Impact of Failure in Customer Retention on Trainers’ Turnover in Singapore’s Fitness Industry and the Unintended Consequences
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This research aims to analyze the failure in customer retention on trainers’ turnover in Singapore’s fitness industry and its unintended consequences. It explores the factors affecting customer retention, the impact of failure on employee turnover, and strategies to mitigate the gap between expectation and perception.
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Running head: DISSERTATION Impact of Failure in Customer Retention on Trainers’ Turnover in Singapore’s Fitness Industry and the Unintended Consequences Name of the Student: Name of the University: Author’s Note:
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1DISSERTATION Acknowledgement Thank you to all of those who have helped listened and encouraged me throughout this study. I am indebted to my supervisor ……………………. whose guidance, advice and patience have been immeasurable. My sincere thanks to all members of the…………… [Mention your university/college name], both staff and students, whose continuous support have made this thesis possible. I would like to thank all of the participants in the study: students, teachers and Local Education Authorities, for the time and help given throughout. Without their participation, this research would not have been possible. In this context, I am also thankful to them, whose research work helped me to execute this paper well. Finally, I thank my family, without whom this thesis would not have been started or completed! Your encouragement and support have never faltered; thank you.
2DISSERTATION Abstract The aim of the research is to analyze the failure in customer retention on trainers’ turnover in Singapore’s fitness industry that results in unintended consequences. Over the past decades, the fitness industry has gained huge popularity, as the majority of the population has become health conscious. A large portion of the fitness industry comprises of the exercise studios and gyms. The demand has increased to 2.5 million in 2015 from a mere 1.8 million in 2010. Positivism philosophy, deductive approach, descriptive design and survey research strategy has been used. The researcher has selected 30 gym members and 5 managers from the fitness industry of Singapore using random probability sampling technique. As the gym members and the managers are the ones facing the issues in the fitness industry of Singapore to be retained, surveying them has allowed the researcher to know the reason of increased employee turnover in the industry and its impact on customer retention. Gap analysis and t-test analysis has been conducted using SPSS for determining the difference between the expectation and perception of the gym members and gym trainers for fitness industry in Singapore. A gap score of -1.5333 indicates that the fitness organizations in Singapore to fulfill the expectation of the gym members in terms of tangible dimensions and the t-test where the value obtained is .000 that is less than .05. The largest gap in the Singapore fitness industry for the gym member is for the tangible and assurance dimension that is-1.4000. However, the smallest gap has been identified for responsiveness, that is -.6000. Regarding the t-test results, no significant difference has been found between the perception and expectation for all the dimensions of service quality, as the t-test values obtained are more than 0.05. Hence, the fitness
3DISSERTATION industry of Singapore should aim towards mitigating the gap between expectation and perception so that they can ensure effective and efficient service quality.
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4DISSERTATION Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................7 1.0Overview...........................................................................................................................7 1.1 Research aim..........................................................................................................................7 1.2 Research objectives...............................................................................................................7 1.3 Research questions.................................................................................................................8 1.4 Research hypotheses..............................................................................................................8 Chapter 2: Literature review............................................................................................................9 2.0 Overview................................................................................................................................9 2.1 Conceptual framework...........................................................................................................9 2.2 Fitness industry....................................................................................................................10 2.3 Concept of customer retention.............................................................................................10 2.4 Factors affecting customer retention...................................................................................11 2.5 Advantages of customer retention.......................................................................................12 2.6 Customer retention in fitness industry.................................................................................13 2.7 Customer retention strategies..............................................................................................14 2.8 SERVQUAL model of service quality................................................................................14 2.9 Concept of employee turnover.............................................................................................17 2.10 Factors affecting employee turnover.................................................................................17
5DISSERTATION 2.11 Causes of employee turnover in Singapore fitness industry..............................................18 2.12 Strategies for reducing employee turnover rate in Singapore...........................................19 2.13 Consequences of employee turnover in Singapore............................................................19 2.14 Impact of failure in customer retention on employee turnover.........................................20 2.15 Summary............................................................................................................................20 Research methodology...................................................................................................................22 3.0 Overview..............................................................................................................................22 3.1 Research outline...................................................................................................................22 3.2 Research philosophy............................................................................................................22 3.2.1 Reason for implementing positivism philosophy.........................................................23 3.3 Research approach...............................................................................................................23 3.3.1 Reason for implementing deductive approach.............................................................24 3.4 Research design...................................................................................................................24 3.4.1 Reason for implementing descriptive design................................................................25 3.5 Research strategy.................................................................................................................25 3.5.1 Reason for implementing survey research strategy......................................................25 3.6 Sampling technique and sample size...................................................................................26 3.6.1 Reason for implementing random probability sampling technique..............................26 3.7 Data collection process........................................................................................................27 3.7.1 Reason for implementing primary data collection process...........................................27
6DISSERTATION 3.8. Data analysis technique......................................................................................................28 3.8.1 Reason for implementing quantitative data analysis technique....................................28 3.8.2 Pilot study.........................................................................................................................29 3.9 Ethical considerations..........................................................................................................29 3.10 Accessibility issues............................................................................................................30 3.11 Summary............................................................................................................................30 Chapter 4: Data analysis................................................................................................................31 4.0 Overview..............................................................................................................................31 4.1 Descriptive analysis.............................................................................................................31 4.2 Inferential analysis...............................................................................................................35 4.3 Summary..............................................................................................................................42 Reflection section..........................................................................................................................44 References......................................................................................................................................49 Appendix 1.....................................................................................................................................60 Research Questionnaires for Gym Members.............................................................................60 Research Questionnaires for Managers.....................................................................................64
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7DISSERTATION Chapter 1: Introduction 1.0Overview The title of the research “Impact of failure in customer retention on trainers’ turnover in Singapore’s fitness industry and the unintended consequences” was selected from Peter Senge System Archetypes which is "Fixes that fail —A solution is rapidly implemented to address the symptoms of an urgent problem." Failure in retaining the customers has resulted in minimized profit that needs to be overcome by keeping low cost by letting go staff through turnover, more staff turnover will make the organization lose the revenue through personal training. The quick fixes intend to mitigate the unintended consequences that are difficult to understand in the beginning but results in the symptoms of customer retention failure (Bernal-Garcia et al. 2014). 1.1 Research aim The aim of the research is to analyze the failure in customer retention on trainers’ turnover in Singapore’s fitness industry that results in unintended consequences. 1.2 Research objectives The objectives of the research are: To investigate ways the failure in customer retention has resulted in trainers’ turnover in Singapore’s fitness industry To examine the various factors that has led to low customer loyalty in the various organizations in Singapore’s fitness industry
8DISSERTATION To find out the unintended consequences those are faced by organizations in Singapore’s fitness industry as a result of the repeated cycle of failure to retain client and trainers’ turnover To establish the various strategies that can be adopted by the fitness industry in Singapore to control the failure to retain customers and maintain customer loyalty 1.3 Research questions The research questions are: What is customer retention and what role does it play in fitness organizations? What factors lead to low rates of customer retention in the fitness industry in Singapore? What are the unintended consequences of therepeated cycle of failure to retain client and trainers turnover? What strategies can be applied in the fitness industry to enhance customer loyalty and hence promote customer retention? 1.4 Research hypotheses The research hypotheses are: H0:failure in customer retention results in an increase in the rates of trainer’s turnover in Singapore’s fitness industry. H1:low rates of customer retention in Singapore’s fitness industry arise from failure to exceed customer expectations, failing loyalty programs, and lack of any unique relevance. H2:repeated cycle of failure to retain client and trainers turnover result in the unintended consequences of low profitability and business failure.
