Advancing membership engagement in the sport and recreation industry using social relationships

Membership engagement in the sport, recreation, and private club industry provides insights into membership value and organizational stability. The role social relationships play in membership engagement is not understood and relatively little research has covered this area. This thesis, designed using an appreciative inquiry methodology and action research engagement principles, centred around the question: How might The Glencoe Club, a private sport and social club, foster social relationships within the club to advance member engagement? It involved virtual circle way member focus groups with established and new members to uncover findings and develop conclusions and a virtual world café employee session to create recommendations. This research contributes to the literature on the role social relationships play in membership engagement and can provide a relationship perspective into future programs, experiences, and service planning in sport, club, and hospitality industries.

Author dc:creator

• O'Byrne, Suzette

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Bainbridge, Lesley

Identifier URI

http://dx.doi.org/10.25316/IR-17650

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.viurrspace.ca/server/oai/request?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=dim&identifier=oai%3Anull%3A10613%2F25888