TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose– The aim of this paper is to propose a model for understanding a complex management issue – the customer loyalty in a public sports service.Design/methodology/approach– Customer loyalty is discussed through the methodology of system dynamics. The proposed model considers the dynamic, non‐linear, asymmetric, and reciprocal relationships between its elements, and permits the analysis of the evolution of the system under hypothesized conditions.Findings– The model reproduces historical data of abandonment and consumers' attitude toward the service (ATS). The achieved simulations showed how the future entry of new competitors can severely threaten public service performance. Furthermore, it was also found that the consumers' ATS was not a very good predictor of the consumers' behavior.Research limitations/implications– System dynamics methodology can also be applied to understand the loyalty in the remaining services offered by the public institution. Other services, such as fitness, aerobics, martial arts, can be analyzed by considering their respective different competitive environments.Practical implications– The new competitive environment can dramatically affect the number of consumers per year if a public institution does not differentiate its service. In addition, the entry of new competitors will affect the evolution of the system, as the customer satisfaction rates will be modified.Originality/value– Understanding customer loyalty is one of the most important concerns for academics and practitioners in the areas of management and marketing. The system dynamics approach is an under‐utilized methodology in the field of sports management, which overcomes simplistic linear approaches. The paper shows how system dynamics can provide attractive insights into the field of sports management.
VL  - 47
IS  - 1
SN  - 0025-1747
DO  - 10.1108/00251740910929768
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740910929768
AU  - Martínez García Jose Antonio
AU  - Martínez Caro Laura
ED  - Andy Adcroft
ED  - Jon Teckman
PY  - 2009
Y1  - 2009/01/01
TI  - Understanding customer loyalty through system dynamics: The case of a public sports service in Spain
T2  - Management Decision
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 151
EP  - 172
Y2  - 2024/04/25
ER  -