Performing
The Arts of Loyalty.
A quantitative study into four determinants of customer loyalty in the sector of performing arts.
Master Thesis Leisure Studies - Tilburg University
Zijlstra & de Bloois
Performing
The Arts of Loyalty.
A quantitative study into four determinants of customer loyalty in the sector of performing arts.
Student:
ANR:
Tel.:
E-mail:
E-mail 2:
Daphne de Bloois
S191365
+31622480993
[email protected]
[email protected]
Student:
ANR:
Tel.:
E-mail:
E-mail:
Veronique E. Zijlstra
274279
+31649848120
[email protected]
[email protected]
Supervisor:
E-mail:
Pieter de Rooij
[email protected]
Second reader: Dr. Y.R. Garib
E-mail:
[email protected]
Third reader:
E-mail:
Dr. A.P.J.G. Vossen
[email protected]
MTO assesor:
E-mail:
University:
Faculty:
Course:
University of Tilbug
Social Science
Master Program Leisure Studies
L.J.A.M. Van Baest
[email protected]
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
2
Preface
Performing the Arts of Loyalty is the core subject of this thesis. A relevant topic, because in this current period
in which the budgets are under pressure it is interesting to know how you can bond and attract visitors to your
product or business. After all, it is easier to attempt an existing visitor to bring a repeat visit than to recruit a
new customer.
We want to thank several people for their help in the preparation of this Master Thesis. First, we want to thank
Pieter de Rooij for his support, knowledge of the field, his sharp feedback and for keeping up the pressure
during the whole process. We also want to thank Geetha Garib, because her comments on the ITP were
focused and insightful. Ad Vossen, our ‘tower of strength in the field of statistics’, helped us to realize our
statistical challenge, we learned a lot from him and want to thank him for that.
Besides this help from school, we also want to thank the VSCD (Vereniging van Schouwburgen en
Concertgebouwdirecties). In particular, our contact person, Jeltsje in der Rieden, helped to lift this thesis to a
higher level by creating possibilities in contacting the theatres. Thanks to her help, nine theatres participated in
this study. We want to especially thank the management and visitors of the following theatres, because without
their help this thesis would not exist; Theater aan de Slinger, Theater de Blauwe Kei, Theater de Willem,
WestlandTheater de Naald, Theater de Veste, Theater de Schalm, de Rotterdamse Schouwburg, Theater de
Meervaart and Theater de Maaspoort.
We look back at the past year as a tough but very exciting period and as an opportunity to finally realize a full
study from A to Z, at own discretion. And what now? The results of the study are proven to be clear and
insightful (according to the VSCD) and will therefore be used to write a practical advice report on customer
loyalty in the performing arts, commissioned by the VSCD. We are very excited about this, as this gives the
results also a tangible and practical value. When you are interested in this document, you can off course
contact us.
Furthermore, we both look forward to what awaits us, a time full of new developments, obstacles, and as this
paper highlights; challenges!
We hope you enjoy reading.
Veronique Zijlstra & Daphne de Bloois.
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
3
Table of contents
Summary ........................................................................................................................................................ 6
1.
2.
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 8
1.1
Occasion of the study ......................................................................................................................8
1.2
Research question and objective ....................................................................................................9
1.3
Relevance...................................................................................................................................... 10
Theoretical framework ........................................................................................................................ 12
2.1
2.1.1
2.2
The performing arts ....................................................................................................................... 13
Description of the sector of performing arts .............................................................................. 13
2.2.2
Description of theatre visitor groups .......................................................................................... 14
Determinants of customer loyalty in the performing arts ............................................................... 15
2.3.1
Subjective Norms ...................................................................................................................... 16
2.3.2
Involvement ............................................................................................................................... 16
2.3.3
Relationship with a service worker ............................................................................................ 17
2.3.4
Experiential Value ..................................................................................................................... 18
2.4
Conceptual model & Hypotheses .................................................................................................. 20
Methodology chapter .......................................................................................................................... 22
3.1
Research design............................................................................................................................ 22
3.2
Data collection ............................................................................................................................... 22
3.2.1
Sampling procedure and response ........................................................................................... 22
3.2.2
ICC values ................................................................................................................................. 23
3.2.3
Sample characteristics .............................................................................................................. 23
3.3
Operationalization of central concepts .......................................................................................... 24
3.3.1
Customer Loyalty ...................................................................................................................... 25
3.3.2
Subjective Norms ...................................................................................................................... 25
3.3.3
Involvement ............................................................................................................................... 26
3.3.2
Relationship with a service worker ............................................................................................ 27
3.3.3
Experiential Value ..................................................................................................................... 27
3.3.4
Background variables (control variables) .................................................................................. 28
3.4
4.
Behavioural and Attitudinal Loyalty ........................................................................................... 12
2.2.1
2.3
3.
Customer loyalty ............................................................................................................................ 12
Statistical analyses ........................................................................................................................ 28
Results ................................................................................................................................................. 31
4.1
Correlation Analysis....................................................................................................................... 31
4.2
Regression analysis ...................................................................................................................... 33
4.2.1
The influence of the core variables on Attitudinal Loyalty. ........................................................ 33
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
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4.2.2
5.
4.3
The mediation effect of Attitudinal Loyalty ..................................................................................... 36
4.4
Conclusion Results ........................................................................................................................ 36
Additional analyses ............................................................................................................................ 38
5.1
Decomposition of correlations ....................................................................................................... 38
5.2
ANOVA and T-test ......................................................................................................................... 39
5.2.1
Differences per scale of theatre ................................................................................................ 39
6.2.2
Differences Gender ................................................................................................................... 41
5.3
6.
The influence of the core variables on Behavioural Loyalty. ..................................................... 34
Disaggregated analyses ................................................................................................................ 41
5.3.1
Correlation matrix on a disaggregated level .............................................................................. 41
5.3.2
The influence of the underlying constructs on Attitudinal Loyalty.............................................. 42
5.3.3
The influence of the underlying constructs on Behavioural Loyalty .......................................... 43
Conclusion and discussion................................................................................................................ 44
6.1
Conclusion and Discussion ........................................................................................................... 44
6.1.1
Subjective Norms ...................................................................................................................... 44
6.1.2
Involvement ............................................................................................................................... 45
6.1.3
Relationship with a service worker ............................................................................................ 45
6.1.4
Experiential Value ..................................................................................................................... 46
6.1.5
Intervening effect of Attitudinal Loyalty ...................................................................................... 46
6.1.6
Answering the central question ................................................................................................. 47
6.2
Limitations and Implications for further research ........................................................................... 47
6.3
Practical implications of the study ................................................................................................. 49
Literature...................................................................................................................................................... 51
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
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Summary
Nobody is asking for a theatre and no one calls for actors
so we must ensure that they are requested.
We have to beat the drum and attract people
to ensure that they become addicted to theatre and opera.
Orson Welles
The performing arts sector is part of the cultural sector, and defined as “art-skills, implement on a stage which
are generally experienced at the time of production” (Langeveld, 2009, p. 7). Each (medium large) city in the
Netherlands owns a theatre were arts can be performed, which means the Netherlands has a high theatre
density. A theatre can be defined as a facility where individuals can participate in performing arts, as a
consumer, maker, creator or executive (Langeveld, 2006). Since the 1990s, theatres have to deal with the
increased VAT rate, reduced hours of leisure time and increased competition in the leisure market (Van den
Broek, Huysmans & de Haan, 2005; Langeveld, 2006), which forced the theatres to focus more and more on
the marketing of their program. Theatres offer unique experiences to their customers, and it is hard to
differentiate from the competition solely by means of the theatre product. For this reason, marketing became an
important tool for theatres to obtain competitive advantage. In addition, it is important that theatres not just
focus on increasing the number of theatre visitors, but also on increasing the repurchase number of theatre
tickets by their current visitors; in other words make these visitors loyal visitors. Benefits that can be derived
from the creation of loyal customers are lower costs, higher yields, positive word of mouth publicity and bonding
to a brand (Boyle, 2007; Riley, Niininen, Szivas & Willis, 2001; Bügel, 2002). Customer loyalty towards a
theatre consists of a positive attitude (Attitudinal Loyalty) and the re-intention to buy tickets (Behavioural
Loyalty) (e.g. Tideswell & Fredline, 2004; Dick & Basu, 1994; Balogu, 2002).
This research focuses on four determinants of customer loyalty in the Dutch theatre industry. The
concept of Subjective Norms is included in this study to find out to what extent an individuals’ current social
relationships influence his or her participation in the sector of performing arts (Upright, 2004). According to
Ajzen and Fishbein (in Perloff 2008) the beliefs of these people, weighted by the importance one attributes to
each of their opinions, will influence one’s behavioural intention (Behavioural Loyalty). In addition, the concept
Involvement is included in this study in order to determine the effect of interest in the performing arts, selfexpression through visiting a theatre and personal investment (e.g. Kyle, Mowen, Absher & Havitz, 2006) on
the level of both Attitudinal and Behavioural Loyalty. Also the concept Relationship with a service worker is
included, because several researchers (e.g. Barnes, 1995; Bove, 2000; Bove & Johnson, 2006) suggest that
the relationship between a customer and a service worker (theatre employee) is a potential means by which a
firm (in this study the theatre) can achieve customer loyalty. The final determinant integrated in this study is
Experiential Value. This concept covers the motives of individuals to visit a theatre and the extent to which the
theatre facilitates in these motives. The extent to which the theatre provides the values and responds to the
motives of theatre visitors, influences the visitors’ loyalty towards the theatre (Boorsma, 1998).
In this study it is assumed that a positive attitude towards a theatre, created by one of these four
determinants, acts as a means to positively influence the re-intention to buy and in that way affect Behavioural
Loyalty. This means there exists a sequential relationship between Attitudinal and Behavioural Loyalty. This
leads to the central research question of this study; ‘to what extent do Subjective Norms, Involvement,
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
6
Relationship with a service worker and Experiential Value influence Behavioural Loyalty in the sector of
performing arts (direct effect), and to what extent can this be explained by the intervening effect of Attitudinal
Loyalty (indirect effect)?’. Besides answering this research question, this study also includes an explorative part.
Based on common sense it is expected that the influences of the determinants on customer loyalty vary for the
scale of theatres, therefore the scale of the theatre is examined in an explorative manner.
To generate an answer on the main research question of this study a cross-sectional survey is
conducted among the visitors of nine Dutch theatres, using a digital questionnaire including 45 items. In total,
1286 visitors participated in this research and together they form a representative group of respondents. The
ICC values suggest that the data is not strongly nested within the nine different theatres, which means the
results can be presented on an individual level. By means of regression analyses and detection of mediation
effects, the hypotheses of the study are answered. This research also includes a number of additional
statistical analyses such as a decomposition of the correlations, ANOVA and T-test analyses, regression
analyses with interaction effects and regression analyses at disaggregated level, with the aim of acquiring a
broader and deeper understanding of these four determinants of customer loyalty.
Based on the statistical analyses it can be concluded that all four core concepts directly affect
Behavioural Loyalty. Involvement and Relationship with a service worker both show a positive effect and
Subjective Norms and Experiential Value both show a negative effect on Behavioural Loyalty. This indicates
that the interest in the performing arts and feeling a strong bond with a theatre employee both result in the fact
that an individual more often visits a theatre. However, it appears that when an individual is surrounded by
culturally engaged relatives (Subjective Norms) and experiences a high degree of Experiential Value, this
causes a decline in the number of theatre visits by this individual. In order to refine these results, it is important
to indicate that Involvement and Experiential Value generate the two largest effects on Behavioural Loyalty and
both consist of three underlying dimensions. Of the three underlying constructs of Involvement the centrality
construct exerts most pressure on the frequency with which individuals visit the theatre. Of the three underlying
constructs of Experiential Value in particular the entertainment construct results in a decline in the number of
theatre visits. In addition, the statistical analyses show a positive relationship between the two forms of loyalty.
Thus a positive attitude towards a theatre (partly) is converted into buying tickets for the theatre. This study
shows that Attitudinal Loyalty acts as a mediator in the relationship of Subjective Norms, Relationship with a
service worker and Experiential Value with Behavioural Loyalty. Because the concepts Subjective Norms and
Experiential Value both negatively affect Behavioural Loyalty, but do have a positive indirect relation with
Behavioural Loyalty through the concept of Attitudinal Loyalty, it can be stated that both concepts (Subjective
Norms and Experiential Value) are positive predictors of Behavioural Loyalty provided that it is preceded by a
positive attitude towards the theatre. In addition, the positive direct effect of Relationship with a service worker
on the behaviour of an individual is also partly determined by a positive attitude towards theatre. A last
important result is that the (direct) effects of Relationship with a service worker on both forms of loyalty interact
with the scale of the theatre. It can be said that visitors of small-scale theatres often have a stronger bond with
the employees of the theatre (compared to medium-scale and large-scale theatres), which ensures both a
higher level of Attitudinal and Behavioural Loyalty. These results can be translated in several practical
implications, which are described in the conclusion section and will be implemented in a practical advice report
commissioned by the VSCD.
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
7
1.
Introduction
Success listens only to applause.
It is deaf for anything else.
Elias Canetti
1.1
Occasion of the study
The term 'culture' is used in different kind of meanings. Generally, culture refers to human activities structures
and to the tangibles that are produced by society. In this notion, culture is the opposite of nature. Culture in a
broader sense, also refers to tangible items of artistic expression such as museums, monuments, theatres,
paintings, books and records (van den Broek, Huysmans & de Haan, 2005). In this study, the broader meaning
of culture is the central element and the particular context is the sector of performing arts (theatres).
Langeveld (2009, p. 7) describes the performing arts as “art-skills, implement on a stage which are
generally experienced at the time of production”. He mentions several types of performing arts like drama,
dance and music in all its aspects, often supported by pictures, movies and sounds. In particular, pop music,
drama and cabaret performances are popular types of performing arts among the Dutch theatre visitors (van
den Broek, Huysmans & de Haan, 2009). Research by TNS-NIPO (2007) indicates that 62 percent of the Dutch
population (upward of the age of 12) visited a performing arts show in the year of 2007. The Dutch theatre
visitor is characterized as relatively young, highly educated, wealthy and is more often a female than a male
(TNS-NIPO, 2007). The Netherlands counts about 279 theatres or concert halls, which together facilitate about
39.000 performances each year (2007 figures, van den Broek et al., 2009).
The world of performing arts knows a long history and developed from small theatre performances in
ancient Greece amphitheatres to major musical and entertainment performances in theatres like the ‘Circus
Theatre’ in Scheveningen the Netherlands (Langeveld, 2006). Until World War II, theatres in the Netherlands
were often built by private enterprises in the light of generating profit. Around 1970, the Dutch government
found that the performing arts were too much a privilege, which means reserved for the upper- and middle
class. In order to attract more lower class members to the performing arts, the Dutch government started to
financially support Dutch theatres and interfered with the formation and exploitation of theatres (Langeveld,
2006). In 1998, the tax rate for the Dutch arts was reduced to six percent respectively compared to a standard
VAT rate of nineteen percent (Goudriaan, Groot & Schrijvershof, 2008). This reduction of the VAT rate did not
aim at an increase of accessibility of the performing arts but prevents theatres to raise their admission fees in
order to intercept the additional costs of the ‘Arbeidstijdenwet’ and the aging of the population (Goudriaan et al.,
2008). Anno 2011, the Dutch government restored the reduced tax rate of six percent into the standard VAT
rate of nineteen percent to slightly reduce the impact of the economic crisis (Baars, 2010, personal
communication). According to Goudriaan et al. (2008) implementation of such standard tax rates will lead to a
decrease in the number of theatregoers (minus 4 percent). In this way, the Dutch government becomes less
actively involved in the sector of performing arts. To ensure the survival of the theatre, theatres have to
generate their visitors, which is a difficult task in a time of economic recession and an increased entrance fee
due to the increased taxes. Besides the increase of the VAT rate, theatres will also face a growing competition
from other leisure providers (van den Broek et al., 2005), because the individuals have less hours of free time
than a couple of decades ago (van den Broek et al., 2009). This time-constrained consumer is also faced with a
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
8
wider choice of leisure opportunities in this smaller time frame (Gershuny, 2003). This results in the fact that
competition for theatres is not only to be found in the cultural sector, but within the whole sector of leisure,
since consumers will have to choose to use their scarce free time in the most efficient way. Van den Broek et al.
