influence on the achievement of higher levels of satisfaction, which will make the event more successful and generate a better perception of the event and the city that hosts it. In addition, the aim is to check whether the evaluations made by spectators show differences according to their age and gender, as well as their previous experience attending sporting events. The results show, at a descriptive level, that both spectators over 35 years of age and spectators who are women value the dimensions analysed most positively; differences are observed between these groups with respect to some of the analysed dimensions, whereas, regarding previous experience at events, the opinions are more equally distributed. For regression analysis, all the dimensions of perceived quality and the competition elements have a significant influence on user satisfaction, wherein the outcome quality and the competition elements are the most important elements in this prediction.