9DISSERTATION
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10DISSERTATION Customer retention Communication Consistency Trust Relationship Good values Sincere Employee turnover Chapter 2: Literature review 2.0 Overview The literature review chapter is the basis of the overall study, as this chapter sheds light on the concepts, factors, advantages and challenges for both the independent and the dependent variable. Based on the identified variables, the overall literature review is structured and conducted. For this study, the customer retention is identified as the independent variable and employee turnover is the dependent variable. Based on the research aim and objectives, failing in ensuring effective customer retention has resulted in increased in turnover rate of the trainers in the fitness industry in Singapore by conducting extensive research on the impact of failure of customer retention on employee turnover rate. 2.1 Conceptual framework
11DISSERTATION Figure 1: Conceptual framework (Source: Created by Author) 2.2 Fitness industry Maintaining wellness and health by performing and conducting wide range of physical and mental exercises comprises of the fitness industry. Over the past decades, the fitness industry has gained huge popularity, as the majority of the population has become health conscious. A large portion of the fitness industry comprises of the exercise studios and gyms. In addition to, other franchises of the fitness industry includes personalized and specialized fitness lesson (Bernal-Garcia et al. 2014). Being healthy is now trending because this lifestyle is much appreciated for both personal and professional lifestyle. In a developing country like Singapore, fitness and wellness is highly demanded due to the current trend of living a healthy lifestyle. However, gap in terms of lesser number of fitness trainers is noticed in Singapore thereby, resulting in increased demand of fitness gym in the country. For example, the demand has increased to 2.5 million in 2015 from a mere 1.8 million in 2010 (Harvey, Vachhani and Williams 2014). However, the fitness organizations are unable to retain the trainers that have increasedtheemployeeturnoverratethereby,affectingtheprofitabilityofthebusiness organizations. 2.3 Concept of customer retention Customerretentionis the key aspect thatdeterminesthe success of the business organizations, as the companies can count the return of investment by considering the retained customers. Effective customer retention is a bigger advantage and strategy of ensuring success that attracting new customers. As commented by Degbey (2015), customer retention is defined as the range of actions and activities undertaken by the business organizations to decrease the
12DISSERTATION existing number of customers. However, as argued by Abdolvand, Baradaran and Albadvi (2015), customer retention is defined as the strategies undertaken by the business organizations for fulfilling the needs and demands of the customers thereby, ensuring customer loyalty. In terms of the fitness industry, relationship between the trainers and the clients, their commitment and frequency determines customer retention. 2.4 Factors affecting customer retention The different factors affecting customer retention are value, communication, consistency, relationship, sincerity and trust. It is important for the business organizations to retain the customersfor gainingcompetitiveadvantage and count on the return of investment.As commented by Scherer, Wunderlich and Von Wangenheim (2015), it is important for the business organization to develop an understanding of the customer needs and requirements and it can be accomplished by ensuring effectivecommunication. Effective communication helps in building a strong bond between the company and the clients thereby, giving the ability to know each other better. In this way the business organizations can excel in satisfying the customers thereby, retaining them. However, as argued by Magatef and Tomalieh (2015), apart from communication,consistencyhelps in effective customer retention. Ensuring consistency provide an opportunity for the business organization to maintain standard service for the customers that ensures long tern customer satisfaction. Customer retention is also affected bytrustbetween the customers and the business organizations. According to Han and Hyun (2015), the trust of being served the best with standard at reasonable and affordable cost helps in customers in developing trust on the business organizations. The customers believe that the organizations have the ability to solve their issues and fulfill their need and these believe results in effective customer retention. However, as
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13DISSERTATION criticized by Fullerton (2014),relationshipwith customers is the key factor that influences customer retention. Positive relationship with the customers results in strong, healthy and friendly bond with the business organization that enforces the customers to come back to the same company without availing the alternatives in the market. On the other hand, the business organizations need to show that they aresincereabout thecustomers.Thismakesthecustomersfeelvaluedandsignificantforthebusiness organizations and the feeling of being prioritized other than anything affects customer retention. However, on the contrary, offeringgood valuesto the customers affects customer retention (Thaichon and Quach 2015). The fitness industry in Singapore lacks the effective execution of the aforementioned factors between the trainers and the customers resulting in failure of customer retention. 2.5 Advantages of customer retention The business organizations en-cash the customers for gaining competitive advantage as well as earning profit thereby, making customer retention as one of the topmost priorities for the companies. One of the major advantages of customer retention is that it is more economic than acquisition. As commented by Maldonado et al. (2015), business profits can be maximized by decreasing and controlling cost for attracting new customers. Instead, the business organization has to put effort in retaining the existing customers, as the business organizations are able to count on the return on investment. The company has to spend five times more to attract new customers than retaining the existing ones. However, as argued by Magatef and Tomalieh (2015), customer retention offers better return compared to attracting new customers. This is because the existing and retained customers buy 90% more frequently than the newly attracted
14DISSERTATION customers. Thus, customer retention is one of the best ways of business growth and profit maximization. Ontheotherhand,customerretentionprovidesanopportunityforthebusiness organizations to stand out from the crowd and the fellow competitors. This is because the business organizations have been able to create a unique image in the eye of the customers that is difficult of being replaced (Jahromi, Stakhovych and Ewing 2014). 2.6 Customer retention in fitness industry As the fitness industry is a customer centric industry, customer retention in this industry is highly influenced by the relationship, commitment, trust and frequency between the fitness trainers and the clients. Effective establishment of the aforementioned factors help the trainers and the clients know each other better and have a healthy and positive fitness session (Yu et al. 2014). The three words that have to be clarified in the fitness industry in respect to customer retention are attendance, drop-out and adherence. Attendance highlights the visiting frequency of the clients in the gym. Drop-out signifies the clients to be a member of the gym but has stopped visiting the gym. Lastly, adherence means continuous visiting of the clients and attending fitness session scheduled with their respective trainers (Avourdiadou and Theodorakis 2014). In the fitness industry, customer retention corresponds to client attendance because irregular attendance results in loss of interest in staying fit and result in being a drop-out. Increased drop-outs and absenteeism proposes that the clients are unhappy or not satisfied with the gym contents in terms of the fitness session, the trainers and the gym facilities and equipment (Chao 2015).
15DISSERTATION 2.7 Customer retention strategies In spite of being highly beneficial and demanded, retaining customers are extremely difficult for the business organizations. However, the business organizations are able to execute and implement cost effective and successful strategies for retaining customers. As mentioned by Retana, Forman and Wu (2015), one of the most effective ways of customer retention is by offering adequate support. The customers should be able to communicate and seek help with the business organization whenever they need and the business organizations should this in mind and develop applications. Using the application will allow the customers to seek for support and assistance. The agenda of the support services offered by the companies make sure that the customers are comfortable and assure that help is available readily. However, as argued by Hill and Alexander (2017), surveying the customers is the most effective ways of retaining the customers. This is because surveying the customers at regular interval enables the business organization to be aware if the customers are satisfied or not thereby, taking measures appropriately. In order to do so, the business organizations can use CRM software that helps in effective management of customer data along with tracking customer needs and history efficiently. 2.8 SERVQUAL model of service quality The most popular model for measuring the level of customer satisfaction in every service industry is SERVQUAL model. The model is based on the client perspective on the the quality of the service that highlights the comparison between the expected and received value along with taking into account the gaps in the process of service provision. The SERVQUAL model is judged on five dimensions that include responsiveness, tangibles, reliability, assurance and empathy. According to the model, “E” stands for customer expectations and “P” stands of
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16DISSERTATION customer perception. Expectation of the customers is defined as the desires and wants of the customers and the perception of the customers is defined as the experience of using the service (Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry 1985). The basic formula for SERVQUAL model isQ = P – E. The model has seven major gaps based on the concept of service quality: Gap 1:The first gap for this model is between the perception of the management and the expectation of the customers. This gap exists if there are several layers between the customers andthemanagementaswellasincorrectmarketresearchandineffectiveupward communication. In Singapore fitness industry, the promises and sincerity by the management towards the gym members is a gap. Gap 2:The second gap exists between the perception of the management and the specification of the services. This gap exists due to lack of adequate commitment towards service quality of manager and employees, inadequate standardization of task and unsuitable goals. In Singapore fitness industry, providing right service at the first time and keeping the promises of providing timely service is a potential gap. Gap 3:The third gap exists between specifications and delivery of the service. This gap arises as the employees do not have a clear idea of their position and the roles and responsibilities for them. Additionally, the gap exists when the employees are unable to perform their roles and responsibilities in spite of knowing their roles. Moreover, inefficient team work and supervision also leads to this gap in the service quality. In the Singapore fitness industry, trust, relationship and sincerity are the gaps that the gym members experiences.