(2005) and Langeveld (2006) argue that the increase of the VAT rate, the reduced hours of leisure time and the
increased competition in the leisure market resulted in the fact that theatres from the 1990s onwards began to
make use of marketing tools. As artists and theatre-societies tour through the Netherlands, Dutch theatres
often offer the same performance or in other words product. Theatres produce intangible services that only can
be ‘experienced’ when people are physically present (Currim, Weinberg & Wittink, 1981). A theatre cannot
differentiate from other theatres, solely focussing on the product that is offered, but can differentiate on other
assets that are experienced by their visitors such as their scale (small versus large scale), program (low versus
high culture), and their interior. For theatres it is important to differentiate from the competition by among others,
the offered quality and experiences, and in that way be distinctive and generate more visitors. Langeveld
(2006) therefore suggest that theatres cannot limit their marketing activities to simple advertising campaigns.
Boorsma (1998) sees the focus of building and maintaining relationships with clients as an important marketing
component of the theatre.
A study by van den Broek et al. (2009, p. 40) indicates that “for all forms of performing arts the biggest
part of the audience consists of occasional visitors (1 to 3 visits per year)”. Within their marketing programs,
theatres must not only focus on increasing the number of visitors (by attracting new visitors) but also on
increasing the repurchasing of theatre tickets by their current visitors; in other words making these visitors loyal
visitors. The development of a strong and loyal audience offers many advantages such as lower costs, higher
profits, positive word-of-mouth advertising and bonding to a brand (Boyle, 2006; Riley, Niininen, Szivas & Willis,
2001; Bügel, 2002). Loyalty consists of the attitudes and behaviour of consumers towards the brand (Tideswell
& Fredline, 2004; Dick & Basu, 1994; Balogu, 2002). This research focuses on these two more general forms of
loyalty; the Behavioural and Attitudinal loyalty of the Dutch theatre visitor. The central relationships within this
research are those of, Subjective Norms, Involvement, Relationship with a service worker and Experiential
Value with both forms of loyalty; Attitudinal and Behavioural Loyalty. Besides, this research also focuses on the
intervening effect of Attitudinal Loyalty on this actual behaviour of an individual.
Using common sense it is expected that the determinants of loyalty will differ for the scale of the
theatre. In order to detect these differences, this study will be executed at three groups of theatres; small-scale
theatres (with a maximum capacity of 500 seats), medium-scale theatres (with a number of seats between 500
and 1.000) and large-scale theatres (with a capacity over 1.000 seats) (Based on criteria of the VSCD). Insight
in which determinants are responsible for the main differences in customer loyalty of small-scale, medium-scale
and large-scale theatres can provide a new focus for the sector of performing arts, besides that these
determinants can be adopted in the policies of the Dutch theatres.
1.2
Research question and objective
This quantitative study focuses on the determinants that affect Behavioural Loyalty, while also looking at the
intervening effect of Attitudinal Loyalty on the actual behaviour of individuals. Because it is expected that the
determinants of loyalty will differ for small-scale and large-scale theatres, but this is not fully supported in the
existing literature, this effect will be approached in an explorative manner. By means of this research the
following research question will be answered:
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
9
‘To what extent do Subjective Norms, Involvement, Relationship with a service worker and Experiential
Value influence Behavioural Loyalty in the sector of performing arts (direct effect), and to what extent can
this be explained by the intervening effect of Attitudinal Loyalty (indirect effect)?’
Theatres face a reduction of subsidies, increased market competition and a critical consumer that wants to use
its leisure time as functional as possible (van den Broek et al., 2005; Langeveld, 2006). For theatres it is
important to gain insight into the main determinants of customer loyalty in order to bond and attract the
contemporary critical consumers to the theatre. In this study, particular emphasis lies on factors that influence
the formation of a loyal customer (attitude and behaviour). Theatres can put more emphasize on and pay more
attention to these influential factors and even implement them, in order to attract more visitors and create and
retain loyal customers. Therefore the objective of this study is:
To gain insight into the determinants of Attitudinal and Behavioural Loyalty of theatre visitors, examine how
differences in determinants on these two forms of loyalty can be explained by means of the intervening effect
of Attitudinal Loyalty (and detect, on an explorative manner, differences in determinants of loyalty for the
small-scale, medium-scale and large-scale theatres, in order to give strategic recommendations concerning
the future policy of theatres).
1.3
10
Relevance
This study has a social relevance, because the research will provide information about the customer loyalty of
theatre visitor and the determinants of this customer loyalty (Behavioural and Attitudinal). This can provide
valuable information for the sector of performing arts about their most loyal customers and the determinants
that reinforce this loyalty amongst their visitors. Based on this knowledge theatres can increase the number of
loyal customers or even attract new customers by making strategic choices that focus on the programming,
marketing and / or other facets of the theatre (Boorsma, 1998). This research is not only relevant for the sector
of performing arts, but might also be interesting for government agencies and perhaps other cultural institutions.
Information from this research can, for example, be used for public purposes such as the subsidizing of the
theatre and it can provide guidance for other cultural institutions (with regard to customer loyalty).
This study also has a scientific relevance, because it is an extension of several other studies on this
subject, by van den Broek et al. (2005/2009), Hezemans & Jansen (2008), van Beek (2009) and Noppen
(2009). These authors specifically examined how motives declare a degree of Attitudinal loyalty towards the
theatre or performer and investigated a number of situational factors that influence this customer loyalty.
Uncovering these motives of visitors is not the focus of this study. It focuses, among others, on discovering to
what extent theatres meet the motives of their visitors. In other words, to what extent the visitors are satisfied
with the value the theatre provides to them. To study this, a new scale is developed, the so-called 'Experiential
Value scale’. Through data analyses it will be examined whether this scale is able to measure the concept and
whether or not is has an effect on customer loyalty. Another important aspect is that this study bundles a
number of loyalty determinants. For example, the determinant 'Involvement' is studied in relation to loyalty
before (e.g., Iwasaki & Havitz, 1998, Kyle & Mowen, 2005; Havitz & Dimanche, 1999), but not next to other
determinants, such as Subjective Norms, Relationship with a service worker and Experiential Value. The scale
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
of Subjective Norms is also new and not studied before. This scale examines the extent to which important
others, such as family and friends, are involved in visiting a theatre and how this affects customer loyalty. The
scale has already been studied (Bove & Smith, 2006), but not in the context of theatres. Another aspect that
contributes to the scientific relevance of this study is the examination of the sequential relationship between
Attitudinal and Behavioural Loyalty in the world of theatres. This relationship has not been studied extensively
in theatres. A last important innovative aspect is the inclusion of the impact of the scale of the theatre. Previous
scientific studies have not examined whether the determinants of customer loyalty differ for the scale of
theatres. This study investigates, at an explorative manner, the effect of this scale on the strength of the
determinants of customer loyalty.
11
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
2.
Theoretical framework
It's always nice to go to the theater;
a warm evening that I enjoy so much and
look forward to months in advance.
Visitor - Theater de Blauwe Kei
In this chapter the central theoretical concepts used in this research are presented and explained. This
theoretical framework is primarily an overview of the theories on customer loyalty, described according to a
literature review. The performing arts sector, as a dynamic sector, will also be explored and explained here.
These two components are linked together in a section on customer loyalty in the performing arts. This section
particularly describes concepts that influence customer loyalty in this field. These influential concepts are then
incorporated into a conceptual model followed by the research questions and hypotheses, which together will
guide the further research.
2.1
Customer loyalty
In recent years, businesses increasingly attach importance to the creation of customer loyalty (Oliver, 1999).
The reason for this is that committed and loyal consumers have a positive impact on the overall operation and
organizational goals like increasing profit, strengthening the bond of the customer with the brand (Uncles,
Dowling & Hammond, 2003), building a network, developing a positive reputation and the creation of
possibilities for networking and community development (Iwasaki & Havitz, 2004). Besides that there are
several direct benefits like the triggering of the repurchase intentions, a decreasing influence of competitors in
the field and positive word of mouth advertising (Tideswell & Fredline, 2004). In the literature there is an ongoing debate about the definition of this customer loyalty and the associated dimensions of it. This paragraph
will discuss the different central theoretical concepts concerning the topic of customer loyalty in general and in
that way describe the foundations of this research.
2.1.1
Behavioural and Attitudinal Loyalty
According to Rentschler, Radbourne, Carr and Rickard (2001) customer loyalty focuses on the extent to which
consumers, although accessible, choose cheaper and better alternatives for a specific company or brand. It
involves the feeling of affection or solidarity with the workers, the product or the service of a company. Oliver
(1999, p. 34) describes loyalty in a quite similar way, also putting emphasize on repeated choice despite the
presence of alternatives, namely as “a deeply held commitment to rebuy or repatronize a preferred
product/service consistently in the future, thereby causing repetitive same-brand or same brand-set purchasing,
despite situational influences and marketing efforts having the potential to create switching behaviour.”
One of the most common approaches towards customer loyalty is making the distinction between a
consumer’s Attitudinal Loyalty, linked to commitment, and Behavioural Loyalty, linked to rebuy intention (Ball,
Coelho & Machas, 2004). The Behavioural Loyalty refers to repeated purchases or patronage and the
customer share and references (Wurtz, 1997), which can be seen as the consumer behaviour in relation to the
company or brand (Back & Parks, 2003). But customer loyalty does not solely relate to the behaviour of the
customer, since this is not necessarily a good indicator of overall loyalty and does not include real commitment
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
12
to a brand. Bügel (2002, p.9) argues this by stating that “a loyal customer is more than a customer who comes
back and observed behaviour alone cannot provide information about real customer loyalty”. This is when
Attitudinal Loyalty comes on the scene. This form of loyalty can be seen as a positive attitude to continuing the
relationship and the desire to continue the relationship effectively (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). Oliver (1999)
describes that Attitudinal Loyalty is shaped by a cognitive, affective and conative dimension. The cognitive
component contains the visitors’ beliefs and knowledge related to the service provider, in this study the theatre
(Kyle, Mowen, Absher & Havitz, 2006). The affective dimension refers to the attitude of the consumers towards
the theatre and their service elements (e.g., programs, facilities, settings) (Kyle et al., 2006). This dimension
determines whether a person feels connected to this particular service provider, this is linked to "commitment"
(Kyle et al., 2006). This commitment is the desire and willingness to continue a relationship and the expectation
that the relationship will continue to exist in the future (Wilson, 1995). In the literature, commitment is defined
as “an enduring desire to maintain a valued relationship” (Morgan & Hunt, 1994, p.23) and influences the
buyer’s choice of provider. Baloglu (2002, p. 50) goes one step beyond this definition, and states that
commitment can be defined as “liking the partner, enjoying the partnership, and having a sense of belonging to
the company”. The last component, the conative component, concerns the behavioural intention of the
customer to repurchase the product or service, it refers to the behavioural ties (e.g., intention to visit, social
ties) the visitors have in relation to the service provider.
An important aspect of Attitudinal Loyalty is that it provides a conceptual basis and understanding of
the repeat purchase (Behavioural Loyalty) because it creates the possibility to find out the how and why of
brand loyalty development and modification (Dick & Basu, 1994). According to Dick and Basu (1994, p.99)
customer loyalty can be seen as “the strength of the relationship between an individual’s attitude and repeat
patronage”. Ball et al. (2004) also describe the importance and interconnectedness of both types of loyalty
(Attitudinal and Behavioural), because Behavioural Loyalty directly involves sales and Attitudinal Loyalty is
highly intertwined with the repeat purchase. Ajzen and Fishbein (1968) have studied the relationship between
attitude and behaviour in different settings. This relationship assumes that Behaviour Loyalty is caused by
attitudes (Liska, 1984). Those attitudes in turn reflect the beliefs about the consequences of personal behaviour
(Liska, 1984). Different authors suggest that Behavioural Loyalty is not solely determined by attitude, but a
variety of factors such as Subjective Norms and personal characteristics (Cook and Selltiz; Triandis, in Ajzen &
Fishbein, 1968). Based on this theory of Ajzen and Fishbein (1968), it is interesting to include the sequential
effect of Attitudinal on Behavioural Loyalty within this study.
2.2
The performing arts
This section elaborates further on the sector of performing arts in which a division is made between the supply
and demand of the sector. The theatre’s supply is very different from other sectors and often depends on (local)
culture policies and subsidies. The demand-side of the performing arts is also a complex construct, because
many features affect it.
2.2.1
Description of the sector of performing arts
A theatre can be defined as a facility where individuals can participate in performing arts, as a consumer,
maker, creator or executive (Langeveld, 2006). Within the performing arts there is a wide variety of types of
‘art’, ranging from entertainment to high culture (Langeveld, 2006). This variety is characterized by different
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
13
genres, namely drama, classical music, dance, popular music, musicals, operetta, opera and music theatre,
comedy and cabaret and amateur theatre (VSCD, 2007). According to Foekema (2008), films are not part of
the performing arts because they are not 'alive'.
Each (medium large) city in the Netherlands has a theatre, which shows that the Netherlands has a
high theatre density. The growth in the number of theatres in the Netherlands, however, begins to diminish
(Langeveld, 2006) together with the number of visitors (VSCD, 2009). The ‘Vereniging voor Schouwburg en
Concertgebouwdirecties (VSCD)’ counted 152 venues in the Netherlands in 2009. These venues together
counted 152 stages with a total of 257 halls and 126,220 seats (VSCD, 2009). The number of visitors of
performances in 2009 decreased by 9 percent to 35,083 visitors, compared to 38,474 visitors in 2008 (VSCD,
2009). The 35,083 visitors together account for a total of 12.3 million visits to the performing arts in 2009
(VSCD, 2009). In total, 62 percent of the Dutch population (12 years and older) attended the performing arts in
2006 (TNS NIPO, 2007). On average these individuals visit 3.6 theatre shows per year and two of the three
performances took place in a formal theatre or music venue (TNS NIPO, 2007).
Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the government plays an important role in the sector of
performing arts (Langeveld, 2006). Theatres in the Netherlands are part of the cultural sector and are to a large
extent dependent on national and local culture policies. Major objectives of cultural policy are the distribution,
diversity and renewal of the theatre and the visitors of performing arts, while the quality of the theatre supply is
maintained (Smithuijsen, 2002; Van den Broek, Breedveld, De Haan & Huysmans, 2004). Important to note is
that the national governmental culture policy is not a direct driver of the cultural offer, but has a more facilitating
and supporting role, in which the cultural resources are not assigned by the national government but by cultural
experts and the local government. The Dutch national government is responsible for the supply, the companies
and orchestras and the preservation of the national performing arts (Langeveld, 2006). The twelve Dutch
provinces are responsible for the spreading of the supply within their own borders. Municipalities are
responsible for the accommodations, theatres and concert halls (Smithuijsen, 2002). Many places and cities
with no more than 20,000 residents have a multi-cultural centre with an auditorium with a capacity of 300 to 500
seats. Cities and towns are likely to own a theatre with a capacity of 500 to 700 seats and often have a smaller
theatre with a flat floor for small-scale performances and dance performances. The large, and many medium
sized, cities also frequently have a concert hall (Smithuijsen, 2002). Cultural policy provides subsidies for a
variety of settings and is an important source of revenue for theatres (Langeveld, 2006). Besides this
governmental funding, theatres generate incomes through the market. Since the late twentieth century, the
private sector also invested in the sector of performing arts (Langeveld, 2006), these investments include
contributions and corporate sponsorship. This caused a distinction into two types of theatres; theatres in
possession of the municipality and independent theatres (Langeveld, 2006).
