Involvement and Loyalty in Recreation Swimming in Greece: Investigating Relationships

Present study tested the validity of involvement scale (Kyle et al., 2004), examined differences according demographic characteristics and investigated possible relationships between involvement and attitudinal loyalty in context of recreational swimming. Three hundred and forty nine participants (61.9% females) from a major swimming sport center in northern Greece, completed the three dimensional involvement model of Kyle’s et al (2004), and Armitage & Conner’s (1999) attitudinal loyalty’s instrument. Demographics of the sample and frequency of participation were also recorded. The results indicated high differences (p<.01) between dimensions of involvement and the frequency of participation levels supporting the predictive validity of the scale. Female subgroup and married subgroup scored significantly higher in all involvement dimensions (attraction, centrality, self-expression) than males and singles respectively. Significant statistical differences existed also between involvement dimensions and age subgroups. Finally, involvement concept only partially (centrality, β=.13 and attraction, β=.47 dimensions) predicted swimmers loyalty (p<.001). Marketing implications are discussed toward the development of appropriate promotion strategies from sport managers toward overcoming swimmer’s needs and broadening participants net.