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The purpose of this paper is to propose the concept of higher education institutions (HEIs) offering educational services based on value for money. The value is determined based on customers’ (i.e. students) expectations of the service and the costs in comparison to the competitors. Understanding the value and creating customer value are a means to attain competitive advantage and constitute the basis of price setting. Drawing upon this belief, as an initial step towards value-based pricing method, the possible value factors are suggested for calculating educational programme prices across HEIs.

This is a conceptual paper introducing the value-based pricing approach in setting HEI tuition fees. Extending prior discussion on the demand for quality education and current financial challenges faced by HEIs, it introduces the concept pricing based upon customer perceived value (student/industry). Value-based pricing is deemed appropriate in view of the value of short tangible and intangible investment by both parties (students and HEIs) to differentiate in terms of setting the right price for the right university for the right student.

The primary aim is to suggest the applicability of value-based pricing for HEIs, which is likely to be both relevant and fruitful for the sustainability of the sector. It represents a personal point of view; building upon a review of the literature, the paper extends the established knowledge one step further in terms of setting the right price for the right university, which is deemed worthy of further study and development.

The paper will be of use to the management and policymakers in the education sector in searching for a contemporary pricing mechanism for higher education.

The purpose of this study is to identify the antecedents and dimensions of relationship quality (RQ) between customers and providers of athletic services.

Data collection involved in‐depth, personal interviews of fitness centre customers and year‐ticket holders of football clubs in order to determine the similarities and differences between the two contexts. RQ is approached from the point of view of the customer since no other study has investigated that part of the dyad. Data were analysed with thematic content analysis.

In fitness clubs, RQ is perceived as a relationship that involves trust, customer satisfaction and commitment; social bonds with employees; effective cooperation and communication, and adaptation of services to suit customers’ needs. In contrast, the relationship of football club year‐ticket holders is simpler and is perceived as trusting; satisfying for customers and one where customers feel committed to the team. The antecedents of RQ identified do not differ between the two types of relationship studied and include the quality of the servicescape; the power of entertainment; the quality of personnel; customer experience and knowledge; customer relationship orientation; relationship duration, and circumstantial or personal factors such as free time shortage, family obligations or bad weather conditions. Based on these findings a conceptual framework is developed for analysing RQ and its antecedents in athletic services.

The study extends findings regarding RQ in athletic services. However, it is qualitative in nature. Future research should quantify the constructs identified and test them in quantitative studies.

The implications of the study are wide and include appropriate methods of selecting and training staff; the effective management of service portfolios; customer training; providing an entertaining experience for customers, and designing a good quality servicescape.

The conceptual framework developed can serve as a guide for sport managers in enhancing the value of relationships with customers.

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise relationship quality (RQ) and determine its antecedents and consequences in athletic services.

One in‐depth case study is carried out in a big fitness centre and involves ten personal interviews with various employees and observation.

RQ is perceived through the behaviour of both provider and customer and the quality of their interaction. RQ antecedents include the personality and skills of employees and customers; the servicescape; the quality of the offer; permanent staff; the relational orientation and reputation of the provider; the power of entertainment, and relationship duration. Finally, RQ effects include the creation of enduring customers; psychologic benefits for customers; employee satisfaction; customer retention and profitability; new service ideas; relationship exploitation, and the personal success and reputation of instructors.

New variables emerge for analysing the quality of service‐based buyer‐seller relationships. Also, RQ is linked to the everyday behaviour of both parties and not the feelings that they develop such as trust, commitment and satisfaction as previous research demonstrates. However, results are based on one case study. Future research should expand the number of cases; test results empirically and validate them in other types of relationships or services; do dyad (provider and customer) studies, and analyse the factors that influence RQ at different relationship development stages.

The results of this study offer guidance to athletic services firms on how to increase RQ by selecting and training employees; informing, researching and training customers; the management of the servicescape; the adoption of flexible services; the development of loyal customers; the use of customer ideas, and the enhancement of employee satisfaction.

A guide to developing quality relationships in athletic services is provided to fitness centres. New concepts emerge for the management of service‐based buyer‐seller relationships.

The overrepresentation and lack of academic success for Black male athletes on college campuses are problems that warrant attention in the 21st century. A recent report from the University of Pennsylvania shows that over the four-year period between 2007 and 2010, Black males were overrepresented in college sports (Harper, Williams, & Blackman, 2013), a startling reality considering that Black males are severely underrepresented in the general student body. Further complicating matters is the fact that Black male student-athletes do not graduate from college at rates comparable to their peers (Harper et al., 2013). Focused primarily on the experiences of Division I Black male student-athletes, this chapter begins with an overview of literature relevant to successful academic support programs. The authors also present an overview of best practices for advising African American male student-athletes, derived from athletic departments with a demonstrated record of academic success for Black males.

This paper aims to investigate capitalization support, an alternative perspective for theorizing social support in-service settings. In the service setting of the student-athlete experience, the relationships between capitalization support service dimensions (i.e. the academic, athletic, self-development and place dimensions), well-being and sports performance are examined through a transformative sport service research (TSSR) lens, a newly introduced form of transformative service research (TSR).