2.2.2
Description of theatre visitor groups
Becker (1984) and Knulst (1995) made an attempt to divide the visitors of the performing arts into different
groups (visitor groups), ranging from the ‘accidental passers’ to the ‘core audience’. The most recent
classification of groups of theatre visitors is that of Laermans (2002), in which the particular emphasis lies on
the frequency with which individuals visit a theatre. Laermans (2002) combines the classifications of the
audience of Becker (1984) and Knulst (1995) and comes up with three new audience segments: (1) the core
audience, (2) the interested participants and (3) the occasional visitors. Research by Roose & Waege (2003)
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
14
describes that the core audience individuals visit the performing arts from an intrinsic interest or professional
Involvement and they have a particular preference for unconventional, innovative and socially critical theatre
pieces (Roose & Waege, 2003). Interested participants primarily visit theatres because of a deep love for the
performing arts (Roose & Waege, 2003). They visit theatres in particular because they prefer a night out or
because of the media attention. Occasional visitors are slightly younger and less educated than the other
audience groups. They mainly visit theatres from an extrinsic interest (Roose & Waege, 2003).
From the study of Roose and Waege (2003) it can be concluded that Education level and Age are two
important predictors (positive related) for explaining visitor frequency in the performing arts. Studies of Ngobo
(2005) and Scollen (2008) underpin these results; individuals with an average age between 35 and 55 years
earlier opt for high culture and performing arts than individuals with a lower age. According to a study of de
Haan & Knulst (2000) younger individuals between 16-25 years and elderly over 65 years participate less in
performing arts than the rest of the population. Research by Johnson & Garbarino (1999) also shows that
frequent subscribers to theatres on average are higher educated, which supports the theory of Roose and
Waege (2003). Several other studies (e.g.; Ganzeboom, 1989; de Haan & Knulst, 2000) also indicate that
individuals with higher education more often visit theatres than individuals with a lower education level.
According to several studies (e.g.; de Haan & Knulst, 2000; Ngobo, 2005) women are more likely to choose for
cultural and artistic products than men do. According to Roose & Waege (2003), women highly value the
experiential and escapism element of the theatre, which can be explained in sociological gender role theories
on the subject of emotional experience (Grossman & Wood, 1993). Women are more affected by theatre than
men (Roose & Waege, 2003) and they are more likely to build a relationship with the organization/theatre than
men do (Ngobo, 2005). The availability of a higher income is another aspect that seems a favourable condition
for arts participation (de Haan & Knulst, 2000). The study of Dimaggio & Useem (1978) shows that income has
a positive effect on visiting a theatre, because people with a high income more often visit performing arts than
those with a lower income.
Based on this it is expected that the variables Age, Education Level, Gender (being a female) and
Income are positively related to both Attitudinal and Behavioural Loyalty towards theatres. It is expected that
these are also related to the determinants of Behavioural and Attitudinal Loyalty (the independent variables
within the research). These determinants are described in the next paragraph.
2.3
Determinants of customer loyalty in the performing arts
In contemporary society an important goal for theatres is to attract and retain audiences for the long term,
rather than attracting occasional visitors; this means the creation and retention of loyal customers is highly
valued (Rentschler et al., 2001). For theatres it is important to realize that customer loyalty is a complex
concept and that the sector in which they operate demand an even more complex approach. This complexity is
caused by the fact that it concerns a sector that can be characterized by a product that is assessed on the
basis of the personal values, interests and emotions of the visitors. This makes it important that the marketing
of the theatrical product starts with the expectations, needs and interests of these clients (Hume, Mort & Winzar,
2007).
In this study, the following four determinants are included; Subjective Norms, Involvement,
Relationship with a service worker and Experiential Value. Important to keep in mind is that these are just a few
drivers of customer loyalty, which appear to be important regarding the existing literature on the topic. This
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
15
makes the nature of the research to a great extent explorative; it does not evolve around a search for the truth
but tries to explain a part of customer loyalty by exploring these four concepts. Below the four influential factors
are described in relation to both Behavioural and Attitudinal Loyalty.
2.3.1
Subjective Norms
The literature on the social determinants of participation in the arts mainly revolves around socialization
theories, in which the emphasis lies on the influence of parents and education. In general socialization can be
seen as “a certain learning process in which individuals develop a social identity within and because of
relationships in their direct environment” (Hortulanus & Machielse, 2001, p 9). Both de Jager (in Nagel, 2002)
and Hortulanus and Machielse (2001) make a distinction between primary and secondary socialization and
describe that the primary socialization occurs within the family, prior to the secondary process that starts later
and relates to aspects outside the family circle. Many have neglected the ways in which the individuals’ current
social relationships influence their participation in the sector of performing arts and culture (Upright, 2004).
These contemporary influences by social relationships can be referred to as ‘Subjective Norms’. Ajzen and
Fishbein (in Miniard & Cohen 1983) describe Subjective Norms as the degree to which an individual believes
that people who are important to him/her think he or she should perform a particular behaviour; in this case the
behaviour involves attending performing arts. They describe that superior, peer and subordinate influences are
important determinants in the development of these Subjective Norms. The beliefs of these people, weighted
by the importance one attributes to each of their opinions, will influence one’s behavioural intention (Ajzen &
16
Fishbein in Perloff, 2008).
It is important to integrate this influence of current social relationships in the research on customer
loyalty in the performing arts, as it appears that participation in higher forms of culture (including the performing
arts) varies over the life span and by the fact that individuals do not live, work and play in isolation from their
current social surrounding. In this area Upright (2004) rejects the idea that early socialization (including family
influences and educational attainment) has an enduring influence on cultural behaviour and orientation and
suggests that the social network in the later life also is important in shaping this. He suggests that individuals
take cues from both their environment and social networks in the formation of preferences and that these
preferences accumulate, rather than replace, those formed in earlier phases of life (socialization) (Upright,
2004). Upright (2004) reinforces this statement by highlighting one of the major influential relationships of the
individual on participation in the performing arts, namely the ‘marriage’ or in other words choosing a partner to
life with. It appears that “the arts attendance of many married men and women is predicted as strongly by their
spouse’s educational attainment and arts socialization as by their own” (Upright, 2004, p.141) which means
that spouses can (positively or negatively) effect the individuals’ visiting of a theatre. From this example it can
be said that people who are surrounded by culturally engaged relatives, will visit a theatre more often, which
means that being surrounded by culturally engaged relatives has a positive influence on an individuals’
Behavioural Loyalty.
2.3.2
Involvement
Understanding the impact of Involvement of consumers is important in understanding loyalty towards an
organization and its offerings (Iwasaki & Havitz, 1998; Kyle & Mowen, 2005; Havitz & Dimanche, 1999). Many
researchers have made an attempt to define ‘Involvement’. Most definitions have conceptualized Involvement
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
in terms of ‘personal relevance’ (Kyle, Absher, Norman, Hammitt & Jodice, 2007). In this sense of the word,
Involvement is related to the level of devotion to an activity. Andrews, Durvasula & Akhter (in Hume & Mort,
2008, p. 310) describe Involvement as “an individual, internal state of arousal with intensity, direction and
persistence properties”. Within the leisure industry, Involvement refers to the way individuals think about their
leisure and recreation. Leisure Involvement reflects, “people’s beliefs about their leisure participation including
the importance of an interest in such participation, and symbolic values derived from it” (Havits & Dimance in
Iwasaki & Havitz, 2004, p. 46). The theatre visitors are interested in the performing arts (Colbert, Beauregard, &
Vallé, 1998), in other words: they feel a certain cultural Involvement. Cultural Involvement is an interest in
culture that is invoked by a stimulus, and the degree of importance an individual attaches to cultural
participation (Garber, Muscarella, Bloom, & Spiker, 2000; Havitz & Iwasaki, 2004).
Different studies suggest that Involvement is a multifaceted construct that consists of three
dimensions; attraction, self-expression and centrality (Dimanche, Havitz & Howard, 1991; Havitz & Dimanche,
1997; Mcintyre & Pigram, 1992; Wiley, Shaw & Havitz, 2000; Kyle & Mowen, 2005; Gahwiler & Havitz, 1998;
Iwasaki & Havitz, 2004). The first dimension ‘attraction’ reflects the importance, interest and pleasure caused
by an activity or product (e.g. Kyle et al., 2006; Iwasaky & Havitz, 2004). Self-expression is the expressive
element that is associated with participating in an activity (Kyle et al., 2007) and includes the extent to which an
activity provides opportunities to express the self to others (Kyle et al., 2006). The component ‘centrality’ is
related to specialization and encompasses lifestyle choices and personal investments (financial and social) that
bind an individual to a particular activity (Kyle et al., 2006, 2007; Iwasaky & Havitz, 2004). Some authors
suggest that Involvement counts more components. For instance, ‘identity affirmation’ (Dimanche & Samdahl
1994; Kyle et al., 2007), ‘social bonding’ (Kyle & Chick, 2002, 2004; McIntyre, 1989; McIntyre & Pigram, 1992)
and ‘risk’ (Iwasaky & Havitz, 2004).
Havitz & Howard (1995) consider Involvement as a prolonged process. This may explain why
Gahwiller & Havitz (1998) describe the concept as a means for maintaining subscriptions in leisure-related
organizations, and also in theatres. Subscribers are having a certain degree of Involvement to the activities or
experiences that the leisure-related company provides, in this case the theatre performances or theatre
experiences. Involvement in the performing arts may lead to re-intention to buy theatre tickets (Johnson &
Garbarino, 2001). In this sense Involvement is positively linked to Behavioural Loyalty, which refers to repeated
purchases (Wurtz, 1997), and can be seen as the consumer behaviour in relation to the company or brand, in
this case the theatre (Back & Parks, 2003). The development of loyalty, according to Iwasaki & Havitz (1998)
and Kyle et al. (2006) is a also a process by which individuals first develop a high degree of Involvement in an
activity (performing arts) and thereafter develop commitment towards a brand or organization (a specific
theatre). This commitment can be measured on a brand level (Iwasaki & Havitz, 1998; Iwasaki & Havitz, 2004;
Kyle et al. 2006; Kyle & Mowen, 2005), which can be referred to as Attitudinal Loyalty. It is thus expected that
an individual who is involved in the activity (performing arts) is also a committed visitor of a specific theatre, and
thus Attitudinal Loyal. To be more precise: it is expected that Involvement has a direct relation with both
Behavioural Loyalty and Attitudinal Loyalty.
2.3.3
Relationship with a service worker
Companies within the service industry are characterized by a high rate of utilization of human resources.
Employees within a service organization to a large extent co-determine how services are experienced by
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
17
customers. According to Bove (2000), within the service industry, service is inseparable from the person
providing it. Therefore, attention must be paid to the interaction between customers and service workers within
the service industry (in this study the theatre-industry) in order to understand the dynamic outcomes of such
relationships. According to Hinde (1979) a relationship involves interaction between two individuals who know
each other, which is patterned in time and characterized by some degree of stability in interactions. Integrating
this into the field of this study means a relation between a customer and a service worker occurs when there
are continuous series of interaction between them. Ellis and Beatly (1995) add to this definition of Hinde (1979)
that important features of a customer-service worker relationship are that these interactions also occurred in
the past, and will probably also occur over a comprehensive period of time in the future. It is also important that
both parties know and trust each other.
Many researchers have suggested that a customer – service worker relationship is a potential means
by which a firm can achieve true customer loyalty to the firm (e.g. Barnes, 1995; Bove, 2000; Bove & Johnson,
2006; Crosby, Evans & Cowles, 1990). According to Dick & Basu (1994), true loyalty consists of a high relative
attitude in addition to high repeat purchase behaviour. A strong relationship between a customer and the
theatre employees thus provides both a positive attitude towards the theatre (Attitudinal Loyalty) and repeat
purchases (Behavioural Loyalty).
In describing and researching the customer – service worker relationship in a consumer market
context, the terms ‘quality’, ‘closeness’ and ‘strength’ are used (Bove & Johnson, 2001). Bove & Johnson
(2001) state that the term ‘quality’ can be used when describing the extent of a relationship between a
customer and one or multiple organizations. The term ‘closeness’ can best be applied in a personal context
when describing a romantic, friendship or family relationship (Bove & Johnson, 2001). The last term in relation
to a relationship is ‘strength’, which can describe the magnitude of a relationship between two individuals. This
term is most efficient in describing and studying the consumer – service worker relationships and can be
measured by the level of trust and commitment from a customer perspective. According to Bove & Johnson
(2001, p. 195) “the greater the extent to which trust and commitment are perceived to be present, the stronger
or greater the quality of the relationship”.
From the above-described theory, it can be concluded that both Attitudinal and Behavioural Loyalty are
positively influenced by the strength of the relationship between a theatre visitor and a theatre (service)
employee (Relationship with a service worker). The expectation is that the stronger the consumer – service
worker relationship is, the greater the Attitudinal and Behavioural Loyalty towards the theatre will be.
2.3.4
Experiential Value
Cultural consumption is an experiential type of consumption, which is defined by Hirschman and Holbrook (in
Passebois & Aurier, 2004, p.78) as follows: “the experiential perspective is phenomenological in spirit and
regards consumption as a primarily subjective state of consumptions with a variety of symbolic meanings,
hedonic responses, and aesthetic criteria”. The value of a theatre performance or a theatre visit in general,
results from the relationship between the customer and the product (performance/theatre) and it emerges from
the experience of the consumer (Passebois & Aurier, 2004). It is important that cultural institutions, amongst
others theatres, focus on responding to the several ‘needs’ and ‘motives’ of the ‘clients’ in order to create
engagement and in that way customer loyalty (Pulh, Marteaux & Mencarelli, 2008). This means in order to
create satisfaction, the theatre must provide an Experiential Value to the customer that is compatible to the
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
18
values and motives of the customer in terms of a theatre visit. According to Clary, Snyder and Stukas (in
Swanson, Davis & Zhao, 2008, p. 301) these motives concern the “internal, individual psychological forces that
stimulate and compel people to a behavioural response and provide direction to that response”. When looking
at Experiential Value, it is important to note that “people’s interest in art and culture is taking more varied forms”
(Pulh et al., 2008, p. 4). The performing arts have a non-utilitarian, versatile and sensory character and deliver
a product (performances) that can be called ‘hedonistic’ and is characterized by high levels of Involvement of
visitors. This means that it is not exactly clear what a specific customer wants in return when visiting a theatre
and this is very different for each individual (Hezemans & Jansen, 2008). This altogether makes value creation
a difficult subject for theatres.
In short it can be said that the extent to which the theatre provides the values and responds to what
the theatre visitor is looking for (related to their motives), influences the visitors’ satisfaction and loyalty towards
the theatre (Boorsma, 1998). In this study fives values are nominated, derived from a combination of literature
(Caldwell, 2001; Passebois & Aurier, 2004; Swanson et al., 2008; Pulh et al., 2008; Boorsma, 1998; Roose &
Waege, 2003; Pine & Gilmore, 2005): aesthetic, cognitive, social bonding, entertainment and distinction value
(these are described below). First of all, the aesthetics value is a value that has always been a fundamental
part of cultural consumption. The need for aesthetics is the immediate experienced pleasure, which is
generated by attending a performance/theatre piece, in which the senses of the visitor are stimulated (Caldwell,
2001; Passebois & Aurier, 2004; Swanson et al., 2008; Pulh et al., 2008). It concerns the ability of the theatre
to stimulate the emotions and imagination of the visitor (Boorsma, 1998; Roose & Waege, 2003). In this study
the ‘transcendence value’ (Caldwell, 2001; Passebois & Aurier, 2004) is integrated in this aesthetic value, since
these two values overlap. The transcendence value is about the theatre that delivers a very intense, or even
spiritual night out (Caldwell, 2001, Passebois & Aurier, 2004). The visitor must be able to rise above him- or
herself, which can even result in an extension or change of the consciousness of this individual (Passebois &
Aurier, 2004; Boorsma, 1998). Providing a cognitive value or stimulation concerns the possibility of increasing
the personal and intellectual development of the visitor. In this way a theatre visit can contribute to the personal
enrichment and self-knowledge of the public (Pine & Gilmore, 2005; Passebois & Aurier, 2004; Caldwell, 2001;
Pulh et al., 2008; Swanson et al., 2008). A theatre performance is a good means to provide such a value to
individuals, since it involves intellectual, cultural and artistic experiences which allow visitors to gain a great
deal of knowledge (Boorsma, 1998; Passebois & Aurier, 2004). The social bonding value has to do with the
collective experience of a performance and the feeling of being connected to others (Passebois & Aurier, 2004;
Swanson et al., 2008; Caldwell, 2001). It concerns the by Boorsma (1998) described social needs, which
include, amongst others, the need for social contact and sociability. This value or motive mainly has to do with
the trend from individual forms of consumption towards a preference for collective forms of consumption (Pulh
et al., 2008). Theatres have to recognize the social contact which cultural consumers are looking for; this can
be done by for example putting the spotlight on the social dimension of a theatre visit and try to create a bond
between the visitors and the theatre itself (Pulh et al., 2008). The entertainment value means the theatre is able
to be responsive to the need for hedonistic aspects; in which ‘fun’ and ‘enjoyment’ are important values
(Caldwell, 2001; Swanson et al., 2008; Pine & Gilmore, 2005). Within this study this entertainment value
includes what in some studies is referred to as ‘reduction value’. This reduction value relates to the ability of the
theatre to take the visitor away from his or her daily routine. This refers to the relaxing effects of a performing
arts visit or the theatre as a place where individuals can recharge their battery (Caldwell, 2001; Swanson et al.,
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
19
2008). The last value used in this study is the distinction value which concerns ‘being distinctive from others’ by,
in this case, visiting a theatre performance (Caldwell, 2001; Passebois & Aurier, 2004). Through this distinction,
the individual is capable of giving a certain impression or image of him or herself (Passebois & Aurier, 2004).
