Sustainable Development and Management in Sports and Fitness Services during COVID-19 Pandemic
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Health, Well-Being and Sustainability".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 28172
Special Issue Editors
Interests: sport business; sport consumer behavior
Interests: sport management; sport marketing; sport facility management
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Due to the growing awareness of health and wellness, the global sport and fitness market was growing at a very steady pace before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching approximately USD 96.7 billion with over 205,000 sport and fitness clubs and over 64 million members across the globe in 2019 (International Health Racquet and Sportsclub Association, 2020). Moreover, new technologies, such as fitness trackers and fitness apps, have been integrated into sport and fitness services to enhance customer experience and facilitate the development of the sport and fitness industry. Although the sport and fitness industry has been among the hardest hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has also accelerated the digitization of sport and fitness services. Many proactive and innovative sport and fitness operators have embraced virtual–physical hybrid models of increasing online presence, such as online training classes or live broadcastings, to activate and retain customers who prefer the flexibility of virtual options amid the pandemic (Laber, 2021). The new business models of sport and fitness services have urged the need to explore sustainable development and management to adapt to the radical change in sport and fitness services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (León-Quismondo et al., 2020).
In summary, the scope of this Special Issue, “Sustainable Development and Management of Sport and Fitness Services during COVID-19 Pandemic”, is to address emerging issues relevant to the changes, challenges, and opportunities in the sport and fitness industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic in order to increase customer engagement and improve long-term stability, profitability and sustainability. This Special Issue seeks to contribute to a better theoretical and practical understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on sport and fitness services. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following aspects:
- Impact of COVID-19 on sport and fitness services;
- Sustainable practices in sport and fitness services;
- Sustainable business models of sport and fitness services;
- Digitization and innovations in sport and fitness services;
- Servicescape and service quality of sport and fitness services;
- Customer experience and satisfaction;
- Customer engagement and loyalty;
- Human resource management in sport and fitness services;
- Facility management for sport and fitness services;
- Importance–performance analysis on sport and fitness services.
References:
International Health Racquet and Sportsclub Association. (2020). The IHRSA Global Report 2020.
Laber, M. (2021). Getting back in shape: Fitness industry's path to COVID recovery in 2021 [White paper]. Available online: https://www.thinkbrg.com/insights/publications/fitness-industry-covid-recovery/ (Accessed on 30 November 2021)
León-Quismondo, J., García-Unanue, J., & Burillo, P. (2020). Best Practices for Fitness Center Business Sustainability: A Qualitative Vision. Sustainability, 12(12), 5067. Doi: 10.3390/su12125067
Dr. Weisheng Chiu
Prof. Dr. Yu Huang
Dr. Sang-Back Nam
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- sport and fitness services
- COVID-19 pandemic
- innovations
- technology
- digitization
- service quality
- customer loyalty
- satisfaction
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