17DISSERTATION Gap 4:The fourth gap exists between the external communication and the service deliveries. The potential reason of this gap is over-promise to both internal and external customers along with minimized horizontal communication. In the fitness industry of Singapore, communication between the customers and the gym employees is ineffective that has led to the formation of the gap. Gap 5:The fifth gap is the expectation of the customers and their perception of what is being delivered to them. This is said to be the most important gap and is considered as the main gap that helps in measuring service quality. This gap is linked directly with the external customer and is said to be the gap that influences the model. The business organizations aim towards satisfying the diversified needs and expectations of the customers. However, the perception of the service is not based solely on the service but other factors such as word of mouth and competition with the competitors in the market. In the Singapore fitness industry, communication, trust, good values, relationship, sincerity and relationship results in the increased gap between the customer expectation and perception in terms of service (Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry 1985). Gap 6:The sixth gap highlights between the perception of the employees and the expectation of the customers. If the employees misunderstand or misinterpret the expectation of the customers, it can affect the level of customer satisfaction negatively. In the case of Singapore fitness industry, as mentioned in the previous gaps, ineffective communication has been a major problem due to which the employees perceive the expectation of the customers incorrectly in terms of service quality in the gym thereby, resulting in the gap (Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry 1985).
18DISSERTATION Gap 7:The seventh and the last gap is the difference between perception of the employees and the management. This gap arises due to increased communication gap between the managers and the employees. In the Singapore fitness industry, lack of effective communication between the managers and employees has led to the gap thereby, resulting in increased trainer turnover rate due to which the gym or the fitness organizations are failing to retain the customers. 2.9 Concept of employee turnover The core meaning of turnover is to replace the existing employee with a new employee. As commented by Kim (2014), employee turnover is defined as the measurement of the total number of employees that leaves a business organization within a specific period of time. However, as argued by Katsikea, Theodosiou and Morgan (2015), the employee turnover rate is also defined as measuring the number of employees in the subcategories such as individual departments or the demographic groups that has left an organization within a specific period of time. Higher rate of employee turnover signifies lower employee tenure than the competitors of the same industry. 2.10 Factors affecting employee turnover The relationship between the employees and the business organizations flourishes when the business organizations take an effort and gives the employees that enable them to bring out the best from them. As mentioned by Huffman, Casper and Payne (2014),lack of adequate job satisfactionresults in higher employee turnover rate. It is necessary for the business organization to develop and maintain the basic factors such as communication, positive working environment and respect for each other in order to ensure employee satisfaction. However, this is where the business organizations face issues, as factors ensuring job satisfaction differ for each employees resulting in conflicts and leading to increased employee turnover rate. However, as argued by
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19DISSERTATION Pohler and Schmidt (2016), beingpaid lesscompared to the industry standard is also a major reason of higher employee rate. Along with job satisfaction, fulfilling financial requirements and living a standard life is a major reason for being employed. Thus, it is important for the business organizations of pay their employees according to the industry standards. The employees can keep them updated with the current industry standards by using websites such as Glassdor and Payscale. Another reason of higher employee turnover rate isimpractical and and unfeasible expectationfrom the employees by the business organizations. Expecting higher productivity is normal and for that pushing the employees is justified. As mentioned by Zwane, Du Plessis and Slabbert (2014), but this is only accepted when the process is done appropriately and ensuring goal clarity. Pushing the employees extremely and setting up impractical expectations results in disappointments thereby, resulted in increased employee turnover rate. However, as criticized by Alam (2015),inadequate growth and recognitionalso results in increased employee turnover rate because in this competitive world the employees always seek for career advancements. The fitness industry of Singapore is facing higher rate of employee turnover as the aforementioned factors are harming the industry. 2.11 Causes of employee turnover in Singapore fitness industry Due to the adverse effect, the employee turnover rate is not desired by the business organizations. One of the reasons of higher employee turnover rate in Singapore is retirement or termination of the employees. As mentioned by Clausen, Tufte and Borg (2014), due to increased age some of the employees in the fitness industry has retired and also some has been terminated for their inadequacy as a trainer. Thus, increased retirement and termination has resulted in increased employee turnover rate in the Singaporean fitness industry. However, as
20DISSERTATION argued by Lu et al. (2016), being underpaid in the fitness industry is another reason for increased employee turnover rate. The trainers are leaving the fitness job in Singapore because the salaries given are inadequate. As a result, the trainers are unable to fulfill their financial responsibilities and live a standard life. 2.12 Strategies for reducing employee turnover rate in Singapore The fitness industry in Singapore has to develop strategies for reducing the employee turnover rate. Taking into account, one of the major causes of employee turnover in Singapore, offering competitive benefits and pay is a significant way of reducing employee turnover rate. As commented by Laschinger et al. (2014), being paid adequately ensures financial stability as well as ability to live a standard life for the individuals. Thus, the trainers in the fitness industry will be compensated well for their efforts and dedication and with the adequate remuneration paid they can lead a healthy livelihood and cover housing, food and utilities appropriately. However, as argued by Inabinett and Ballaro (2014), appropriate recruitment for fitness trainers can help in reducing the employee turnover rate. This is because hiring the employees with right attitude, expertise, skills and behavior will help in effective relationship with the clients thereby, helping in customer retention. 2.13 Consequences of employee turnover in Singapore Increased rate of trainers turnover in the Singaporean fitness industry result in unintended consequences. As commented by Nica (2016), unintended consequences of higher rate of employeeturnoverareexpense.Thoughemployeeturnovercanbebothvoluntaryand involuntary, the fitness organizations in Singapore have to bear expenses for attracting and luring new trainers for their organizations. Such expenses include replacement cost, advertisement and selection and recruitment process. Additionally, the cost of both formal and informal training for
21DISSERTATION the trainers is also an unintended consequence of higher trainer turnover rate. However, as criticized by Memon et al. (2014), increased rate of employee turnover results in loss of experienced and skilled trainers in the fitness industry of Singapore. As the fitness organizations are unable to fulfill the needs and requirements of the trainers, they are losing experienced trainers those are beneficial for customer retention for the gym. As a result, the fitness trainers are opting for other areas from the industry due to which the fitness organizations in Singapore have to recruit inexperienced and less skilled trainers. 2.14 Impact of failure in customer retention on employee turnover Increased rate of employee turnover is noticed due to failure to retain the employees. According to Goergen, O’Sullivan and Wood (2014), failure to retain customers’ results in decreased productivity, as the loyal customers tend to spend more compared to the new customers. As the result of inadequate customer retention, the fitness organizations are unable to pay according to the standards of the industry in Singapore. As a result, the trainers have issues in maintaining standard life and have a standard financial status. However, as argued by Schaufeli and Taris (2014), lack of career growth in the fitness industry is a result of increased turnover rate due to ineffective customer retention. Lack of loyal customers is hampering the morale employees and demotivating them to work. As a result, the trainers of the fitness industry in Singapore are moving to other industries for better career opportunities and growth. 2.15 Summary Thus, it can be summarized that customer retention is hampered if the rate of employee turnover is more for the business organizations. This is because the employees are the backbone of the business organization that ensures a positive and healthy relationship between the customers and the company. This provides an opportunity of knowing the customers well
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22DISSERTATION thereby, retaining them. The special bond and trust formed between the employees and the customers influences the customers to visit the same organization continuously. However, the fitness industry in Singapore is failing to retain their customers, as they have encountered higher employee turnover rate, that is, the fitness trainers are leaving frequently.