Boorsma (1998) describes that this value can respond to a part of the social needs of visitors, in which forms of
art (in this case performing arts) can be a tool for the individual in showing to which group one belongs or wants
to belong (Boorsma, 1998, Caldwell, 2001; Passebois & Aurier, 2004).
From the above-described theory it can be concluded that by responding to the motives and needs of
the customer, which can be seen as the value creation by the theatre, loyalty towards the theatre can be
created. One thing is clear; the more similar the motives of the visitors and the value created by the theatre, the
higher the satisfaction of the individuals and probably the higher the loyalty creation towards the theatre. Within
the existing literature it is not clear what the specific relationship is between customer motives and customer
loyalty (Hezemans & Jansen, 2008) and whether it concerns Attitudinal or Behavioural Loyalty (relevant in this
study) or both, but it is plausible that the satisfaction of the individual with the delivered value influences both
the attitude towards the theatre and the intention to repurchase (Tideswell & Fredline, 2004).
2.4
Conceptual model & Hypotheses
Below the conceptual model of this research is shown. The model consists of four exogenous variables,
Subjective Norms, Involvement, Relationship with a service worker and Experiential Value. In addition, the
model has two endogenous variables, Attitudinal Loyalty and Behavioural Loyalty, which must be approached
sequentially. It is important to apply this sequential approach, whereas a certain complexity is expected in the
area of customer loyalty, looking at the existing literature described in the theoretical chapter and in particular
the innovative view of Ajzen and Fishbein. This means it is expected that there exists a direct effect of the
exogenous variables on Y1 (Attitudinal Loyalty) and Y2 (Behavioural Loyalty). Besides that, it is expected that
the relation of the exogenous variables and Behavioural Loyalty may also be an indirect effect via Y1
(Attitudinal Loyalty), in which Attitudinal Loyalty thus acts as a mediating variable. The variables Age, Education
level, Gender and Income are included in this study as control variables, in order to fulfil the third requirement
(rule) of causality1.
As shown in the introduction, the research question of the study is: ‘To what extent do Subjective Norms,
Involvement, Relationship with a service worker and Experiential Value influence Behavioural Loyalty in the
sector of performing arts (direct effect), and to what extent can this be explained by the intervening effect of
Attitudinal Loyalty (indirect effect)? ’The following hypotheses are used in order to answer this research
question.
1
These are not included in the conceptual model.
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
20
Figure 1; Conceptual model.
Hypothesis 1.a
The concept ‘Subjective
‘
Norms’ has a positive influence on Attitudinal Loyalty.
Hypothesis 1.b
The concept ‘Subjective
‘
Norms’ has a positive influence on Behavioural Loyalty.
Hypothesis 1.c
The concept ‘Subjective
‘
Norms’ has a positive influence on Behavioural Loyalty,
through Attitudinal Loyalty.
Hypothesis 2.a
The concept ‘Involvement’
‘
has a positive influence on Attitudinal Loyalty.
Hypothesis 2.b
The concept ‘Involvement’
‘
has a positive influence on Behavioural Loyalty.
Hypothesis 2.c
The concept ‘Involvement’
‘
has a positive influence on Behavioural Loyalty,
through Attitudinal Loyalty.
Hypothesis 3.a
The concept ‘Relationship with a service worker’ has a positive influence on
Attitudinal Loyalty.
Hypothesis 3.b
The concept ‘Relationship with a service worker’ has a positive influence on
Behavioural Loyalty.
Hypothesis 3.c
The concept
conce ‘Relationship with a service worker’ has a positive influence on
Behavioural Loyalty through Attitudinal Loyalty.
Hypothesis 4.a
The concept ‘Experiential
‘
Value’ has a positive influence on Attitudinal Loyalty.
Hypothesis 4.b
The concept ‘Experiential
‘
Value’ has a positive influence on Behavioural Loyalty.
Hypothesis 4.c
The concept ‘Experiential
‘
Value’ has a positive influence on Behavioural Loyalty,
through Attitudinal Loyalty.
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
21
3.
3.1
Methodology chapter
Research design
This study concerns a quantitative cross-sectional survey study, including nine Dutch theatres (three small-,
three medium- and three large-scale theatres). The visitors of these theatres form the respondents for this
research and were approached to fill in a digital questionnaire. The goal of the measurements is to collect a
body of quantitative data in connection with several variables, which make it possible to examine the
relationships between these variables (Bryman, 2008). The central relationships are those of, ‘Subjective
Norms’, ‘Involvement’, ‘Relationship with a service worker’ and ‘Experiential Value’ with both forms of loyalty
(Attitudinal and Behavioural Loyalty). Besides, this research also focuses on the intervening effect of Attitudinal
Loyalty on the loyal behaviour of an individual. This research is based on the deductive research logic, because
hypotheses derived from theory are examined by means of the results from the quantitative data analyses
(Bryman, 2008). Together, these hypotheses form the conceptual model as shown in Figure 1 (p. 21) and this
study testes whether this model is a good reflection of the reality.
Using common sense it was expected that the determinants of loyalty would differ for the scale of
theatres. Therefore this variable (Scale of Theatre) is included as a control variable. This includes a more
explorative (inductive) part that it is largely based on common sense and is less theoretically underpinned
(Bryman, 2008). For this reason the variable ‘Scale of Theatre’ is not integrated in the conceptual model and no
hypotheses are based on this assumption.
3.2
3.2.1
Data collection
Sampling procedure and response
The population for this study includes basically all Dutch theatre visitors, but this is an impossible number of
individuals to research. Because this study is partly explorative, based on a specific characteristic of a theatre
(the scale), convenience sampling was used (Bryman, 2008). The operational population of the study consists
of the adult theatre visitors (visitors of eighteen years and older) of the selected nine theatres. It was important
to reach as much customers of these nine theatres as possible, to generate knowledge on both loyal and less
loyal customers.
The VSCD made a selection of theatres that would qualify for this research, based on their past
willingness to cooperate in the area of research and their level of enthusiasm towards improvement of their
customer loyalty level. In total 25 theatres received a document from the VSCD, which clearly described the
value of this research for the sector. Thereafter those theatres received an email with an explanation of the
research and a test-link to the digital questionnaire. Cooperation was stimulated by explaining extensively what
the research is about and by creating awareness that the study is useful for both the separate theatres and the
sector as a whole (research report and advice report that will be written for the VSCD). The managers of the
theatres that wanted to cooperate received a link of the questionnaire in NetQ, which they spread among their
customer base, by email or newsletter. This total process of data collection took approximately six weeks. The
questionnaire contains 45 items, which is relatively small compared to the number of variables included.
Respondents could also win a ‘Podium Cadeaukaart’ with a value of 50 Euros, by participating in the research.
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
22
This combined with the procedure described above, resulted in an N of 1286. The absolute and relative
distribution of respondents is shown in table 3.1 and the documents related to the procedure of data collection
can be found in appendix A.
Table 3.1; Respondents nine different theatres
Name theatre
Location
Theater aan de Slinger
Houten
Theater De Blauwe Kei
Veghel
Theater de Willem
Papendrecht
WestlandTheater De Naald
Naaldwijk
Theater de Veste
Delft
Theater de Schalm
Veldhoven
Rotterdamse Schouwburg
Rotterdam
Theater de Meervaart
Amsterdam
Theater de Maaspoort
Venlo
3.2.2
Frequency
291
113
23
186
228
30
45
46
324
Percentage
22,6%
8,8%
1,8%
14,5%
17,7%
2,3%
3,5%
3,6%
25,2%
ICC values
Because nine different theatres collaborated within this research, the data was collected at the level of these
nine groups and not just at the individual level. For this reason it is also possible and relevant to find out the
amount of variance that can be explained by a specific theatre, thus by these nine different groups. The
Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) is a tool to find out the amount of variance that can be explained by this
group membership. By means of the ICC values, it can be determined to what extent the data of this study is
nested. These ICC values are calculated based on the mean scores within and between the theatres, the
average number of individuals per theatre and the number of theatres that are involved (Bliese, 2000). The
ICC1 provides an estimation of the amount of variance in scores on the individual level that can be explained
by the group level. When the scores on group level determine the individual scores, the ICC1 value lies
between .05 and .20 (Bliese, 2000). The ICC2 value assesses the internal consistency reliability of the mean
scores of the group. If this value measures a value over .5, the internal consistency of the mean scores of the
group is reliable (Bliese, 2000).
Table 3.2; ICC values
Behavioural Loyalty
Attitudinal Loyalty
Subjective Norms
Involvement
Relationship with a service worker
Experiential Value
ICC1
.041
.049
.007
.033
.021
.017
ICC2
.860
.880
.518
.830
.752
.708
Results from the One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) are converted into ICC1 and ICC2 values, and visible
in Table 3.2. On the basis of the results, it can be said that the ICC1 values for all variables are smaller
than .05, and therefore insufficient. This makes clear that the data within this study is not strongly nested in
group levels. The scores on group level hardly influence the individual scores of the theatre visitors. The ICC2
values show that the internal consistency of the mean scores of the group on all the variables is reliable (> .5).
These ICC1 and ICC2 values indicate that there will be no problems when executing regression analyses on an
individual level.
3.2.3
Sample characteristics
Describing the sample characteristics (figures can be found in appendix B) is to start by saying that more
women than men participated in the survey. This corresponds to the theoretical chapter, which states clearly
that women are more likely to choose for cultural and artistic products than men do, because they highly value
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
23
the performing arts and are more affected by theatre (e.g., de Haan & Knulst, 2000; Ngobo, 2005, Waege &
Roose, 2003). This can be an explanation for the fact that more women are present in the databases of
theatres to which the questionnaire was distributed, which in turn explains the majority of women that
participated in the survey. Besides that, there exists a slight majority of women in the Dutch population
(www.cbs.nl, 12 June 2011). Within this study the variable Age is measured by an open-ended question, which
resulted in a continuous variable. This makes it possible to calculate the average age of the respondents in the
sample; it ranges from 18 to 90 years old, with an average age of 48 years. To give this variable more
dimensions and make it easier to interpret, it is decided to classify the data on this variable into six different
categories, derived from a research by Roose and Waege (2003). This classification shows that the majority of
the respondents are in the age category of ‘45 to 54 years old’. This is consistent with the CBS data on the total
Dutch population (www.cbs.nl, June 12th 2011). The categories ‘18 to 24 years old’ and ‘65 years and older’,
are the least represented in the sample. This can be traced back to the study of de Haan & Knulst (2000) which
confirms that these age groups participate less in the performing arts than the rest of the population. Also these
figures are consistent with the data of the CBS, which shows that the minority of the Dutch population is
younger than 20 years old or above the age of 80 (www.cbs.nl, June 12th 2011). Besides that, more than half
of the respondents are in the possession of an HBO or University degree, while the category of Primary
Education is least represented in the sample. This is in line with the theoretical expectation that theatre visitors
are on average higher educated individuals (Johnson & Garbarino 2001; Roose and Waege 2003; Ganzeboom,
1989; de Haan & Knulst, 2000). This does not exactly match the data on the Dutch population, which indicates
the majority of the Dutch population has a HAVO/VWO/MBO diploma (www.cbs.nl, June 12th 2011). More than
half of the respondents also indicate to have a higher than average family income. This is no surprising
outcome since the availability of a higher income is a favourable condition for arts participation (de Haan &
Knulst, 2000; Dimaggio & Useem, 1978). This income level can also be related to the relatively high average
education level of the respondents. Worth mentioning is that only 20.2 percent of the respondents refused to
answer (‘no answer’) this privacy-sensitive question, this is probably due to the abstract and not too personal
formulation of it.
Since the sample characteristics largely correspond with the characteristics of the theatre visitors as described
in the theory chapter, one can speak of a more or less representative sample, representative for the Dutch
theatre population. The data is not completely consistent with the CBS figures about the Dutch population
(Education level) and can therefore not be regarded as a representative sample of the total Dutch population.
3.3
Operationalization of central concepts
This paragraph discusses how the central concepts and background characteristics are operationalized in this
study in order to statistically measure them. In appendix C the items within the scales and the average scores
on these items are shown. This paragraph also looks at the quality of the scales found in this research, by
performing both a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and reliability analysis. PCA analysis can verify
whether the theoretical scales are reflected in the data of the study (Van Knippenberg et al., 1994). A first step
is to check whether the data meets two conditions, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value should be at least .6
and the Bartlett's test of Sphericity must demonstrate a significant value (p < .05) (Pallant, 2007). This
appeared to be the case for all scales. When the number of components that result is set, rotation of the factor
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
24
analysis is carried out (Varimax and Oblimin) in order to make it possible to interpret the components. The
reliability of the scales is checked by means of a reliability analysis. According to the measure of reliability, the
Cronbach's Alpha (α), the internal consistency of the items forming a (sub) scale is analyzed. This value ranges
from .00 (no correlation between the items) to 1.00 (maximum consistency between the items) (Baarda, de
Goede & van Dijkum, 2003). A scale with a Cronbach's Alpha higher than 0.70, is evaluated as ‘good reliable’,
between .60 and .70 as ‘sufficiently reliable’, and below .60 as ‘ not reliable’ (COTAN rules, Van Assen, 2010).
To measure the extent to which the individual items contribute to the Cronbach's Alpha, the Corrected Item
Total Correlation (r should be higher than. 30) and Cronbach's Alpha if item deleted scores (should be higher
than the Cronbach's Alpha value) are checked.
3.3.1
Customer Loyalty
Within this research a distinction is made between two dimensions of loyalty, Attitudinal and Behaviour Loyalty,
which are both characterized by several dimensions. Havitz and Howard (1995) indicate that 'frequency' and
'proportioning of participation’ prove to be two primary aspects to measure Behavioural Loyalty. In order to
keep this study manageable and generate reliable results (avoid biases by too long questionnaire), this study
measures only the frequency aspect by an open-ended question.
Attitudinal Loyalty consists of several layers; the affective, cognitive and conative dimension (Oliver,
1999). Back and Parks (2003) studied this concept within the hospitality sector by combining different
statements that often recur in the literature on the topic of Attitudinal Loyalty in general. Their scale is in line
with the three theoretical concepts and can be easily adapted to the focus of this study. Important to note is the
fact that the scale of Back and Parks (2003) involves only nine items (see Appendix C1), which means it is
relatively compact comparing it to other scales for measuring Attitudinal Loyalty (e.g. Ball, 2004). An example
of the items measuring Attitudinal loyalty is ‘Theatre X provides me superior service quality as compared to any
other theatre’. This scale is used within this study, measured along a five point Likert-type scale, ranging from
‘strongly disagree’ (1) to ‘strongly agree’ (5).
