RECEIVING A STANDING OVATION FOR THE EVENT: A COMPREHENSIVE MODEL FOR MEASURING FAN SATISFACTION WITH SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EVENTS

Every year, millions of people attend sports and entertainment events across the globe resulting, in a multibillion dollar industry. Yet, the question remains: Are these customers (i.e., the fans) satisfied? More specifically, what are the variables that drive satisfaction with an event? If an event collects and analyzes customer satisfaction data, its management is better positioned to make staffing and process adjustments in an effort to improve customer service. If an event does not measure customer satisfaction, managers end up merely hoping their customers are satisfied. Despite its importance, few academic researchers have examined event customer satisfaction overall or the factors that influence it. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to outline the importance of customer satisfaction at sports and entertainment events, discuss the challenges that events face, with regard to measuring customer satisfaction, and develop a theoretical model of sports and entertainment event customer satisfaction. In doing so, researchers will have a cohesive framework to guide future empirical investigations.