Data from an online survey of Australian student-athletes (n = 867) is examined using partial least squares structural equation modeling.

The results support the theorized service dimensions of capitalization support, indicating their validity and relevance to the student-athlete experience. Further, the results demonstrate that all capitalization support dimensions except athletic support (i.e. academic support, place support and self-development support), have a direct effect on well-being and an indirect effect on sports performance.

This research is unique for several reasons. First, it introduces a new perspective, capitalization support, to theorizing about social support in services. Second, it is one of the first studies in both TSR and TSSR to empirically test and demonstrate a relationship between support services, well-being and performance in a single study. Insight into how to design services to optimize well-being in relation to other service objectives like performance thus emerges.

This study examined how a US college athletic department’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives influenced fans’ online donation intentions.

Data were collected from 490 fans of a Division I intercollegiate athletic program and analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Results indicated that the quality of CSR information positively affected e-satisfaction with CSR initiatives, which, in turn, predicted fans’ online donation intentions, university attachment, and fan–athletic department identification. Moreover, the relationship between e-satisfaction with CSR initiatives and online donation intentions was mediated by fan–athletic department identification.

This study has a limitation in terms of generalizability. The current focus on a single athletic department does not apply the results to athletic programs at other US universities and colleges. Future research should confirm the generalizability of the study’s findings by collecting data from fans of other athletic departments.

It is important to understand the impact of CSR activities on online donor intentions because marketing these activities could serve as an effective fundraising tool for athletic departments. The findings from this study inform athletic administrators of factors they might consider when promoting CSR initiatives through online media to encourage fans’ donations.

There is a great deal of discussion involving Black male college athletes, particularly at Division I colleges and universities in revenue-generating sports. However, there is little discussion with regard to the unique role and complex challenges faced by Black male personnel who have the task of supporting student-athletes, especially athletes who are also Black males. The authors of the chapter extensively review the role of student-athlete academic support departments and the competencies needed to work in the profession. In addition, the chapter authors discuss how Black male identity can affect the Black male’s role in academic support positions.

The purpose of this study is to examine the food and beverage revenue changes in private clubs in the USA during the economic downturn from 2008 to 2010.

Over 1,000 private club managers in the USA were surveyed to determine the impacts of two economic downturns on their financial performance.

Findings of this study indicated that most clubs experienced a decrease in their overall net food and beverage revenues and consequently experienced significant losses in their overall food and beverage operations, especially affecting private party business in 2010.

This study examined private clubs requiring sponsorship of membership candidates by existing club members in order to maintain their exclusivity, whereas many for‐profit clubs, semi‐private clubs, and non‐private clubs do not require sponsorship. Future studies should investigate if for‐profit clubs, semi‐private clubs, and non‐private clubs experienced the same negative impact on their food and beverage services as the private and exclusive clubs of CMAA explored in this study.

City/athletic clubs are severely impacted during economic downturns because most members only use their clubs for business purposes. Therefore, private club managers, particularly in city clubs, need to take into account expanded promotional strategies to retain or grow member food and beverage revenues during economic downturns.

The analysis of economic downturns and their impact on food and beverage revenues and overall profitability provides valuable information for private club managers in their quests for revenue generation, membership growth and improved profit performance.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the issue of performance management in the public sector and specifically the implementation of the balanced scorecard (BSC) methodology on a public (municipal) non-profit sport organization in Greece. The research provides a discussion on the BSC development process, the goals set on each pillar and the outcome that the organization achieved, in order to be used as a roadmap for other managers in the public sector.

The study used information extracted from the municipal board of Papagos-Holargos city in Greece, including board reports, documents and decision transcripts and open-ended interviews related to the implementation of BSC method, as well as to the impact of this decision on the quality of services, citizens’ satisfaction and the improvement of internal processes.

The results indicated that the citizens of Papagos-Holargos perceived sport services to be of enhanced quality related to/when compared to the previous years (based on a questionnaire submitted by the citizens of Papagos-Holargos at the end of the each sample per year). In addition, the staff improved its skills and abilities by participating in training seminars and, in general, the implementation of the BSC method on the municipal sport organization of Papagos-Holargos city sets the basis for an effective performance management which can enhance its future sustainability.

Managers of municipal and public sport organizations could use the findings of the study as a roadmap for discussing, evaluating and possibly implementing the BSC approach in their organizations’ daily operations.

This study fills a significant gap in the existing literature on the implementation of a traditional business performance management tool on a non-profit public sport organization.

This study employed a cognitive psychological approach to examining a little studied phenomenon – university image – among two groups of evaluators. The study found that different groups used different criteria when rating ten major US universities. Found to significantly predict the image of the universities among a sample of current university students were three factors: academic factors, athletic factors, and the extent of news coverage of the university. Found to significantly predict the image of the same universities among an adult, non‐student sample were four factors: a combined factor including all university attributes (including academic and athletic); the extent of news coverage; the education level of respondents; and the respondents’ level of sports fanship. Recent research in attitude structure is used to explain how different image criteria are recalled and employed by the different groups.