To test if the nine items of this study revealed the same three constructs of Attitudinal Loyalty as the
scale of Back and Parks (2003), a Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was performed (results can be found
in Appendix C1). Contrary to the expectation, the results revealed a two-factor solution. After rotation, the
Oblimin FA showed a clear grouping of variables; all items that include the influence of third parties load on the
first factor, while all items without this influence are part of the second factor. It is chosen to not integrate these
separate constructs in further analyses, because this analysis does not provide the underlying theoretical
concepts. This means only the reliability of the total scale is checked; which gives a Cronbach's Alpha of .889
(reliable) and all nine items appeared to contribute sufficiently to this reliability. Attitudinal Loyalty will be used in
the analyses as an aggregated quantity, and is determined as the average of the nine item scores.
3.3.2
Subjective Norms
A global measure of the concept of Subjective Norms is asking respondents “to rate the extent to which
important others would approve or disapprove of their performing a given behaviour” (Ajzen, 1991, p.195). It is
important to not only integrate this approach in this study because it involves the visiting of a theatre and not a
strongly moral-related aspect like ‘using drugs’ or ‘drinking alcohol’ (usual context of this approach). There is no
existing scale that clearly measures the influence of relevant others on attending performing arts, for this
reason a scale of Cunningham and Kwon (2003) is used (related to the visiting of a hockey event). This scale
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
25
combines the approve/disapprove approach with what are called ‘descriptive norms’, which means, if important
others themselves perform the particular behaviour (Ajzen, 1991). A minor adjustment is made because
Cunningham and Kwon (2003) solely mention ‘friends’ and ‘family’, and based on the theory of Upright (2004)
and common sense, the influences of the partner and colleagues are also included. An example of the items
measuring
Subjective
Norms
is
‘Visiting
theatre
X
with
people
close
to
me
(e.g.
friends/family/colleagues/partner) would be something I would like to do’. This concept includes four items that
are measured along a five point Likert-type scale, ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ (1) to ‘strongly agree’ (5),
and can be found in Appendix C2.
The reliability analysis (Appendix C2) of the scale Subjective Norms with all four items gives a
Cronbach's Alpha of 0.793 and the Corrected Item Total Correlations are all higher than .3. The Alpha If Item
Deleted loads are lower than the Cronbach's Alpha with exception of the item ‘People close to me (e.g.,
friends/family/colleagues/partner) are likely to visit the theatre this season’. Despite this violation, this item will
not be removed from the scale. This item is able to measure an important part of the concept Subjective Norms,
namely the impact of the behaviour of people close to the individual (important others). Considering this, it can
be said that scale Subjective Norms as a whole is reliable within this dataset and can be included in further
analyses. Subjective Norms will be used in the analysis as an aggregated quantity, and is determined as the
average of the four item scores.
3.3.3
Involvement
Involvement is measured by making use of a multifaceted construct which consists of three dimensions;
attraction, self-expression and centrality (Dimanche, Havitz & Howard, 1991; Havitz & Dimanche, 1997;
Mcintyre & Pigram, 1992; Wiley, Shaw & Havitz, 2000; Kyle & Mowen, 2005; Gahwiler & Havitz, 1998; Iwasaki
& Havitz, 2004). In order to measure Involvement, the validated Modified Involvement Scale (MIS) (Kyle et al.,
2007) was used. The original MIS consists of 15 items developed to measure five dimensions of Involvement.
This study only uses three dimensions and therefore consists of nine items. An example of the items measuring
Involvement is ‘Visiting the theatre is one of the most enjoyable things I do’. This concept is measured along a
five point Likert-type scale, ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ (1) to ‘strongly agree’ (5) (Appendix C3).
The Factor Analysis (FA) of Attitudinal Loyalty shows two components instead of three. Based on the
formula, number of items divided by three (Van Assen, 2010), it appears that a number of three components is
also allowed. Using a fixed number of three factors in the Oblimin FA is most suitable for the three concepts of
the MIS as it shows only one violation of the simple structure. This violation concerns the item ‘When I visit the
theatre others see me the way I want them to see me’, which loads on both components two (identity
expression) and three (centrality). It is chosen to integrate this item in the ‘identity expression’ component,
because of the higher factor loading and the fact this is more consistent with the theoretical findings. The scale
of the ‘MIS’ as a whole is reliable (α .898), and all nine items contribute to this reliability. Three reliability
analyses of the underlying theoretical constructs show that ‘centrality’ (α .862) and ‘attraction’ (α .851) are both
reliable subscales. However, within the construct 'identity expression' (α .841) one of the rules of reliability is
violated; the Alpha If Item Deleted of ‘When I visit the theatre others see me the way I want them to see me’ is
higher than the Cronbach's Alpha. Because only one of the two rules of reliability is violated it is decided to not
remove this item from the scale. This means that all three constructs can be included as separate variables in
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
26
further analyses. Involvement will be used in the analyses as an aggregated quantity, and is determined as the
average of the nine item scores.
3.3.2
Relationship with a service worker
According to Bove and Smith (2006) the Relationship with a service worker can be measured best by
examining the strength of this relationship. The relationship strength is composed of two dimensions; trust and
commitment (Bove and Johnson, 2001a; Bove and Smith, 2006). Out of several sources, Bove & Smith (2006)
created a reliable and valid scale, but not all items can be related to a theatre visit, and therefore these are not
included in this study. Also the five-item scale for commitment is created by Bove & Smith (2006) out of several
sources, and is reduced to three items within this study. For measuring this concept a six point Likert-type scale
is used, because it is likely that some respondents do not experience a bond/relation with employees of the
theatre they visit (‘not applicable’ = 6), which can be found in Appendix C4. An example of the items measuring
Relationship with a service worker is ‘The service worker of Theatre X approaches her/his job with
professionalism and dedication’.
The Factor Analysis (FA) of Attitudinal Loyalty shows two components, consistent with the theory.
From the Oblimin FA it becomes clear that the underlying ‘commitment’ and ‘trust’ dimensions of Relationship
with a service worker are not found. For this reason it is chosen to not integrate these separate constructs in
further analyses. This means only the reliability of the total scale will be checked. The reliability analysis gives a
Cronbach's Alpha of 0.882 (reliable) and the Corrected Item Total Correlations are all higher than 0.3. Looking
at the Alpha If Item Deleted loads, it becomes clear that for the items ‘My continued association with this
service worker of Theatre X is important to me’ and ‘I am very committed to this service worker of Theatre X’,
these are higher than the Cronbach’s Alpha. Because these two items violate only one of the two rules of
reliability, it is chosen to retain these within the scale. Relationship with a service worker will be used in the
analysis as an aggregated quantity, and is determined as the average of the five item scores.
3.3.3
Experiential Value
There is no existing scale for measuring Experiential Value as it is used in this study. Based on several sources
(Caldwell, 2001; Passebois & Aurier, 2004; Swanson et al., 2008; Pulh et al., 2008; Boorsma, 1998; Roose &
Waege, 2003; Pine & Gilmore, 2005) it was decided to create an explorative scale including four values:
aesthetic value, cognitive value, social bonding value and entertainment value2. The respondents were asked
to indicate the extent to which they think a certain value is represented in the theatre they visit. This concept
includes 12 questions (three of each value) and is measured by the use of a five point Likert-type scale,
ranging from ‘strongly agree’ (1) to ‘strongly disagree’ (5), visible in Appendix C5. An example of the items
measuring Experiential Value is ‘Visiting Theatre X helps me to escape from the grind of everyday life’.
The Factor Analysis (FA) of Experiential Value shows three components, which is not consistent with
the created four dimensions of this concept. After rotation, both the Varimax FA and Oblimin FA, show that in
particular the items relating to ‘social bonding’ are responsible for this result. For this reason it was decided to
remove the items of this construct and again execute a Rotated FA. This is important to assure the generation
of knowledge on the concept Experiential Value and being able to find out the effect of the underlying
2
The ‘distinction value’ is excluded from this study, as it overlaps with the construct ‘identity expression’ within the scale of
Involvement.
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
27
constructs separately. The second Oblimin FA shows the three expected factors, 'aesthetics', 'entertainment'
and 'cognitive', all three without deviations. It appears to be a clear and well-informed decision to remove the
‘social bonding’ items from this scale and in that way from further analyses. The reliability analysis for the scale
of Experiential Value is performed with nine instead of the original twelve items. This scale as a whole is
reliable (α of 0.849). There only exists a very small deviation of the Cronbach’s Alpha If Item Deleted within the
item ‘Visiting Theatre X helps me to escape from the grind of everyday life’, but this item will not be removed
from this scale. Also the reliability of the remaining three theoretical constructs is analyzed. It appears that the
'aesthetics' and 'cognitive' constructs are both reliable. Within the ‘entertainment’ construct the item ‘Visiting
Theatre X helps me to escape from the grind of everyday life’ has an excessive load on the 'Alpha if Item
Deleted', despite this violation it is decided to retain this item within the scale. Experiential Value will be used in
the analysis as aggregate quantity, and is determined as the average of the nine item scores.
3.3.4
Background variables (control variables)
Besides questions related to the central concepts, the questionnaire also includes items related to the
background characteristics of the theatre visitors. Background variables are included in this study to meet the
third criterion of causality, which assumes that no other variables cause the relationship between the
determinants (X) and customer loyalty (Y) (Segers, 2002). The background variables are included in this study
to assure there exists no spuriousness within the model, this means they function as control variables. This
group of control variables consists of a manageable number (four) of socio-demographic characteristics;
Income, Age, Gender and Education Level.
With respect to the item Age, within this study it is chosen to let the respondents fill in their own age
because in this way the most reliable average age can be calculated. A for this study clear scale of Education
Level is found in a study by Van den Broek et al. (2005), who make a distinction between Primary Education,
Vmbo (Lbo / Mavo), Havo / Vwo / Mbo and Hbo / University. Education is used in this study as a continuous
variable. Within this study, the scale of Van den Broek et al. (2005) was slightly adjusted, as there lays an
opportunity in the splitting up of the last scale, including HBO and University, into two separate scales. This is
interesting because visiting a theatre is a form of high culture. The last control item ‘Income’ might be
confronting for people, for this reason it was chosen to display the average/modal family income in the
Netherlands, which lies around 1900 Euros net per month. The respondents were asked if they are willing to
indicate their net household income per month, by choosing between the following four response categories;
‘below modal’, ‘modal’, ‘above modal’ or ‘no answer’. This probably increased the reliability of this item.
Eventually, 79.8 percent of the respondents answered this question (1026 respondents). Besides these
background characteristics, also the scale of the theatre (Scale of Theatre) is added as a control variable in this
study.
3.4 Statistical analyses
The analysis process of this research consists of three parts, namely the descriptive, explanatory and
additional analyses that are subsequently discussed in this paragraph.
The descriptive part is the first step in the process and contains descriptive statistics like the means, standard
deviations and correlations of the core variables and the control variables. The data are first of all checked on
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
28
missing values, normality and outliers, by looking at the descriptives table in SPSS. The correlation matrix
shows the mean scores (z-scores), standard deviations and bivariate correlations (relations) of all variables
used in this study, which together give a fast preliminary view on patterns in the collected data (Hinkle,
Wiersma, Jurs, 2003). According to Hinkle, Wiersma and Jurs (2003), the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) is
an indicator that describes the extent (strength and direction) to which two variables are related. The absolute
r-value represents the magnitude of the relationship (Hinkle, Wiersma, Jurs, 2003). According to Pallant (2007)
the correlation between two variables is named ‘small’ when the correlation coefficient is .30 or lower, ‘medium’
when the correlation coefficient is between .30 and .50 and ‘high’ when this coefficient has a value of .50 or
higher. Correlation coefficients of .80 and higher show that there may exist multicolliniarity between the
variables, which means that two or more independent variables are highly correlated (linear relationship) and
probably measure the same underlying construct. This phenomenon is checked by the VIF and Tolerance
value, displayed in the regression analyses. Tolerance values below .10 and VIF values above 10 show that
there exists multicolliniarity between the variables (Pallant, 2007). Based on these tools it appears that there
are no variables within this study that measure the same concept and in that way damage the results of the
regression analyses.
The Pearson r-value indicates whether there exists a linear relationship between two variables, but it is not a
suitable measurement tool for describing these linear relationships (Hinkle, Wiersma, Jurs, 2003). In order to
test the hypotheses drawn up in this study3, it was important to determine the relationship between the different
variables by means of several hierarchical multiple regression analyses, these form the explanatory analyses.
These analyses are (amongst others) tools to examine which determinants exert the largest effect on the two
types of loyalty. Within these analyses not only the theoretical variables, but also the control variables were
included as a predictor of the model, in order to meet the third criterion of causality. Two hierarchical multiple
regression analyses are carried out: one with Attitudinal Loyalty as the dependent variable, and one with
Behavioural Loyalty as the dependent variable. First of all, it was checked whether the model as a whole is
significant, before and after adding the control variables, by studying the significance value (sig. < .05) (Pallant,
2007). To examine what proportion the determinants explain of the dependent variable (Attitudinal or
Behavioural Loyalty), the proportion of explained variance (R-square) is used (Pallant, 2007). It is also studied
if one of the two models (with and without the control variables) explains more variance, by looking at the Rsquare Change (Pallant, 2007). The strength and direction of the relationship between the theoretical variables
and the two forms of loyalty is determined by the standardized regression coefficients (β) (Pallant, 2007). The
next step revolves around the mediating variable within this study, ‘Attitudinal Loyalty’. A mediating variable
seeks to identify and explain the relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable via a
mediator variable (Baron & Kenny, 1986). In the conceptual model it is assumed that the independent variables
(e.g.; Involvement) influence Attitudinal Loyalty (mediator variable), which in turn influences Behavioural Loyalty
(dependent variable) (Baron & Kenny, 1986). By means of the unstandardized coefficients and standard errors
of the independent variables on the mediator (Attitudinal Loyalty), and the mediator on y (Behavioural Loyalty)
(from the hierarchical multiple regression models), the significance of the mediating effects is calculated. This is
done using the Sobel-test. An important condition for calculating this mediating effect is that both separate
(direct) effects must be significant (Baron & Kenny, 1986). The concluding step within these explanatory
3
Important in this context; the basic requirements for regression analysis are met within this study (Pallant, 2007).
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
29
analyses is the visualization of the research model, including the Beta coefficients, the p-values and the
correlations between the variables.
Within this research, also a number of additional analyses are executed. These do not contribute to the testing
of the hypotheses and for that reason these are described in a separate chapter (chapter 5). This chapter
includes a description of the analyses that are used and will thereafter describe the results of these analyses.
These include the calculation of the path model with a decomposition of the correlations, an ANOVA (Scale of
Theatre), a T-test (Gender) and regression analyses on a disaggregated level.
30
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
4.
Results
Sometimes the employees ask me
‘are you here again?’
I think this says a lot about my involvement
with the theatre and its staff.
Visitor – Theater de Meervaart
4.1
Correlation Analysis
The outcome of the correlation analysis, visible in Table 4.1 (next page), shows that the theoretical variables
within this study are all positively correlated with each other, with exception of the pair Subjective Norms and
Behavioural Loyalty. The highest significant correlation between the six theoretical variables exists between
Involvement and Experiential Value (r = .500, p < .001). The lowest significant correlation is found between
Behavioural Loyalty and Experiential Value (r = .066, p < .05). Eye-catching when comparing the outcome of
the correlation analysis with the pre-established expectations is that Attitudinal Loyalty has relatively high
correlations with all the theoretical variables, compared to the correlation between these variables and
Behavioural Loyalty. Also the control variables and two dummy-variables concerning the scale of the theatre
are included in this correlation matrix (Small-scale theatres and Medium-scale theatres, with Large-scale
theatres as the reference group). It appears that not all of these control variables are significantly correlated
with the core variables. Age, Education level and Gender are the three control variables that maintain the most
relations with the core variables, however these are all weak correlations. Interesting is that the variable ‘Smallscale theatre’ has a positive but relatively small correlation with Attitudinal Loyalty and Relationship with a
service worker. The variable ‘Medium-scale theatre’ also has a positive correlation with Attitudinal Loyalty, but
an even smaller one. This suggests that small-scale theatre visitors have a higher level of Attitudinal Loyalty
towards a specific theatre than visitors of medium- and large-scale theatres. However, it is difficult to make
such statements only based on correlations, as both the scale of the theatre and the other background
variables are no continuous quantities. Although not all background variables correlate with the theoretical
variables in the conceptual model, they will be included in further analyses because they still can provide
interesting information.