23DISSERTATION Research methodology 3.0 Overview This chapter provides a brief overview of the various methodological tools that are in existence that can be used while conducting the research. As a result, the researcher has been able to define philosophies, approaches, designs, and strategies, sampling techniques, data collection and analysis processes and justify the selection of the particular methods. 3.1 Research outline For this research, positivism philosophy, deductive approach, descriptive design and survey research strategy has been used. Based on the aforementioned methodologies, the researcher has selected 30 gym members and 5 managers from the fitness industry of Singapore using random probability sampling technique. As the gym members and the managers are the ones facing the issues in the fitness industry of Singapore to be retained, surveying them has allowed the researcher to know the reason of increased employee turnover in the industry and its impact on customer retention. As a result, failure to retain customers signifies lower profit that is forcing the trainers to leave, as they are unable to secure personal training business for them to make money can be analyzed.In order to do so, primary data collection and quantitative data analysis technique has been implemented. Gap analysis and t-test analysis has been conducted using SPSS for determining the difference between the expectation and perception of the gym members and gym trainers for fitness industry in Singapore. 3.2 Research philosophy Selecting an appropriate research philosophy is essential as this enables appropriate selection of data gathering and analysis. Positivism, interpretivism and pragmatism are the
24DISSERTATION research philosophies that are used extensively. As mentioned by Mackey and Gass (2015), observing and describing phenomenon from the perspective of the set objectives in known as positivism philosophy. The data is gathered and observed logically by using factual observations. Asaresult,positivismphilosophyfacilitateshypothesistesting.Ontheotherhand, interpretivism philosophy is defined as the difference of the humans in the society in terms of their opinion and viewpoint. As a result, the interaction and interpretation of the humans in the society are considered. Pragmatism philosophy highlights the combined characteristics of both positivism and interpretivism philosophy (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault 2015). 3.2.1 Reason for implementing positivism philosophy Considering the aforementioned definitions, positivism philosophy is the most-suited for this study. Firstly, this is most-suited because implanting positivism philosophy allows testing the hypothesis set for the study, that is, whether customer retention and employee turnover are associated or not. Secondly, this is the most appropriate philosophy when deductive approach is being implemented. Thirdly, the implementation of positivism philosophy allows the researcher to use factual knowledge and deduce quantifiable observations about customer retention and employee turnover by enabling the use of statistical approach for analysis. Thus, the researcher has been able to support the scientific observations by logical information about employee turnover and customer retention (Lewis 2015). 3.3 Research approach Research approach provides a framework that helps in referring to previous information thereby, ensuring depth to the study. Both inductive and deductive approaches are used for conducting a study. According to Smith (2015), for inductive approach, new theories and models are induced based on the observations made. This method is time-consuming and error prone to
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25DISSERTATION some extent because incorrect observations might lead to incorrect development of theories and models.However,ontheotherhand,deductiveapproachfacilitatesdeducingsuitable observations by referring to previous information (Silverman 2016). 3.3.1 Reason for implementing deductive approach Considering the aforementioned definitions, deductive approach is the most-suited for this study. Firstly, deductive approach is the most suited approach when positivism philosophy has been used. Secondly, the implementation of deductive approach enables the researcher to refer to already existing information and data. As a result, the researcher has been able to refer to past researches about customer retention and employee turnover, their concepts, factors, causes and benefits (Flick 2015). In addition to, the use of deductive approach allowed the researcher to transform general information to specific information by referring it to past researches conducted in the same field, that is, past researches about customer retention and employee turnover. In addition to, considering the past researches, the researcher has been able to analyze the factors affecting customer retention and employee turnover critically (Smith 2015). 3.4 Research design Appropriate research design allows suitable planning and structuring of the overall study by ensuring research problems and questions are answered properly. Descriptive, explanatory and exploratory are three commonly used research designs. According to Bresler and Stake (2017), descriptive design displays the dual characteristics of both explanatory and exploratory research designs due to which both exploring and explaining the research issues are possible. Thus, it can be said that exploratory research design facilitates exploring the issues within the study thereby, discussing it in the problem statement and the explanatory research design highlights explaining the occurrence of the issues (Bauer 2014).
26DISSERTATION 3.4.1 Reason for implementing descriptive design Considering the aforementioned definitions, descriptive design is the most-suited for this study. Firstly, this design is most-suited because the researcher has been able to explore the issues in terms of customer retention and higher rate of employee turnover in the fitness industry of Singapore. Exploring the issues of customer retention and increased employee turnover rate provides an opportunity for going to the depth of the occurrence of the issues in the Singaporean fitness industry. Secondly, apart from exploring the issues, explanatory design enables the researcher to propose the reasons that has resulted in customer retention and increased employee turnover issues for the fitness industry of Singapore. Implementing each of the designs separately only made things complex so descriptive design has been used as this highlighted both the characteristics (Ledford and Gast 2018). 3.5 Research strategy Research strategy provides an action plan for conducting the overall study and in doing so most commonly used research strategies are action plan, case study, interview and survey. As commented by Choy (2014), the concept of action research highlights producing results that add value to the people for whom the research has being conducted. On the other hand, case study research strategy highlights understanding relationships among the variables by referring to similar studies. However, for survey, the researcher circulates questionnaire relevant to the research topic and gather viewpoint from a large population whereas for interview the researcher communicates personally for gathering data (Quinlan et al. 2019). 3.5.1 Reason for implementing survey research strategy Considering the aforementioned definitions, survey research strategy is the most-suited for this study. Firstly, this research strategy is the most suited because this enabled the researcher
27DISSERTATION to circulate the questionnaire to a wide population and take their viewpoint. In this case, the survey questionnaire has been developed and circulated through the online platform to all the gym members of the fitness organizations in Singapore. The questionnaire developed comprises on questions related to the current situation of the fitness industry of Singapore, customer retention and increased rate of employee turnover in this sector. Collecting data from a large population of the gym members results in reduced biasness thereby, uplifting the quality of the research work. The gym members that are considered as failure to retain customers signify lower profit that is forcing the trainers to leave, as they are unable to secure personal training business for them to make money (Reynolds et al. 2014). 3.6 Sampling technique and sample size Selecting an appropriate sampling technique is important, as they are the main and only source of primary data gathered for researches. Out of the different types of sampling techniques, non-probability and random probability sampling technique has been implemented. Simple random probability sampling technique offers equal chances of individuals within a selected population to be a part of the data collection process whereas non-probability sampling technique does not offer equal opportunities. Instead, the researcher selects the sample for non-probability sampling technique y judging their suitability (Dang and Pheng 2015). 3.6.1 Reason for implementing random probability sampling technique Considering the aforementioned definitions, random probability sampling technique is the most-suited for this study. Firstly, the use of this sampling technique is the most-suited because this allowed the researcher to select the entire trainer population of Singapore as the population size. All the trainers of the population had equal chances of participating in the survey out of which the researcher selected only 30 gym members and 5 trainers as the sample
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28DISSERTATION randomly. 30 samples and 5 managers has been selected for this study because this is the least number of samples that needs to be selected while doing SPSS that would help in understanding customer retention failure due to increased trainers’ turnover rate in Singapore fitness industry. This provides an opportunity to analyze whether the failure to retain customers signifies lower profit that is forcing the trainers to leave, as they are unable to secure personal training business for them to make money (Riedl, Davis and Hevner 2014). 3.7 Data collection process The process of data collection is extremely crucial, as this helps in shaping and authenticating the entire study. The only two data collection techniques are primary and secondary data collection processes. As mentioned by Fletcher (2017), secondary data collection process highlights gathering data from various secondary resources such as books, journals, articles, online websites and other internet facilities. On the other hand, primary data collection process highlights collecting recent and updated data from the population selected by the researcher. 3.7.1 Reason for implementing primary data collection process Considering the aforementioned definitions, primary data collection process is the most- suited for this study. This is because primary data collection process allows the researcher to collect data from the current gym members of the fitness industry in Singapore and know their viewpoint and opinions in respect to impact of failure of customer retention in increased trainer turnoverrateinSingapore.Implementingprimarydatacollectionprocessfacilitatesthe researcher to know whether failure to retain customers signifies lower profit that is forcing the trainers to leave, as they are unable to secure personal training business for them to make money (McCusker and Gunaydin 2015).
