Graduate Institute of Sport, Leisure and Hospitality Management, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Front Public Health. 2023 Jan 27;10:992500. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.992500. eCollection 2022.
The increasing trend for an older population is a phenomenon that is well recognized around the world. The percentage of senior citizens participating in sports, recreation, and leisure activities is also increasing in order to sustain a healthier society. As long as seniors recognize the importance and benefits of keeping healthy, they would prefer to be active in various sports and fitness activities. The seniors could engage in making decisions about their own health by exercising regularly and by encouraging their similar-age peers. The civil sports and recreation centers (CSRCs) in Taiwan have adopted operating transfer (OT) and are located mainly in metropolitan areas, with programs consisting of indoor sports offering people daily exercise. The major aims of the CSRC are to keep the citizens in good health and not to be the city government's financial burden. The extant literature examines the determinants of general consumer behavior, neglecting studies on older adults. This study aims to explore the factors influencing seniors' willingness to pay (WTP) more for exercise in CSRCs outside of free hours.
This mixed-method study consists of quantitative and qualitative analyses. For the quantitative component, we invited five experts in the sports industry from the industry and academia to evaluate the validity of the questionnaire. A questionnaire consisting of motivation, exercise involvement, and constraint constructs in the quantitative method was administered to 193 older adults in CSRCs. The collected data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, -test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and structural equation model (SEM).
Empirical results indicate that WTP in groups of people aged 75-79, 70-74, and 65-69 years is higher than in the group of people aged 85 years and above. Exercise involvement and motivation had more of a positive impact on seniors' WTP.
Developing a regular exercise habits and having social interaction in exercise courses drive female seniors to pay more for body health. The results of this study provide managers of CSRCs with decision-making recommendations: (1) initiate entry-level sports courses, such as quick chair exercise, to cultivate among seniors the habit of exercise; (2) motivate seniors to participate in sports with other seniors in order to enhance their social activity and raise their WTP more for sports consumption outside of free scheduled periods; and (3) recruit seniors as exercise coaches or personal trainers to pass their experiences with other people of their age. In addition to expanding seniors' social connections, it encourages peers to exercise. Managerial implications and future research are also discussed.
This study contributes to exploring the determinants of seniors' WTP intention. Motivation and exercise involvement had a significantly positive impact on seniors' WTP intention.
人口老龄化趋势是一个在全球范围内得到广泛认可的现象。为了维持更健康的社会，参与体育、娱乐和休闲活动的老年人比例也在增加。只要老年人认识到保持健康的重要性和好处，他们更愿意积极参与各种体育和健身活动。老年人可以通过定期锻炼和鼓励同龄人的方式，对自己的健康做出决策。台湾的公民体育和娱乐中心（CSRC）已经采用了运营转移（OT）模式，主要位于大都市区，其项目包括提供日常锻炼的室内运动。CSRC 的主要目标是保持公民的健康，而不是成为市政府的财政负担。现有文献研究了一般消费者行为的决定因素，而忽略了对老年人的研究。本研究旨在探讨影响老年人在 CSRC 支付更多费用进行锻炼的意愿（WTP）的因素，这些锻炼活动不在免费时段内。
本混合方法研究包括定量和定性分析。在定量部分，我们邀请了来自行业和学术界的五位体育行业专家对问卷的有效性进行评估。在 CSRC 中，我们对 193 名老年人进行了包括动机、锻炼参与度和约束结构的定量方法问卷。收集的数据通过描述性统计分析、t 检验、单因素方差分析（ANOVA）和结构方程模型（SEM）进行分析。
实证结果表明，75-79 岁、70-74 岁和 65-69 岁年龄组的 WTP 高于 85 岁及以上年龄组。锻炼参与度和动机对老年人的 WTP 有更积极的影响。
养成定期锻炼习惯和在锻炼课程中进行社会互动促使女性老年人为身体健康支付更多费用。本研究结果为 CSRC 管理者提供了决策建议：（1）开设入门级体育课程，如快速椅操，培养老年人的锻炼习惯；（2）激励老年人与其他老年人一起参加运动，以增强他们的社交活动，并提高他们在非免费时段对体育消费的 WTP；（3）招募老年人担任运动教练或私人教练，将他们的经验传授给同龄人。除了扩大老年人的社交联系外，这还鼓励同龄人进行锻炼。还讨论了管理意义和未来研究。
本研究有助于探索老年人 WTP 意愿的决定因素。动机和锻炼参与度对老年人的 WTP 意愿有显著的积极影响。