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
31
Table 4.1 Correlation Matrix
1. Attitudinal Loyalty (a)
M
3.87
SD
0.70
2. Behavioural Loyalty
5.82
5.56
3. Subjective Norms (a)
4.42
0.70
4. Involvement (a)
3.23
0.80
5. Relationship (a)
3.27
0.91
6. Experiential Value (a)
3.96
0.59
7. Small-scale theatres (b)
0.33
0.47
8. Medium-scale theatres (b)
0.35
0.48
9. Woman (c)
0.68
0.47
10. Below modal (d)
0.13
0.33
11. Modal (d)
0.23
0.42
12. Education level (e)
3.58
0.92
13. Age
48.44
12.56
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
1.
Corr.
Sig.
Corr.
Sig.
Corr.
Sig.
Corr.
Sig.
Corr.
Sig.
Corr.
Sig.
Corr.
Sig.
Corr.
Sig.
Corr.
Sig.
Corr.
Sig.
Corr.
Sig.
Corr.
Sig.
Corr.
Sig.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
1.
.240
.000
.438
.000
.347
.000
.464
.000
.438
.000
.136
.000
.055
.049
.049
.082
.001
.963
.029
.354
-.085
.002
.123
.000
1.
.019
.505
.203
.000
.213
.000
.066
.017
.020
.478
-.015
.589
-.092
.001
-.040
.202
-.051
.105
.070
.011
.219
.000
1.
.340
.000
.276
.000
.463
.000
.017
.545
.033
.234
.124
.000
.030
.338
-.003
.914
-.009
.736
-.118
.000
Min. score 1, max. score 5
Reference: Large-scale theatres
Men = 0, Woman = 1
Reference: Above modal
Education level (1. Primary education, 2. Vmbo (lbo/mavo), 3. Havo, vwo, mbo , 4. Hbo and 5. University)
1.
.462
.000
.500
.000
.023
.414
.006
.816
.065
.020
.104
.001
.080
.010
-.118
.000
.094
.001
1.
.421
.000
.111
.001
-.046
.188
-.034
.335
.058
.139
.008
.843
-.171
.000
.151
.000
1.
.054
.053
-.046
.096
.125
.000
.046
.142
.030
.344
-.046
.099
.024
.388
1.
-.512
.000
.018
.517
-.060
.055
.012
.702
.055
.048
.048
.086
1.
.013
.650
.008
.795
-.029
.357
-.040
.154
-.061
.029
1.
.124
.000
.166
.000
-.133
.000
-.193
.000
1.
-.209
.000
-.174
.000
-.112
.000
1.
-.275
.000
-.065
.037
1.
-.119
.000
1.
4.2
Regression analysis
4.2.1
The influence of the core variables on Attitudinal Loyalty.
In order to test hypotheses 1a, 2a, 3a and 4a, a hierarchical multiple regression analysis (Table 4.2) is
executed. Model 1 includes the regression analysis of Attitudinal Loyalty on the four core predictors, Subjective
Norms, Involvement, Relationship with a service worker and Experiential Value. This model appears to be
significant, [F (4, 656) = 85.58 p < .001] and explains 34.3 percent of the variance of Attitudinal Loyalty. The
other 65.7 percent of the variance remains unexplained by means of this model. By adding the control variables
(Age, Education Level, Gender: Women, Income: Below Modal, Income: Modal, Small-scale theatres and
Medium-scale theatres) in the second model a significant larger proportion of the variance is explained; 3.8
percent more to be precise (R Square Change) and this model as a whole is also significant [F (11,649) =
36.268, p < .001)].
When the effects of the core variables on Attitudinal Loyalty in model 1 are compared with those of the
second model this first of all shows that Involvement is in both cases not significant; which means no further
statements can be made regarding this concept. The effect of Subjective Norms on Attitudinal Loyalty slightly
increases after adding the control variables to the model (from .264 to .278), just as the effect of Experiential
Value (from .173 to .178). The effect of Relationship with a service worker slightly decreases (from .304
to .274). Overall, it can be argued that these changes are very small, so no spuriousness of the control
variables is found. For this reason it is chosen to work with the standardized coefficients (β-values) of the
second model (pure effects).
Table 4.2: Regression analysis on dependent variable Attitudinal Loyalty
Model 1
Variable
b
β
P (sig)
Subjective Norms
.261
.264
.000
Involvement
.026
.031
.429
Relationship with a service worker
.230
.304
.000
Experiential Value
.201
.173
.000
Gender: Woman
Age
Education Level
Income: Below Modal
Income: Modal
Small-scale Theatres
Medium-scale Theatres
R square
F
R square change
F change
Model 2
b
.275
.016
.208
.207
.019
.006
-.005
-.019
.041
.243
.230
.343
85.581
.343
85.581
.000
.000
β
.278
.019
.274
.178
.013
.112
-.007
-.009
.025
.166
.159
.381
36.268
.038
5.659
P (sig)
.000
.625
.000
.000
.701
.001
.837
.788
.469
.000
.000
.000
.000
From the hierarchical multiple regression analysis (model 2, Table 4.2), it becomes clear that the independent
variable Subjective Norms has a direct effect on the (mediating) variable Attitudinal Loyalty. According to these
findings hypothesis 1a, Subjective Norms has a positive influence on Attitudinal Loyalty, can be confirmed. The
result of this regression analysis shows in the second model a significant and positive Beta coefficient (β = .278,
p < .001). This indicates that the more an individual is supported by his/her ‘important others’ to visit a theatre
or visits a theatre with these ‘important others’, the higher the level of Attitudinal Loyalty of this individual is
towards a theatre. These important persons in the life of an individual appear to play a significant role in
determining the Attitudinal Loyalty level of this individual.
Hypotheses 2a, Involvement has a positive influence on Attitudinal Loyalty, cannot be confirmed. The
direct effect of Involvement on the (mediating) variable Attitudinal Loyalty is not significant in the second model,
so no further statements can be made about this effect.
The direct effect of Relationship with a service worker on the (mediating) variable Attitudinal Loyalty was
found to be positive and significant (β = .274, p < .001). From this it can be concluded that the more an
individual feels connected with a service worker of a specific theatre, the higher his or her level of Attitudinal
Loyalty is towards a specific theatre. Hypothesis 3a, Relationship with a service worker has a positive influence
on Attitudinal Loyalty, can thus be confirmed.
Hypothesis 4a suggest that Experiential Value has a positive effect on the (mediating) variable Attitudinal
Loyalty. The result of the hierarchical multiple regression analysis shows that the direct effect of Experiential
Value on Attitudinal Loyalty is indeed positive and significant (β = .178, p < .001). So, the more experience
value a theatre delivers, the more positive the attitude of the visitors is towards this theatre. Therefore,
hypothesis 4a, Experiential Value has a positive influence on Attitudinal Loyalty, can be confirmed.
Worth mentioning is that the independent variable Subjective Norms has the largest significant (positive) effect
(β = .278, p < .001). This means this variable makes the strongest unique contribution to explaining Attitudinal
Loyalty followed by the effects of Relationship with a service worker (β = .274, p < .001) and Experiential Value
(β = .178, p < .001). Involvement appears to have no significant contribution in explaining Attitudinal Loyalty.
Besides, most of the control variables have no significant impact on Attitudinal Loyalty, as shown in Table 4.2.
However, the variable Age has a significant positive effect (β = .112, p. < .01), which means the older an
individual is, the higher his or her level of Attitudinal Loyalty towards a theatre is. Also the two dummy variables
concerning the scale of the theatre have a positive effect on Attitudinal Loyalty. People who visit medium-scale
theatres have a slightly higher level of Attitudinal Loyalty (β = .159, p < .001) and visitors of small-scale
theatres have the highest level of Attitudinal Loyalty (β = .169, p < .001). This indicates that, compared with the
reference group large-scale theatres, visitors of a small-scale theatres are more Attitudinal Loyal towards a
specific theatre.
4.2.2
The influence of the core variables on Behavioural Loyalty.
In order to test hypotheses 1b, 2b, 3b and 4b another hierarchical multiple regression analysis is carried out,
which also results into two models. Model 1 includes the regression analysis of Behavioural Loyalty on the four
core predictors and the (mediating) variable Attitudinal Loyalty. This model appears to be significant, [F (5, 660)
= 15.073 p < .001] and explains 10.3 percent of the variance in Behavioural Loyalty. By adding the control
variables, Model 2 explains 14.9 percent of the variance, which is a significant larger proportion of the variance;
4.6 percent more to be precise (R Square Change) and the model as a whole is also significant [F (12,660) =
9.470 p < .001)].
When the effects of the core variables on Behavioural Loyalty in model 1 are compared to those of the
second model (Table 4.3), it appears that the core variables and Attitudinal Loyalty all have a significant effect.
The effect of Relationship with a service worker slightly decreases by adding the control variables in the model
just as the variables Experiential Value and Attitudinal Loyalty. The effect of Involvement and Subjective Norms
both show the opposite and increase slightly. Overall, it can be argued that these changes are very small,
which means almost no spuriousness is found. For this reason it is chosen to work with the standardized
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
34
coefficients (β -value) of the second model (pure effects).
Table 4.3: Regression analysis on dependent variable Behavioural Loyalty
Model 1
Variable
b
β
P (sig)
Subjective Norms
-.953
-.119
.007
Involvement
1.172
.169
.000
Relationship with a service worker
.650
.106
.019
Experiential Value
-1.024
-.109
.022
Attitudinal Loyalty
1.874
.232
.000
Gender: Woman
Age
Education Level
Income: Below Modal
Income: Modal
Small-scale Theatres
Medium-scale Theatres
R square
F
R square change
F change
Model 2
b
-.703
1.186
.639
-1.042
1.794
-.367
.070
.776
-.334
-.298
-.629
-.450
.103
15.073
.103
15.073
.000
.000
β
-.088
.171
.104
-.111
.222
-.031
.158
.128
-.020
-.023
-.053
-.038
.149
9.470
.046
5.006
P (sig)
.046
.000
.022
.018
.000
.423
.000
.002
.613
.576
.219
.372
.000
.000
The results show that the direct effect of Subjective Norms on the variable Behavioural Loyalty is significant (β
= -.088, p < .05). This indicates that individuals who are surrounded by cultural engaged relatives, that also visit
the theatre and approve the theatre visits of this individual, negatively affect the level of Behavioural Loyalty of
this individual. Therefore hypothesis 1b, Subjective Norms has a positive influence on Behavioural Loyalty, is
rejected.
From this analysis it becomes clear that Involvement has a direct effect on the variable Behavioural
Loyalty. According to these findings hypothesis 2b, Involvement has a positive influence on Behavioural Loyalty,
can be confirmed. In the second model a significant positive Beta coefficient (β = .171, p < .001) is visible.
From this analysis it can be concluded that the more an individual is involved in the performing arts, the more
often this individual visits a theatre.
Hypothesis 3b suggests that Relationship with a service worker has a positive effect on Behavioural
Loyalty. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis shows that the direct effect of Relationship with a service
worker on Behavioural Loyalty is indeed a positive effect (β = .104, p < .05). From this it can be concluded that
the more an individual feels connected with a service worker of a specific theatre, the higher the level of
Behavioural Loyalty and thus the more often this individual visits this specific theatre. Therefore, hypothesis 3b,
Relationship with a service worker has a positive influence on Behavioural Loyalty, can be confirmed
Hypothesis 4a, Experiential Value has a positive influence on Behavioural Loyalty, is rejected. The
direct effect of Experiential Value on Behavioural Loyalty is significant, but negative (β = -.111, p < .05). This
result indicates that when a theatre offers a high degree of Experiential Value, this relates negatively to the
number of visits individuals bring to this particular theatre. In simple words: individuals visit less theatre
performances at a theatre that is characterized by a high degree of Experiential Value.
Worth mentioning is that most of the control variables have also no significant impact on Behavioural Loyalty,
as shown in Table 5.3. The variable Age, however shows a positive effect (β = .158, p < .001), which means
that the older someone is, the more often he or she visits a theatre. From this analysis it also appears that the
Education Level has a positive effect on Behavioural Loyalty (β = .128, p < .01). This means that individuals
with a higher level of education, also have a higher level of Behavioural Loyalty, and thus more often visit a
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
35
theatre. These empirical findings are in line with the theoretical findings on the characteristics of theatre visitors,
as described in the theory chapter. Besides, this analysis shows that the independent variable Attitudinal
Loyalty has the largest significant (positive) effect (β = .222, p < .001), which indicates that Attitudinal Loyalty is
strongest unique contributor to the level of Behavioural Loyalty.
4.3
The mediation effect of Attitudinal Loyalty
Moreover, a mediation effect is examined in order to test hypotheses 1c, 2c, 3c and 4c. These hypotheses
indicate that Attitudinal loyalty mediates the effect of the four core variables on the measure of Behavioural
Loyalty. Based on the regression analyses it appears that there is no significant direct effect between
Involvement and Attitudinal loyalty (violation of condition for calculating mediation effect). Therefore, hypothesis
2c, Involvement has a positive influence on Behavioural Loyalty, through Attitudinal Loyalty, can already be
rejected.
After finding strong support for hypotheses 1a and 1b, concerning Subjective Norms, now hypothesis 1c
will be tested. This hypothesis states that Attitudinal Loyalty mediates the positive relationship between
Subjective Norms and Behavioural Loyalty. Preliminary analyses show that all direct effects are proven to be
significant, which indicates partial mediation. The Sobel-test shows this mediation is significant (z-value 4.0858,
p < .001), which indicates that Subjective Norms has a positive influence on Behavioural Loyalty through
Attitudinal Loyalty and thus hypothesis 1c can be confirmed.
Hypothesis 3c predicts that the effect of Relationship with a service worker on Behavioural Loyalty is
mediated by the concept Attitudinal Loyalty. Preliminary analyses show that all direct effects are proven to be
significant, which indicates partial mediation. The Sobel-test shows this mediation is significant (z-value 4.0526,
p < .001) and hypothesis 3c can thus be confirmed.
Hypothesis 4c predicts the mediating effect of Attitudinal loyalty on the positive relationship between
Experiential Value and Behavioural loyalty. Also here, preliminary analyses indicate partial mediation. The
Sobel-test shows this mediation is significant (z-value 3.2942, p < .001), which means this hypothesis can also
be confirmed.
4.4
Conclusion Results
Figure 5.4 shows the path model of this study that contains the coefficients (Beta- values) and the associated
p-values derived from a combination of several multiple regression analyses. The graphical representation of
the path model provides an overview of the direction and strength of the effects and whether or not these are
significant. When comparing this path model with the conceptual model (Figure 2) first of all it becomes clear
there exists a difference between the expected and actual impact of Subjective Norms and Experiential Value
on Behavioural Loyalty. A positive effect of both variables was expected, however a negative effect is
observed; the hypotheses (1b & 4b) concerning these expectations are rejected for that reason. Besides that, it
was assumed that Involvement has a direct effect on Attitudinal Loyalty and an indirect effect on Behavioural
loyalty, but based on the path model these two expectations cannot be confirmed. The following theoretical
expectations can be confirmed: Subjective Norms, Relationship with a service worker and Experiential Value all
have a direct effect on Behavioural and Attitudinal Loyalty and also an indirect effect on Behavioural Loyalty,
through Attitudinal Loyalty (mediator). Looking at the concept Involvement it becomes clear this only has a
direct effect on Behavioural Loyalty. Regarding the control variables it can be said that only Age has a
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
36
significant effect
ffect on both forms of loyalty, Scale of Theatre has an effect on Attitudinal
itudinal Loyalty and Education
Level on Behavioural Loyalty.