29DISSERTATION 3.8. Data analysis technique After data collection, analyzing the data using appropriate analysis techniques are important as this enriches the quality of the study. The only two data analysis techniques are qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques where qualitative data analysis technique emphasizes maintaining the quality of the collected data whereas quantitative data collection technique emphasizes on the quantity or numerical for determining the data (Mukhopadhyay and Gupta 2014). 3.8.1 Reason for implementing quantitative data analysis technique Considering the aforementioned definitions, quantitative data analysis technique is the most-suited for this study. This is because the use of quantitative data analysis technique allows the researcher to consider the number of gym members agreeing or disagreeing to a single question in the questionnaire. The collected has been analyzed by conducting co-relation and regression technique by using SPSS software (Alvesson and Skoldberg 2017). The analysis of the data has been obtained using SERVQUAL model followed by SPSS. The use of the SERVQUAL model has helped in ensuring the expectation of the customers of the fitness organization in Singapore. This use of this model helped in considering the expectation of the customers under five dimensions that represent the quality of the service that is being offered. The dimensions that define the expectations of the customers are measured under tangibles, assurance, reliability, empathy and responsiveness. Gap analysis and t-test analysis has been conducted using SPSS for determining the difference between the expectation and perception of the gym members and gym trainers for fitness industry in Singapore.
30DISSERTATION 3.8.2 Pilot study Pilot study is a method is a small-scale test used for a larger scale that facilitates examining the feasibility of an approach that intends to be used in a large scale study. Pilot study is the mini version of a full-scale study also known as pre-testing using survey or interview and is a crucial element of a good study. Thus, pilot study has been conducted for this research also provides additional depth and quality of the research. 3.9 Ethical considerations Ensuring compliance with the research ethics is crucial in completion of the research successfully. Below section mentions the important research ethics that is mandatory to follow. Data confidentiality is one of the significant research ethics that has to be followed. According to this ethics, the researcher is prohibited from disclosing the identity as well as the data shared by them without their consent thereby, mitigating the chances of conflicts and misunderstandings. Another important data ethics is willing participation from the selected samples. The researcher does not have the authority to force the selected samples to be a part of the data collection process instead the samples have to participate willingly. In order to do so, the researcher has made the participants sign the consent form. Collecting data from authentic sources is also a significant research ethics as this enhances the quality of the research. In addition to, the authenticity of the data used in the research can act as a reliable and valid source of data for future researches (Zimmer and Proferes 2014).
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31DISSERTATION Also, manipulation of data is against the research ethics and the researcher is bound the presentthedatainitsoriginalform andsupportand justifiesthatwithrelevant information. Moreover, using the collected data for commercial purpose is against the research ethics and the the researcher needs to ensure the the information is used only for academic purpose (Walliman 2017). 3.10 Accessibility issues Conducting the research had some challenges that gave rise to accessibility issues. One of the accessibility issues is time. Lack of adequate time enforced the researcher to rush the research. As a result, the researcher was unable to meet with the supervisor and get regular updates in order to know whether the research is heading in the right direction. Another accessibility issue faced by the researcher is budget. The researcher had limited budget for completing the research due to which the researcher was unable access some journals and articles that contained valuable information as accessing those information required paying subscription fees. 3.11 Summary Thus, in this chapter, it can be summarized that the methods selected for this study are appropriateandhelpedincompletionoftheresearchsuccessfully.Undertakingthe aforementionedmethodologicaltoolshelpindeterminingtheimpactoffailuretoretain customers is affecting the trainer turnover in the fitness industry of Singapore.
32DISSERTATION Chapter 4: Data analysis 4.0 Overview In this data analysis chapter, the data collected by using the research methods selected in the previous chapter is analyzed. The aim of the data analysis is determine the expectation of the gym members from the fitness organizations in Singapore. Over the past decade an increased interest of exercise and gym facilities has been encountered in Singapore. However, decrease in the number of permanent gym customers has been noticed in Singapore. Therefore, the data analysis is conducted in order to know the how the failure of retaining permanent gym members is affecting the trainers’ turnover rate in the fitness industry in Singapore. 4.1 Descriptive analysis For gym members
33DISSERTATION Figure 1: Demographic analysis for Gym members (Source: Created by Author) From the results presented in the above section, it can be inferred that the majority of the gym members of Singapore gym industry are female aged 21-30 years those are professional and student having a postgraduate degree.
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34DISSERTATION It can be seen that the majority of the gym member population in the Singapore fitness industry are female. This can be interpreted in the way that the female population of the country is more concerned about health and fitness compared to the male population of the country. The female of Singapore those are active members of the gym industry are aged 21-30 years. The reason that increased number of gym members belong to this age group because they are supposed to be more fitness centric due to the occupation they are associated with in their life. Being a student and a professional, fitness is of utmost significance, as this provides them an opportunity to be fit and highly productive both at work and at studies.
35DISSERTATION For trainers Figure 2: Demographic analysis for gym trainers (Source: Created by Author)
36DISSERTATION From the data presented in the above section, it can be said that all the trainers in the gym that took the survey are male aged 31-40 years working as a fitness manager for 3-5 years. The gym members of the Singapore fitness industry have a postgraduate educational qualification. From the data obtained from the above mentioned diagram, it can be inferred that the majority of the gym members are male belonging to the age group 31-40 years. As working in the fitness industry and having a career in the fitness industry is more preferred by the male population, the number of responses in the survey is justified. The employment duration of the fitness trainers in the Singapore fitness industry is only 3-5 years that is comparatively less. Thus, it suggests that the rate of trainer turnover in the Singapore fitness industry is more because of several issues. The issues that trainers encounter might be lack of job satisfaction, adequate salary and career growth. 4.2 Inferential analysis The five dimensions of the SERVQUAL model is analyzed in this section with the aim of understanding the difference between employee expectation and perception in the Singapore fitness industry. The mean score on expectations and perceptions scales for each service quality dimension was computed, i.e. Perception score – Expectation score. Positive scores show better than expected service while negative scores show poor quality. A zero score shows that quality is satisfactory. A Paired t-test was performed to test the significant mean difference between outpatients‘expectations and perceptions of service quality on all of the 21 attributes that comprises the SERVQUAL model. For gym members
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37DISSERTATION ExpectationPerception Gapt-test MeanSDMeanSD Sig. (2 tailed ) Tangible_Dimension 4.133 30.472222.61.65258 - 1.53334.716 .000 Reliability_Dimension4.20.48423 2.716 71.66445 - 1.48334.81 .000 Responsiveness_Dimensio n 4.116 70.552162.71.48904 - 1.41674.975 .000 Responsiveness_Dimensio n 4.166 70.735 2.766 71.59056-1.44.435 .000 Empathy_Dimension 4.066 70.583292.81.42393 - 1.26674.829 .000 Table 1: Expectation and Perception test for Gym members of Singapore The data obtained n the above table can be interpreted in three parts: Expectations:Table 1 indicates that the means for all the 5 dimensions in the expectation score of fitness industry of Singapore for the gym members were above 4.0 where the highest was 4.2 and the lowest is 4.06. The highest score was for the tangible dimension and the lowest score was for the empathy dimension. Perceptions:Table 1 indicates that all the 5 dimensions in the perception score for the gym members in Singapore were above 2.5 where the highest score is 2.8 and the lowest score is 2.6. The highest perception score obtained is for empathy dimension and the lowest perception score obtained is for tangible dimension. Gap scores:The largest gap in the Singapore fitness industry for the gym member is for the tangibledimension,-1.5333. However,the smallestgaphasbeen identifiedfor -1.2667. Regarding the t-test results, significant difference has been found between the perception and expectation for all the dimensions of service quality.
