Interaction Quality on Satisfaction: Season Ticket Holders’ Perspective

The literature in the service industry shows that the role of human interaction is critical for consumers‟ overall satisfaction with the service. This also applies to the sport industry where consumers interact with organizations‟ employees. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of interaction quality on season ticket holders‟ satisfaction level with their respective ticket representative. The dimensions of reliability, assurance, empathy, and responsiveness were used to measure interaction quality between ticket representatives and season ticket holders. A season ticket holders‟ annual survey (n= 1,149) from a Major League Baseball team located in the Northeast region of the USA was used. The results of multiple regression analysis revealed that all four dimensions significantly influenced respondents‟ satisfaction level with ticket account representatives while “empathy” was the most important factor (β= .35, p< .001) and responsiveness (β= .09, p< .005) was the least factor on season ticket holders‟ satisfaction level. Discussions and managerial implications of the results were followed.