Figure 2: Path model
37
Table 4.4 Correlation matrix independent variables
Subjective Norms
Subjective Norms
Involvement
Relationship
Experiential Value
Al correlations
lations are significant at p < .001
1.
.340
.276
.463
Involvement
Relationship
Experiential Value
1.
.462
.500
1.
.421
1.
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
5.
Additional analyses
I think there lays an opportunity
In attracting more ‘loners’ to the theatre
because the offered performances
are actually individual experiences.
Visitor – Rotterdamse Schouwburg
In order to gain more in-depth knowledge on the relations studied, it is chosen to execute some additional
analyses. First of all, a decomposition of the four theoretical variables is realized, which calculates the total
causal effect per variable, or in other words the net impact of the core-variables on Behavioural and Attitudinal
Loyalty looking at all possible paths within the research model (following the arrows in the path model). This
takes into account the fact that the core variables also correlate with each other. After this, an ANOVA is
carried out to examine whether there are differences in scores on variables due to the scale of the theatre
(small-scale, medium-scale and large-scale). In case of differences, these interaction effects are calculated.
The same is done for the control variable Gender. The final additional analysis that will be executed focuses on
the underlying dimensions of the core variables that are proven to be valid en reliable; this is a multiple
hierarchical regression analysis on a disaggregated level.
5.1
38
Decomposition of correlations
To better understand the direct and indirect effects visible within the research model (Figure 2, p. 37), a
decomposition of the correlations is shown in Table 5.1. This allows insight into the causal and not causal
effects of the different variables.
Table 5.1: Decomposition of Correlations
Correlation Direct
Effect (β)
Subjective Norms:
Attitudinal Loyalty
.438
.278
Significance
(p = .000)
(p = .000)
Behavioural Loyalty
.019
-.088
Significance
(p = .505)
(p = .046)
Involvement:
Attitudinal Loyalty
.347
.019
Significance
(p = .000)
(p = .625)
Behavioural Loyalty
.203
.171
Significance
(p = .000)
(p = .000)
Relationship:
Attitudinal Loyalty
.464
.274
Significance
(p = .000)
(p = .000)
Behavioural Loyalty
.213
.104
Significance
(p = .000)
(p = .022)
Experiential Value:
Attitudinal Loyalty
.438
.178
Significance
(p = .000)
(p = .178)
Behavioural Loyalty
.066
-.111
Significance
(p = .017)
(p = .018)
Indirect
Effect
.062
.061
.040
Spurious
Effect
-.024
.028
-.020
Unknown
Effect
Total Causal
Effect
Total NotCausal Effect
Total
Effect
.157
.278
.157
.435
.071
-.026
.047
.210
.311
.019
.311
.330
.032
.171
.032
.203
.152
.274
.152
.462
.042
.165
.070
.235
.244
.178
.244
.422
.145
-.071
.125
.054
From this decomposition table it becomes clear that the total causal effects of the core variables on both forms
of loyalty roughly correspond with the previous results. From this it can be concluded that the indirect effects of
the core variables on Behavioural Loyalty, mediated by Attitudinal Loyalty, are only small effects. Based on the
theory of Ajzen and Fishbein (1968) emphasis is placed on the sequential relationship of Attitudinal Loyalty on
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
Behavioural Loyalty. Based on this decomposition table it becomes clear that this sequential effect is relatively
small and different than expected beforehand. When comparing the causal effects with the correlations it
becomes clear that apparently there are other effects within this model that make that these two values deviate
from each other. These other effects are spurious and unknown effects; these are calculated and also shown in
Table 5.1. Subjective Norms, Involvement, Relationship with a service worker and Experiential Value all appear
to have a certain unknown effect on both types of loyalty. When including all effects (total effect) it appears that
the effect of both Subjective Norms and Experiential Value on Behavioural Loyalty transforms from a negative
effect into a positive one, in which the unknown effects play the biggest part. Since the impact of these
unknown effects is this large, it is important to further investigate the nature of these unknown effects. This
however goes beyond the scope of this research, and is an important recommendation for further studies on
customer loyalty in the performing arts.
5.2
ANOVA and T-test
5.2.1
Differences per scale of theatre
Comparing the mean scores of more than two groups asks for the use of an ‘ANOVA’, or one way
analysis of variance. This analysis is called this way because it compares the variance (variability in
scores) between the different groups (due to the independent variable) with the variability within each of
the groups (due to chance) (Pallant, 2007). In this study the variable Scale of Theatre is included as a control
variable. This variable is divided into three different categories according to the maximum capacity of seats
within the theatre; small-scale (< 500), medium-scale (500-1.000) and large-scale theatres (>1.000). Based on
common sense it was expected there exist differences between these three groups in scores on the core
variables. An ANOVA makes it possible to test this. A Tukey test (post-hoc test) is used to complement the
result of this analysis because the ANOVA can only test whether or not there exist differences between the
groups, but not which of the groups exactly differ from each other.
Comparing the average scores of Behavioural Loyalty, Subjective Norms, Involvement and
Experiential Value, shows that no significant differences are found between the visitors of the three types of
theatres concerning these four variables. There does exist a statistically significant difference (p< .05) in
Attitudinal Loyalty scores for the three theatre groups [F (2, 1285) = 26.486, p < .001]. Post Hoc comparison
(Tukey Test) indicates that the mean scores on this variable for small-scale theatres (M= 4.01, SD= .645) and
medium-scale theatres (M=3.93, SD= .69) are significantly larger than those of large-scale theatres (M = 3.68,
SD= 0.687). The medium-scale theatres do not differ significantly from small-scale theatres in the area of
Attitudinal Loyalty. This analysis also suggests there exists a statistically significant difference (p < .05) in
scores on Relationship with a service worker for the three theatre groups. On average, visitors of small-scale
theatres experience closer bonds with a theatre employee (M = 3.42, SD = .917) than visitors of medium-scale
(M = 3.22, SD = .816) and large-scale theatres (M = 3.17, SD = 1.02). However, the medium scale theatres do
not differ significantly from the large-scale theatres looking at this variable. The results of the ANOVA can be
found in Appendix D.
Based on these analyses it is interesting to test whether there exists an interaction effect of the scale
of the theatre and the variable Relationship with a service worker on both forms of loyalty. This means the
effect of Relationship with a service worker on both forms of loyalty probably differs for the scale of the theatre.
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
39
Besides, also an interaction effect is expected of the scale of the theatre and Attitudinal Loyalty on Behavioural
Loyalty. This means the relationship between Attitudinal and Behavioural Loyalty will probably differ for the
scale of the theatre.
These assumptions are tested using regression analyses as previously performed, but with addition of
these interaction effects (Table 5.2 and 5.3). First, a regression analysis is carried out including the interaction
effect of Relationship with a service worker and small- scale theatres and the interaction effect of Relationship
with a service worker and medium-scale theatres on both forms of loyalty. This analysis shows that the impact
of Relationship with a service worker on Attitudinal Loyalty, found in the second model (see Table 5.2) indeed
differs per type of theatre. This third model explains 1.3 percent more than the original model without the
interaction terms included (R Square Change, .013 p < .01), this however can be named a small change. After
adding the two interaction terms in the regression model of Behavioural Loyalty in the third block, a larger
increase becomes visible; an increase of 16.4 percent of the explained variance (p < .001). These increases
make clear that the previously observed effects of Relationship with a service worker on Attitudinal Loyalty and
Behavioural Loyalty are not generalizable to all types of theatre.
Table 5.2: Regression analysis with interaction variables on the dependent variable Attitudinal Loyalty
Model 1
Model 2
Model 3
Variable
b
β
P (sig)
b
β
P (sig)
b.
Subjective Norms
.261
.264
.000
.275
.278
.000
.254
Involvement
.026
.031
.429
.016
.019
.625
.041
Relationship
.230
.304
.000
.208
.274
.000
.430
.195
Experiential Value
.201
.173
.000
.207
.178
.000
Gender: woman
Age
Education level
Below modal
Modal
Small-scale theatres
Medium-scale theatres
Small-scale * Relationship
Medium-scale * Relationship
R square
F
R square change
F change
.019
.006
-.005
-.019
.041
.243
.230
.343
85.581
.343
85.581
.013
.112
-.007
-.009
.025
.166
.159
.701
.001
.837
.788
.469
.000
.000
.381
36.268
.038
5.659
.000
.000
β
.257
.048
.568
.168
P(sig)
.000
.219
.000
.000
-.026
.005
.036
-.037
.044
1.515
1.378
-.018
.084
.048
-.018
.027
1.035
.950
.595
.014
.211
.594
.433
.000
.000
-.401
-.331
-.871
-.731
.394
32.343
.013
7.039
.000
.003
.000
.000
Table 5.3: Regression analysis with interaction variables on the dependent variable Behavioural Loyalty
Model 1
Model 2
Model 3
Variable
b
β
P (sig)
b
β
P (sig)
b.
Subjective Norms
-.953
-.119
.007
-.703
-.088
.046
-.295
Involvement
1.172
.169
.000
1.186
.171
.000
.462
Relationship
.650
.106
.019
.639
.104
.022
-5.801
Experiential Value
-1.024
-.109
.022
-1.042
-.111
.018
-.812
Attitudinal Loyalty
1.874
.232
.000
1.794
.222
.000
2.407
Gender: woman
Age
Education level
Below modal
Modal
Small-scale theatres
Medium-scale theatres
Small-scale * Relationship
Medium-scale * Relationship
R square
F
R square change
F change
-.367
.070
.776
-.334
-.298
-.629
-.450
.103
15.073
.103
77.353
.000
.000
-.031
.158
.128
-.020
-.023
-.053
-.038
.423
.000
.002
.613
.576
.219
.372
.149
9.470
.046
5.006
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
.000
.000
.000
.001
β
-.037
.067
-.949
-.087
.298
P(sig)
.361
.110
.000
.042
.000
.917
.110
-.381
.208
-.397
-37.376
-32.779
.077
.249
-.063
.012
-.030
-3.166
-2.803
.031
.000
.123
.727
.408
.000
.000
11.549
9.259
3.107
2.535
.314
21.080
.164
15.073
.000
.000
.000
.000
40
Regression analysis is also used to examine whether a true interaction effect exists of the Scale of Theatre and
Attitudinal Loyalty on Behavioural Loyalty. However, the inclusion of the corresponding interaction effects
reveals no significant contribution to the proportion of explained variance of the model.
6.2.2
Differences Gender
From a practical and policy point of view it is chosen to also test whether significant differences exist in the
average scores of the variables between men and women. This is done by means of a T-test, a bivariate test
that is able determine whether the average scores on the variables differ significantly between men and women.
From the test it becomes clear if there exists a significant difference in the mean scores on Behavioural Loyalty,
Subjective Norms, Experiential Value and Involvement for men and women. No differences between the two
sexes are visible within the variables Attitudinal Loyalty and Relationship with a service worker. It is assumed
that on average, male visitors more often visit the theatre (M = 6.56, SD = 7.026) than female visitors (M = 5.47,
SD = 4.668). Besides that, women (M = 4.48, SD = .655) on average seem to assign a higher score to the
concept of Subjective Norms than men do (M = .30, SD = .763). In addition, men assign a lower score to the
concept Involvement (M = 3.15, SD = .795) than women (M = 3.26, SD = .801), which also applies to the
concept of Experiential Value (M = 3.85, SD = .625 vs. M = 4.01, SD = .570).
5.3
Disaggregated analyses
This section describes the results of the disaggregated regression analysis. Disaggregated means that the
underlying constructs of the variables (that are proven to be reliable) are included in the regression analyses.
5.3.1
Correlation matrix on a disaggregated level
To gain insight into the relationship between the underlying constructs of the theoretical concepts a correlation
analysis is executed which includes the following variables: Behavioural Loyalty, Attitudinal Loyalty, Attraction /
Centrality / Identity Expression (Involvement dimensions), Subjective Norms and Aesthetics, Cognitive,
Entertainment (Experiential Value dimensions). The results of the Correlation Matrix are shown in Table 5.4.
Table 5.4: Correlation Matrix
1. Behavioural Loyalty
M
5.82
SD
5.56
2. Attitudinal Loyalty
3.87
0.70
3. Subjective Norms
4.42
0.70
4. Involvement: Attraction
3.83
0.82
5. Involvement: Centrality
2.66
1.06
6. Involvement: Identity Expression
3.10
0.98
7. Relationship with a service worker
3.27
0.91
8. Exp. Value: Aesthetics
3.91
0.76
9. Exp. Value: Cognitive
3.72
0.75
10. Exp. Value: Entertainment
4.24
0.67
Cor.
Sig.
Cor.
Sig.
Cor.
Sig.
Cor.
Sig.
Cor.
Sig.
Cor.
Sig.
Cor.
Sig.
Cor.
Sig.
Cor.
Sig.
Cor.
Sig.
1.
1
2.
.240
.000
.019
.505
.158
.000
.228
.000
.123
.000
.213
.000
.063
.024
.097
.001
-.003
.904
1
.438
.000
.353
.000
.269
.000
.267
.000
.464
.000
.387
.000
.314
.000
.372
.000
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
1
.344
.000
.192
.000
.335
.000
.276
.000
.361
.000
.353
.000
.422
.000
1
.670
.000
.491
.000
.357
.000
.362
.000
.387
.000
.384
.000
1
.571
.000
.455
.000
.279
.000
.361
.000
.245
.000
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
1
.368
.000
.324
.000
.467
.000
.310
.000
1
.345
.000
.357
.000
.330
.000
1
.589
.000
.482
.000
1
.404
.000
1
41
From the correlation matrix (Table 5.4) it appears that almost all variables within this study are positively and
significantly correlated with each other, with exception of both Subjective Norms and Entertainment Value with
Behavioural Loyalty. The correlation matrix shows high correlations between the constructs of Involvement:
Attraction and Centrality (r = .670, p< .01), Attraction and Identity Expression (r = .491, p< .01) and Centrality
and Identity Expression (r = .571, p< .01). These high correlations can indicate Multicolliniaerity, as these three
variables measure the same construct. From Table 5.4 it can also be noticed that these underlying concepts of
Involvement have a low correlation with Behavioural Loyalty (r < 0.3) and a slightly higher correlation with the
concept of Attitudinal Loyalty. There are also quite high correlations visible between the three underlying
constructs of Experiential Value (all three above .40, p < .01). Additionally, these three underlying constructs of
Experiential Value hardly correlate with Behavioural Loyalty, which is in line with the aggregated correlation
matrix (Table 4.1, p. 32). This aggregated correlation matrix already showed that Involvement is relatively high
correlated with Experiential Value (r = .50, p < .01). This high correlation can be traced back in Table 5.4 to the
high correlation between the Cognitive Value and Identity Expression. This means that the more a person feels
that visiting a theatre helps to intellectually develop him or herself, the higher the degree of self-expression is.
In the matrix also the average scores and standard deviations of each of the variables are presented.
These figures confirm the relatively high average scores assigned to the different concepts, as described in the
previous chapter, with exception of the mean scores of the Centrality construct of the Involvement concept.
Additionally, the deviation scores are low, which means the respondents answered quite equally.
42
5.3.2
The influence of the underlying constructs on Attitudinal Loyalty
Below the results of the hierarchical multiple regression analyses on a disaggregated level are shown. These
analyses lead to additional insights, which would have remained unexposed if only the regression analyses at
the aggregate level were performed.