38DISSERTATION The five dimensions of the service quality are designated by in terms of tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. From the information presented byBernal- Garcia et al. (2014) and Harvey, Vachhani and Williams (2014) it can be seen that the demand has increased to 2.5 million in 2015 from a mere 1.8 million in 2010 in the Singapore fitness industry. This signifies increased competition among the fitness organizations in the country that highlights the necessity of retaining customers for individual fitness organizations. Scherer, Wunderlich and Von Wangenheim (2015), Magatef and Tomalieh (2015), Han and Hyun (2015), Fullerton(2014)andThaichonandQuach2015highlightscustomerretentionishighly dependent on the factors such as communication, consistency, trust, relationship, good values. Therefore, upon visiting a gym, the female customers expect the organizations to fulfill their needs, desires and demands in terms of tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. The SERVQUAL model by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry 1985 highlights the potential gaps that occur when a customer visits a service provider that results in the difference between their expectation and perception. The results obtained from the table highlights that the majority of the gap has been identified in terms of the tangible dimension. The tangible dimesion for the gym members was determined in terms of the use of modern equipment, visually appealing facilities, neat and tidy appearance and providing detailed information, products and packages. A gap score of -1.5333 indicates that the fitness organizations in Singapore to fulfill the expectation of the gym members in terms of tangible dimensions. The female gym users are coming in the fitness organizations in Singapore with a high expectation of modern day gym equipment that would allow them to ensure productive and efficient exercise. Additionally, the
39DISSERTATION female employees expect that the facilities in the gym will be visually appealing, as that would encourage and influence them to exercise hard and visit the gym in Singapore regularly. The female gym users also expects the gym trainers to be neat and tidy, as it is a matter of health and hygiene followed by expecting adequate information, products and packages. However, the gym organizations in Singapore are failing in ensuring the tangible dimensions successfully that is affecting their perception about the fitness industry of Singapore. Gap 3, gap 4 and gap 5 mentioned by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985) in the SERVQUAL model supports that difference between the customer expectation and perception in affects the service quality offered by the service provider. This information in the literature review is supported by the result obtained in the t-test where the value obtained is .000 that is less than .05. Additionally, significant difference has been found between the expectation and perception for the remaining four dimensions that ensures effective service quality for the fitness organization in Singapore. This can be confirmed by referring to the values to the t-test, as the results obtained are .000 that is less than .05. Lowest gap score has been obtained in the empathy dimension that indicates that the gym organizations are having empathetic employees. But having empathetic employees for providing service is not enough for the female employee of Singapore and hence, the fitness organizations need to work on their tangible aspect for improving service quality. Therefore, in this case, the H1hypothesis is accepted that stateslow rates of customer retention in Singapore’s fitness industry arise from failure to exceed customer expectations, failing loyalty programs, and lack of any unique relevance. Yu et al. (2014),Avourdiadou and Theodorakis (2014)and Chao (2015) states n the literature review section that retaining the customers in the fitness industry is necessary because it provides a career means and stable earnings for the gym managers or fitness trainers. Similar is
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40DISSERTATION the case of Singapore fitness industry that needs to emphasize on building permanent customers byincreasingcustomerretentionthatwouldaffecttherateoftrainerturnoverforthe Singaporean fitness industry. Therefore, the fitness industry should focus on minimizing the difference between the customer expectation and perception for ensuring effective service quality. For gym trainers1039 ExpectationPerception Gapt-test MeanSDMeanSD Sig. (2 tailed) Tangible_Dimension4.0000.707112.6000.54772-1.40003.500.025 Reliability_Dimension3.2000.836662.0000.70711-1.20003.207.33 Responsiveness_Dimensio n 2.80001.303842.2000.83666 -0.6000 1.177.305 Assurance_Dimension4.00000.000002.60001.51658-1.40002.064.108 Empathy_Dimension3.40001.516582.60001.51658-0.8000.590.587 Table 2: Expectation and Perception for Gym Trainers in Singapore The data obtained n the above table can be interpreted in three parts: Expectations:Table 1 indicates that the means for all the 5 dimensions in the expectation score of fitness industry of Singapore for the gym members were above 2.0 where the highest was 4.0 and the lowest is 2.8. The highest score was for the tangible dimension and the lowest score was for the responsiveness dimension. Perceptions:Table 1 indicates that all the 5 dimensions in the perception score for the gym members in Singapore were above 2.0 where the highest score is 2.6 and the lowest score is 2.2. The highest perception score obtained is for tangibility, reliability, assurance and empathy dimension and the lowest perception score obtained is for responsiveness dimension.
41DISSERTATION Gap scores:The largest gap in the Singapore fitness industry for the gym member is for the tangible and assurance dimension that is-1.4000. However, the smallest gap has been identified for responsiveness, that is -.6000. Regarding the t-test results, no significant difference has been found between the perception and expectation for all the dimensions of service quality, as the t- test values obtained are more than 0.05. The five dimensions of the service quality are designated by in terms of tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. From the information presented byBernal- Garcia et al. (2014) and Harvey, Vachhani and Williams (2014) it can be seen that the demand has increased to 2.5 million in 2015 from a mere 1.8 million in 2010 in the Singapore fitness industry. This signifies increased competition among the fitness organizations in the country that highlights the necessity of retaining customers for individual fitness organizations. Taking into account, the increased demand of fitness industry, it is necessary that the fitness organizations in Singapore have adequate, trained and skilled trainers those have the potential of meeting the customer expectation. The results obtained in the above table highlights that maximum gap score has been obtained in terms of tangibility and assurance. Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985) in the SERVQUAL model mention that service quality is compromised when the gap between management and the employees broadens. This gap arises arises due to increased communication gap between the managers and the employees. In the Singapore fitness industry, lack of effective communication between the managers and employees has led to the gap. For instance, the employees of the fitness industry feel that the gym should have up-to-date equipments those are visually appealing, highlights a neat and tidy appearance and comfortable work environment.
42DISSERTATION On the other hand, the maximum gap score results has been identified in the assurance dimension, as the employees feel increased numer of customers helps in building confidence in them and make them feel that they are highly trusted by the customers. The employees also expect that the customers visiting the gym are courteous and feel that they have answers to the questions of the customer no matter what is the question. However, the interpretation is different from the expectation of the employees. As the customers visiting the gym are not satisfied with the tangibility aspect of the gym, they show minimized trust and courtesy towards the gym trainers. As a result, the gym trainers feel that they are not trusted by the customers visiting the gym. This questions the ability and confidence of the gym trainers while ensuring effective service quality in the Singapore fitness industry. Due to this, the rate of trainer turnover is increasing in the Singapore Fitness industry. Kim (2014) and Katsikea, Theodosiou and Morgan (2015) presents different concept of employee turnover but both the concepts highlight that incrased rate of employee turnover is not beneficial for business organizations in any sector. Similar is the case of Singapore fitness industry where higher ate of employee turnover is affecting the organization as a whole. Casper and Payne (2014), Pohler and Schmidt (2016), Zwane, Du Plessis and Slabbert and Alam (2015) in the literature review section states that lack of adequate job satisfaction, impractical and and unfeasible expectation, inadequate growth and recognition and paid less are the major reasons that results in higher employee turnover rate. If the factors mentioned are to be considered is respect to the present condition of the gym managers in Singapore, it can be said that lack of confidence and knowledge to handle the customers are evident from the results obtained through theexpectationandperceptionanalysis.Additionally,thepresentgymmanagersofthe Singapore fitness industry lack customer trust and courtesy. Both the aforementioned issues
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43DISSERTATION indicate lack of career growth and job satisfaction for the gym managers that is affecting the rate of trainers’ turnover directly. On the other hand, as the customer retention capability of the fitness organizations in Singapore is less, the management are facing issues in paying the trainers’ appropriately and on time. As a result, the gym trainers are finding it difficult to maintain the standard of living in a country like Singapore. As mentioned by Pohler and Schmidt (2016) in the literature review section, satisfied workforce is necessary for any business organization in order to ensure effective and excellent service quality. In the case of the Singapore fitness industry, the gym managers or the fitness managers lack adequate job satisfaction because the customers or the gym members do not treat them with respect. According to the SERVQUAL model, it is necessary for the Singapore fitness industry to minimize the difference between employee expectation and perception, as it is having a negative impact on the rate of trainers’ turnover. 4.3 Summary Therefore, from the results and interpretation presented in this chapter, it can be summarized that it is necessary for the Singapore fitness industry to take care of both the customers and the gym trainers, as both are related to each other. A gap score of -1.5333 indicates that the fitness organizations in Singapore to fulfill the expectation of the gym members in terms of tangible dimensions and the t-test where the value obtained is .000 that is less than .05. The largest gap in the Singapore fitness industry for the gym member is for the tangible and assurance dimension that is-1.4000. However, the smallest gap has been identified for responsiveness, that is -.6000. Regarding the t-test results, no significant difference has been found between the perception and expectation for all the dimensions of service quality, as the t- test values obtained are more than 0.05. Hence, the fitness industry of Signpaore should aim
44DISSERTATION towards mitigating the gap between expectation and perception so that they can ensure effective and efficient service quality.
45DISSERTATION Reflection section From the findings of the above section, it can be said that service is crucial in retaining the customers for an organization. The findings of the study reveal that the service provided in the fitness organizations or gym in Singapore is what attracts the customers for undertaking the service fitness purposes. It includes the tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy found the fitness sector of Singapore. Firstly, the findings of the research is based on a particular demographic group whose service perception and expectation has been studied by investigating the failure in customer retention due to increased increased trainers’ rate in Singapore.It can be seen that most ofthe majority of the gym members of Singapore gym industry are female aged 21-30 years those are professional and student having a postgraduate degree. They are mostly professional who are continuing with their education and are students. This has allowed them in joining the gym so that they can maintain a healthy body.Thus, in the future research can be conducted emphasizing on another set of demographic factors. This is because another set of customer demographics will not have similar service perception and expectation in terms of the service provided in the fitness organizations or gyms in Singapore. From the difference in service perception and expectation, it can be said future researches can be conducted by focusing on any particular aspect of the service quality provided in fitness organizations in Singapore. On the other hand, this study emphasizes on the overall service quality provided by the fitness centre that the selected population of the study is currently enrolled at thereby, making the study extremely broad. Thus, in the future study can be conducted focusing on only one aspect of
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46DISSERTATION the service quality that will help in narrowing down the broadness of the study. This will provide anopportunityforunderstandingthefactorsthathelpsinretainingthecustomersmore effectively and efficiently. As a result, future research can dig deep on each of the features of the service qualities that are expected by customers and influences them in making their association longer with fitness organizations in Singapore. The highest expectation score was for the tangible dimension and the lowest score was for the empathy dimension. The highest perception score obtained is for empathy dimension and the lowest perception score obtained is for tangible dimension. The largest gap in the Singapore fitness industry for the gym member is for the tangible dimension,-1.5333. As a result it can be inferred that the gym users come in with the expectation of being understood their health and physical requirement thereby, improving physical well-being. Significant difference has been found between the expectation and perception for the remaining four dimensions that ensures effective service quality for the fitness organization in Singapore. This can be confirmed by referring to the values to the t-test, as the results obtained are .000 that is less than .05. Lowest gap score has been obtained in the empathy dimension that indicates that the gym organizations are having empathetic employees. Thus, in the future research can be conducted by focusing the basic specific needs that gym users have when it comes to personal training. Additionally, the preferable working hours of the staffs or the trainers can also be analyzed that would allow them to provide uninterrupted service to the gym users. The highest expectation score was for the tangible dimension and the lowest score was for the responsiveness dimension. The highest perception score obtained is for tangibility, reliability, assurance and empathy dimension and the lowest perception score obtained is for responsiveness dimension. The largest gap in the Singapore fitness industry for the gym member
47DISSERTATION is for the tangible and assurance dimension that is-1.4000. However, the smallest gap has been identified for responsiveness, that is -.6000. Regarding the t-test results, no significant difference has been found between the perception and expectation for all the dimensions of service quality, as the t-test values obtained are more than 0.05. One of the reasons of strong relationship is that the sincerity of the trainers’ influences them to perform services at the right time thereby, ensuring prompt help to the users while exercising. As a result, the gym users get full attention that helps in fulfilling their expectation. However, failure in doing so results in unintended consequences such as increased trainer turnover rate that affects customer retention. As the result, the gym members will have a bad impression as they no longer see regular staff which give them doubts and new staff may not be able to provide the same service as the old staff. Thus, in the future research can be conducted in understanding the potential reasons that is resulting in increased employee turnover rate by referring to issues in the fitness industry in Singapore and in the world. From the results obtained in the data analysis, it can be said that customers’ retention is highly dependent on the rate of employee turnover. As understood, the fitness industry is highly customer centric and establishing a strong relationship between the staffs and the users is essential. Building a strong bond facilitates the association for the customer for long period, as the customers slowly gets comfortable and develops trust and confidence on the organization. When the customers or in this case the gym users see or find that the employees with whom they were comfortable are no more in the organization, it affects their interest of being associated with the organization. When the gym users find that the trainers’ they are comfortable with are no more working in the gym, it affect their trust, interest and morale of coming to the gym. As a result, the organizations fail in retaining the customers. Thus, in the future, research can be
48DISSERTATION conducted in understanding and assessing the relationship between the gym users and the trainers in successful customer retention. Thus, the results obtained from the survey questionnaire for the gym users highlights that the null hypothesis is rejected because it has been found that increased employee turnover rate results in customer retention failure. It can be stated that repeated failure to retain the employees has resulted in increased employee turnover rate due to which the gym users could not be retained. As a result, the fitness organizations in Singapore needs to emphasize on developing adequate and suitable working conditions for the staffs that would help in reducing the employee turnover rate that would in turn influence successful customer retention. Thegymmanagersweresurveyedseparatelythathighlightedpositiveandstrong relationship mentioning that the gym managers provides services in requited time and when they promise doing something within a particular time, they do so. Successfully delivering promise within the set time has a positive influence on the gym staffs and highlights their satisfaction and motivation at work. Fulfillment of promise helps in reduced employee turnover rate because as the needs and expectations of the employees are taken care of appropriately, they give efficient and effective effort towards their roles and responsibilities. The level of satisfaction at workplace due to fulfillment of promise ensures better service for the employees. Thus, in the future, research can be conducted by focusing on the promises that matters for the employees the most and are necessary for retaining them thereby, findings ways for reducing the rate of employee turnover. Over the past decade an increased interest of exercise and gym facilities has been encountered in Singapore. However, decrease in the number of permanent gym customers has
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49DISSERTATION been noticed in Singapore. Therefore, the data analysis is conducted in order to know the how the failure of retaining permanent gym members is affecting the trainers’ turnover rate in the fitness industry in Singapore. The SERVQUAL model by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry 1985 supports that difference between the customer expectation and perception in affects the service quality offered by the service provider. From the results and interpretation presented in this chapter, it can be summarized that it is necessary for the Singapore fitness industry to take care of both the customers and the gym trainers, as both are related to each other. A gap score of -1.5333 indicates that the fitness organizations in Singapore to fulfill the expectation of the gym members in terms of tangible dimensions and the t-test where the value obtained is .000 that is less than .05. The largest gap in the Singapore fitness industry for the gym member is for the tangible and assurance dimension that is-1.4000. However, the smallest gap has been identified for responsiveness, that is -.6000. Regarding the t-test results, no significant difference has been found between the perception and expectation for all the dimensions of service quality, as the t-test values obtained are more than 0.05. Hence, the fitness industry of Singapore should aim towards mitigating the gap between expectation and perception so that they can ensure effective and efficient service quality.
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54DISSERTATION Memon, M.A., Salleh, R., Baharom, M.N.R. and Harun, H., 2014. Person-Organization Fit and TurnoverIntention:TheMediatingRoleofEmployeeEngagement.GlobalBusiness& Management Research,6(3). Mukhopadhyay, S. and Gupta, R.K., 2014. Survey of qualitative research methodology in strategy research and implication for Indian researchers.Vision,18(2), pp.109-123. Nica,E.,2016.Employeevoluntaryturnoverasanegativeindicatoroforganizational effectiveness.Psychosociological Issues in Human Resource Management,4(2), p.220. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. and Berry, L.L., 1985. A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research.the Journal of Marketing, pp.41-50. Retrieved from: Pohler,D.andSchmidt,J.A.,2016.DoesPay‐for‐PerformanceStraintheEmployment Relationship?TheEffectofManagerBonusEligibilityonNonmanagementEmployee Turnover.Personnel Psychology,69(2), pp.395-429. Quinlan, C., Babin, B., Carr, J. and Griffin, M., 2019.Business research methods. South Western Cengage. Reynolds, D., Creemers, B., Nesselrodt, P.S., Shaffer, E.C., Stringfield, S. and Teddlie, C. eds., 2014.Advances in school effectiveness research and practice. Elsevier. Riedl, R., Davis, F.D. and Hevner, A.R., 2014. Towards a NeuroIS research methodology: intensifying the discussion on methods, tools, and measurement.Journal of the Association for Information Systems,15(10), p.I.
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55DISSERTATION Schaufeli, W.B. and Taris, T.W., 2014. A critical review of the Job Demands-Resources Model: Implications for improving work and health. InBridging occupational, organizational and public health(pp. 43-68). Springer, Dordrecht. Scherer, A., Wünderlich, N.V. and Von Wangenheim, F., 2015. The Value of Self-Service: Long-TermEffectsofTechnology-BasedSelf-ServiceUsageonCustomerRetention.Mis Quarterly,39(1). Silverman, D. ed., 2016.Qualitative research. Sage. Smith, J.A. ed., 2015.Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. Sage. Taylor, S.J., Bogdan, R. and DeVault, M., 2015.Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons. Thaichon, P. and Quach, T.N., 2015. From marketing communications to brand management: Factorsinfluencingrelationshipqualityandcustomerretention.JournalofRelationship Marketing,14(3), pp.197-219. Walliman, N., 2017.Research methods: The basics. Routledge. Yu, H.S., Zhang, J.J., Kim, D.H., Chen, K.K., Henderson, C., Min, S.D. and Huang, H., 2014. Service quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intention among fitness center members aged 60 years and over.Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal,42(5), pp.757-767. Zimmer, M. and Proferes, N.J., 2014. A topology of Twitter research: disciplines, methods, and ethics.Aslib Journal of Information Management,66(3), pp.250-261.
56DISSERTATION Zwane, F.N., Du Plessis, L. and Slabbert, E., 2014. Analysing employers' expectations of employeeskillsintheSouthAfricantourismindustry.SAJournalofHumanResource Management,12(1), pp.1-9.
57DISSERTATION Appendix 1 Research Questionnaires for Gym Members These questionnaires are part of a research project and the study is to assess service quality and customer satisfaction using SERVQUAL model. Section A: Demographics Profile 1. Gender: □ (1) Male □ (2) Female 2. Age Group: □ (1) 18 yrs to 20 yrs □ (2) Between 21 yrs to 30 yrs □ (3) Between 31 yrs. to 40 yrs □ (4) Between 41rs to 50 yrs □ (5) Greater than 50 yrs 3. Educational Qualification: □ (1) N’Level / O’Level /A’Level □ (2) Undergraduate □ (3) Postgraduate □ (4) Diploma □ (5) Others If (5) Others, Please Specify ___________________________.
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58DISSERTATION 4. Occupation: □ (1) Entrepreneur □ (2) Professional □ (3) Student □ (4) Housewife □ (5) Administration □ (6) Civil Servant □ (7) Lecturers □ (8) Retired □ (9) Unemployed □ (10) Other If (10) Others, Please Specify ___________________________. 5. Monthly Income: □ (1) Less than SGD 20,000 □ (2) SGD 20,001 to SGD 35,000 □ (3) SGD 35,001 to SGD 50,000 □ (4) SGD 50, 001 to SGD 65, 000 □ (5) Greater than SGD65, 001
59DISSERTATION Section B: Survey of your Expectations and Perceptions of Fitness Centre Services Based on your experience please indicate: a)Your EXPECTATION of the Fitness services .i.e. what do you think it should offer? b)Your PERCEPTION of the Fitness services. I.e. how did it perform? (Please circle your answer) Expectations of Fitness Centre Services is: PerceptionsofFitness Centre Services is: No.When it comes to:Low --------------- HighLow --------------- High Tangible Dimension 1The Fitness Centre has a modern looking equipment. 1234512345 2The physical facilities in the Fitness Centre are visually appealing 1234512345 3Personnel in the Fitness Centre are neat in appearance 1234512345 4The Fitness Centre provides detail informationandproductsand packages 1234512345 Reliability Dimension 5When the Fitness Centre promises to do something by a certain time, it does so. 1234512345 6When a member have a problem, the Fitness Centre shows a sincere interest in solving it. 1234512345 7The Fitness Centre get things right the first time. 1234512345 8TheFitnessCentreprovidesits services at the time it promises to do so. 1234512345 9The Fitness Centre insists on error- free records. 1234512345 Responsiveness Dimension 10The personnel in the Fitness Centre tell you exactly when services will be performed. 1234512345 11Personnel in the Fitness Centre give members prompt service. 1234512345
60DISSERTATION 12Personnel in the Fitness Centre are always willing to help you. 1234512345 13Personnel in the Fitness Centre are nevertoobusytorespondto members requests. 1234512345 Assurance Dimension 14The behavior of personnel in the Fitness Centre instills confidence in the members. 1234512345 15Members feel safe in dealings with the Fitness Centre. 1234512345 16Personnel in the Fitness Centre are consistentlycourteouswiththe members. 1234512345 17PersonnelintheFitnessCentre have the knowledge to answer to your questions. 1234512345 Empathy Dimension 18TheFitnessCentregivesyou individual attention. 1234512345 19The Fitness Centre has operating hoursconvenienttoallits members. 1234512345 20The Fitness Centre has personnel whogivememberspersonal attention. 1234512345 21TheFitnessCentrehasthe member’s best interests at heart. 1234512345 22The personnel of the fitness Centre understandmember’sspecific needs. 1234512345 How would you rate the overall quality of service provided by the Fitness Centre that you are presently a member at? (Please circle your answer) LowHigh 12345
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61DISSERTATION Research Questionnaires for Managers Section A: Demographics Profile 1. Gender: □ (1) Male □ (2) Female 2. Age Group: □ (1) 18 yrs to 20 yrs □ (2) Between 21 yrs to 30 yrs □ (3) Between 31 yrs to 40 yrs □ (4) Between 41 yrs to 50 yrs □ (5) Greater than 50 yrs 3. Educational Qualification: □ (1) N’Level / O’Level /A’Level □ (2) Undergraduate □ (3) Postgraduate □ (4) Diploma □ (5) Others, Please Specify ___________________________. 3. Educational Qualification:
62DISSERTATION □ (1) N’Level / O’Level /A’Level □ (2) Undergraduate □ (3) Postgraduate □ (4) Diploma 4. How many years have you been working for the present organization? □ (1) Less than 1 year □ (2) 1 year < 3 years □ (3) 3 years < 5 years □ (4) > 5 years 5. What is your position in the organization? □ (1) Club General Manager □ (2) Fitness Manager □ (3) Operation Manager □ (4) Supervisor □ (5) Others, Please Specify ___________________________.
63DISSERTATION Section B: Survey of your Expectations and Perceptions of Fitness Centre as an Employee and team based on your experience please indicate: a)Your EXPECTATION of the Fitness staff .i.e. what do you think they should do? b)Your PERCEPTION of the Fitness staff. I.e. how do they perform? c)(Please circle your answer) Expectations of Fitness Centre Services is: PerceptionsofFitness Centre Services is: No.List of attributesLow --------------- HighLow --------------- High Tangible Dimension 1We have-up-to date equipment’s1234512345 2Thematerialsusedinthework place is are visually appealing 1234512345 3We portray a neat appearance in the Fitness Centre 1234512345 4Theworkenvironmentis comfortable and attractive 1234512345 Reliability Dimension 5When we promised to do something by a certain time, we do so 1234512345 6We show sincere interest on solving our customers’ problems 1234512345 7We perform services right the first time 1234512345 8Weprovideservicesatthetime required/ promised 1234512345 9Weprovidecorrect/accurate information to our customers 1234512345 Responsiveness Dimension 10We can tell customers exactly when services will be performed. 1234512345 11We provide prompt services to our customers 1234512345 12We are always willing to help our customers 1234512345 13We are never too busy to respond to our customers’ request 1234512345 Assurance Dimension 14Customers’behaviorinstill1234512345
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64DISSERTATION confidence in us 15We can be trusted by our customers1234512345 16Weareconsistentlycourteousto our customers 1234512345 17We have the required knowledge to answer our customers’ questions 1234512345 Empathy Dimension 18We give individual attention to our customers 1234512345 19We have convenient working hours1234512345 20We deal customers with care.1234512345 21Wehaveourcustomers’best interest at heart 1234512345 22We understand the specific needs of our customers 1234512345 How would you rate the overall quality of service provided by the Fitness Centre staff that you are presently working at? (Please circle your answer) LowHigh 12345 Other comments (if any) ______________________________________________________________________________