Table 5.5: Disaggregated Regression analysis on dependent variable Attitudinal Loyalty
Model 1
Model 2
Variable
b
β
P (sig)
b
Subjective Norms
.979
.252
.000
.262
Involvement: Attraction
.250
.122
.008
.090
Involvement: Centrality
.103
-.036
.454
-.028
Involvement: Identity Expression
-.023
-.032
.447
-.015
Relationship with a service worker
.237
.312
.000
.216
Exp. Value: Aesthetics
.126
.140
.001
.129
Exp. Value: Cognitive
-.017
-.019
.661
-.013
Exp. Value: Entertainment
.076
.074
.057
.073
Gender: Woman
Age
Education Level
Income: Below Modal
Income: Modal
Small-scale Theatres
Medium-scale Theatres
R square
F
R square change
F change
.017
.006
-.001
-.007
.046
.243
.229
.356
45.086
.356
45.086
.000
.000
β
.265
.106
-.043
-.021
.285
.143
-.014
.072
.011
.104
-.001
-.003
.028
.166
.158
.392
27.680
.035
5.370
P (sig)
.000
.019
.366
.604
.000
.001
.731
.062
.730
.002
.978
.921
.413
.000
.000
.000
.000
Table 5.5 shows that both models (with and without the control variables) are significant [F (15, 660) = 27.680,
p < .001]. The second model, including the control variables, explains 3.5 percent additional variance in the
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
scores on Behavioural Loyalty. There occur no major changes in the Beta-coefficients in the second model,
which means that there appear to be only small spurious effects. The regression analyses make clear that
within the Involvement concept only one underlying construct, Attraction (Beta = .106, p < .05) has a significant
positive effect on Attitudinal Loyalty. It can be argued that when individuals visit a theatre from interest or
because they think this is important, this causes a decrease in their level of Attitudinal Loyalty towards the
theatre. Additionally, only one value of the concept Experiential Value shows a positive effect on Attitudinal
Loyalty: Aesthetics (Beta = .143, p < .01). This means that when visitors of a theatre feel that attending a
performance stimulates all of their senses, this positively affects their Attitudinal Loyalty towards this theatre.
Finally, it appears that of the control variables only the variables Gender and the Scale of Theatre (small-scale
and large-scale) have a significant impact on Attitudinal Loyalty.
5.3.3
The influence of the underlying constructs on Behavioural Loyalty
In Table 5.6 it appears that the second model, in which both the core variables and the control variables are
included, explains 4.3 percent more variance in the score of Behavioural Loyalty than the first model (without
the control variables). The model as a whole is significant [F (16, 660) = 7.586, p< .001] and there are only
minor changes in the standardized coefficients; this indicates that there is almost no spurious effect. Looking at
the disaggregated concepts, it appears that of the three underlying constructs of the Involvement concept, only
Centrality has a significant positive effect on Behavioural Loyalty (β = .173, p < .01). This shows that when an
individual finds that visiting a theatre occupies a central role in his or her live, this positively affects the number
of times this individual visits the theatre. Of the three underlying constructs of the Experiential Value concept,
only Entertainment shows a significant but negative effect on Behavioural Loyalty (β = -.100, p < .05). This
suggests that when an individual finds that visiting a theatre delivers him or her entertainment value, this has a
negative influence on the frequency with which he or she of visits the theatre. Finally, Table 5.6 shows that Age
and Education level are the only control variables that have a significant positive effect on Behavioural Loyalty.
Table 5.6: Disaggregated Regression analysis on dependent variable Behavioural Loyalty
Model 1
Model 2
Variable
b
β
P (sig)
b
Subjective Norms
-.734
-,092
,041
-.502
Involvement: Attraction
.104
,015
,777
-.050
Involvement: Centrality
.855
,163
,004
.904
Involvement: Identity Expression
-.058
-,010
,835
.045
Relationship with a service worker
.565
,092
,046
.532
Exp. Value: Aesthetics
-.264
-,036
,464
-.304
Exp. Value: Cognitive
.234
,032
,526
.128
Exp. Value: Entertainment
-1.014
-,122
,008
-.828
Attitudinal Loyalty
1.939
.240
.000
1.872
Gender: Woman
Age
Education Level
Income: Below Modal
Income: Modal
Small-scale Theatres
Medium-scale Theatres
R square
F
R square change
F change
-.414
.068
.740
-.366
-.286
-.615
-.440
.115
9.428
.115
9.428
.000
.000
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
β
-,063
-,007
,173
,008
,087
-,042
,017
-,100
,232
-,035
,153
,122
-,022
-,022
-,052
-,038
.159
7.586
.043
4.731
P (sig)
,163
,890
,002
,873
,060
,392
,725
,028
,000
,365
,000
,003
,579
,592
,229
,382
.000
.000
43
6.
Conclusion and discussion
I feel rich for having a wonderful theatre
within walking distance from my home.
Ever thought it was that easy
to make a man happy?
Visitor – Theater de Veste
This quantitative study is executed to investigate in what way the concepts Subjective Norms, Involvement,
Relationships with a service worker and Experiential Value affect a theatre visitors level of Behavioural Loyalty
and to what extent this relationship is mediated by Attitudinal Loyalty. The first section includes an
interpretation of the results, after which the second section discusses the limitations of this study. Finally, a
number of recommendations are given; for future research and more practical implications.
6.1
Conclusion and Discussion
Chapter five and six described the results of this study. This paragraph includes the interpretation of these
results and the search for an explanation for what has been found. Within this, first of all the pre-established
hypotheses will be discussed, followed by the answering of the research question which is shown below:
‘To what extent do Subjective Norms, Involvement, Relationship with a service worker and Experiential Value
influence Behavioural Loyalty in the sector of performing arts (direct effect), and to what extent can this be
explained by the intervening effect of Attitudinal Loyalty (indirect effect)?’
6.1.1
Subjective Norms
In this study it was expected that the concept Subjective Norms has a positive influence on Attitudinal Loyalty
(hypothesis 1a), this expectation is confirmed. The more an individual is supported by his or her ‘important
others’ to visit a theatre and/or the more he or she visits a theatre with these important others, the higher the
level of Attitudinal Loyalty towards the theatre. This means that important others like friends, family, partner and
colleagues play an important role (positive or negative influence) in determining the level of Attitudinal Loyalty
of theatre visitors. Which means they are able to influence the level of commitment and affection towards the
theatre.
It was also expected that this concept is positively related with the Behavioural type of loyalty
(hypothesis 1b). This expectation is largely based on the theory of Upright (2004), which mentions that besides
early cultural socialization, also the social network in the later life is important in shaping cultural preferences.
He mentions that arts attendance of individuals can be influenced as strongly by the educational attainment
and arts socialization of important others as by their own. However, the results of this study are not able to
confirm this expectation. The concept of Subjective Norms appears to have a significant, but negative effect on
the number of times an individual visits the theatre. This indicates that Behavioural Loyalty is no positive
function of Subjective Norms as it is measured in this study. Perhaps the scale that measured the concept of
Subjective Norm, was not an optimal scale to measure the influences of important individuals. The reliability
analysis of this scale also showed that the item ‘People close to me (e.g. friends/family/colleagues/partner) are
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
44
likely to visit the theatre this season’ did not contribute to the reliability of the total scale. It is possible that when
this component is removed from the scale, Subjective Norms will have a positive relation with Behavioural
Loyalty. In the limitations section (paragraph 6.2) this will be further discussed.
6.1.2
Involvement
A positive relationship was expected between the concept Involvement (measured by the Modified Involvement
Scale, Kyle et al., 2007) and Attitudinal Loyalty (Hypothesis 2a) and Behavioural Loyalty (hypothesis 2b). A
positive relationship was indeed found between the concepts Involvement and Behavioural Loyalty. This
indicates that the extent to which an individual thinks of visiting a theatre as an important part of his or her live,
positively affects the number of repeated purchases of theatre tickets by this individual. Hypothesis 2b, the
concept of Involvement has a positive influence on Behavioural Loyalty is therefore confirmed within this study.
However, this study shows no significant relationship between Involvement and Attitudinal Loyalty. Hypothesis
2a, the concept Involvement has a positive influence on Attitudinal Loyalty, is therefore rejected.
In this study the concept Involvement consists of three underlying constructs, attraction, centrality and
identity expression, of which also the relationship with both forms of loyalty is examined. Doing an analysis on a
disaggregated level showed a more nuanced picture of the general effect of Involvement. This analysis showed
that only attraction has a positive relationship with Attitudinal Loyalty, which indicates that only the interest and
pleasure caused by visiting a theatre results in a positive attitude towards continuing the relationship with the
theatre (Morgan & Hunt, 1994). The centrality dimension appeared to be the only dimension that has a
significant relationship with Behavioural Loyalty, which shows that only lifestyle choices and personal
investments (financial and social) of the Involvement concept, cause that individuals are encouraged to buy
theatre tickets (Wurtz, 1997).
The results show no direct relation between the whole concept Involvement and Attitudinal Loyalty.
From the theory it was assumed that Involvement is directly related to commitment (Iwasaki & Havitz, 1998;
Kyle et al., 2006) and that commitment is actually the same as Attitudinal Loyalty. This shows the expectation
of a direct correlation between Attitudinal Loyalty and Involvement. That no direct relationship is found between
these two concepts, may indicate that Attitudinal Loyalty is not equivalent to commitment. It is possible that
commitment has to be measured by a separate scale, and has a mediating function between Involvement and
Behavioural Loyalty. In paragraph 6.2 (limitations of the study) this will be discussed further.
6.1.3
Relationship with a service worker
Looking at the concept Relationship with a service worker, within this study it was expected that this would also
have a positive relation with both Attitudinal (2a) and Behavioural Loyalty (2b). Based on empirical findings it
was expected that true loyalty (including both Behavioural and Attitudinal Loyalty) is positively influenced by the
strength of the relationship (including trust and commitment of employee), between a theatre visitor and a
theatre service employee (Bove & Johnson, 2001). This expectation, and thus both hypotheses, can be
confirmed. From this it can be concluded that the more an individual feels connected with a service worker of a
specific theatre, the higher the level of Attitudinal Loyalty and Behavioural Loyalty of this individual is. Important
within this is that these effects are not generalizable to all types of theatres (small-scale, medium-scale, largescale), because the ANOVA showed an interaction effect between the Scale of Theatre and this concept. On
average, visitors of small-scale theatres experience closer bonds with a theatre employee than visitors of
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
45
medium-scale and large-scale theatres. With regard to both types of loyalty, the inclusion of these interaction
terms in the regression models resulted in an increased percentage of the explained variance. For that reason
the results that were found cannot just be generalized.
6.1.4
Experiential Value
Based on theory it was expected that the creation of satisfaction among theatre visitors can lead to higher
loyalty levels. The theatre must provide an Experiential Value to the customer that is compatible to the values
and motives of the customer in terms of a theatre visit, to create such satisfaction. There is no literature that
researched the relation of Experiential Value (as used in this study) with both forms of loyalty. Based on
literature four values were derived that together had to measure the concept. However, after analyzing the
quality of the measurement tools it showed that the underlying social bonding construct could not be included in
the analyses. Therefore the concept of Experiential Value exists in this study of the following three values:
aesthetics, cognitive and entertainment value.
It was expected that the extent to which theatres offer Experiential Value, is positively linked to the
level of Attitudinal Loyalty (hypothesis 4a) and the level of Behavioural Loyalty (hypothesis 4b). On the basis of
statistical analyses, hypothesis 4a can be confirmed; the higher the degree to which visitors indicate that the
theatre offers Experiential Value, the higher the level of their Attitudinal Loyalty. However, it became clear that
there is a negative relation between Experiential Value and Behavioural Loyalty. When a theatre offers a lot of
Experiential Value to its visitors, this leads to fewer purchases of tickets. This means that hypothesis 4b is
rejected. However, it can occur that the positive attitude of the theatre visitors caused by a high level of
Experiential Value, leads to the buying of more theatre tickets.
Carrying out a disaggregated regression analysis led to new insights. It showed that from the overall
concept Experiential Value, only the aesthetic value has a positive relation with Attitudinal Loyalty. This
indicates that the immediate experienced pleasure in which all senses and emotions are stimulated results in a
deeply held commitment towards the theatre. Moreover, the entertainment value (construct) is the only
connection to Behavioural Loyalty, because these concepts are negatively related. This means the higher the
degree to which visitors indicate that the theatre provides them fun and enjoyment and offers them the
possibility to escape from everyday live, the less these individuals visit the theatre.
The results with regard to Behavioural Loyalty seem unexpected. The effect of Experiential Value on
both forms of loyalty covers an explorative part of the investigation, with a scale that has never been used
before. It is possible that the quality of the scale for Experiential Value is not good, which can be seen as a
major shortcoming of this research. This will be further discussed inparagraph 6.2 (limitations of the study).
6.1.5
Intervening effect of Attitudinal Loyalty
Based on the conceptual model, four hypotheses were drawn that suppose a mediating effect of Attitudinal
Loyalty on the relation of the central concepts and Behavioural Loyalty. First, the strength and direction of the
direct relationship of Attitudinal and Behavioural Loyalty was examined, which showed the two are positively
related. Thereafter a Sobel-test was used to see whether there exists a mediating effect that influences the
effects of the core variables on Behavioural Loyalty. This appeared to be the case for the following variables;
Relationship with a service worker, Subjective Norms and Experiential Value. Within this, the direct effects of
these three core variables do not disappear but decrease after addition of the mediator variable (Attitudinal
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
46
Loyalty). The effect of these variables on the number of times an individual visits a theatre every year is thus
partially influenced by the degree to which people are affected by and committed to the theatre. This means
hypothesis 1c (The concept ‘Subjective Norms’ has a positive influence on Behavioural Loyalty, through
Attitudinal Loyalty), 3c (The concept ‘Relationship with a service worker’ has a positive influence on
Behavioural Loyalty through Attitudinal Loyalty) and 4c (The concept ‘Experiential Value’ has a positive
influence on Behavioural Loyalty, through Attitudinal Loyalty) are confirmed.
Attitudinal Loyalty does not mediate the relation of Involvement and Behavioural Loyalty, because
Involvement is not significantly related to Attitudinal Loyalty. Hypothesis 2 is therefore rejected.
6.1.6
Answering the central question
Now the hypotheses are described, the central research question can be answered. First, it can be said that all
core variables have a significant relation with Behavioural Loyalty. Involvement and Relationship are positively
related to Behavioural Loyalty and Subjective Norms and Experiential Value have a negative effect on the
concept. It can be said that involvement in theatre and feeling a bond with a theatre employee ensure that
individuals often visit the theatre, while being surrounded by culturally engaged others and a high experience
value of the theatre causes a decline in the number of theatre visits by individuals. The biggest positive
influence on the number of theatre visits per year is the concept Involvement and the largest negative impact is
that of Experiential Value. It should be taken into account that both these concepts consist of three underlying
constructs. Of the three underlying constructs of Involvement the centrality construct exerts the most pressure
on the frequency with which individuals visit the theatre. Of the three underlying constructs of Experiential
Value in particular the Entertainment construct results in a decline in the number of theatre visits.
In addition, this study shows a positive relation between the two forms of loyalty; Attitudinal Loyalty has
a positive effect on the number of theatre visits per year (Behavioural Loyalty). Attitudinal Loyalty in this study
takes a mediating role in the relationship of Subjective Norms, Relationship with a service worker and
Experiential Value with Behavioural Loyalty. The effect of both Subjective Norms and Experiential Value on
Behavioural Loyalty is negative, but both concepts show a positive correlation with Attitudinal Loyalty. The
extent to which important others encourage individuals to visit the theatre and the extent to which an individual
finds that the theatre delivers Experiential Value, is positively related to the attitude towards the theatre, which
in turn partially causes that individuals more often visit the theatre. This means that both (Subjective Norms and
Experiential Value) are positive determinants of the number of theatre visits per year, provided it is preceded by
a positive attitude towards the theatre. In addition, the effect of the concept Relationship with a service worker
on Behavioural Loyalty is also partly determined by the positive attitude that this individual has towards the
theatre. Important to indicate is that the (direct) effects of Relationship with a service worker on both forms of
loyalty also interact with the scale of the theatre. It can be said that visitors of a small-scale theatres, often have
a stronger bond with the employees of the theatre (compared to medium-scale and large-scale theatres), which
ensures both a higher level of Attitudinal and Behavioural Loyalty.
6.2
Limitations and Implications for further research
With regard to the measurement instruments used in this study also a number of critical comments must be
made. The scales derived from scientific literature (Attitudinal Loyalty, Subjective Norms, Involvement and
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
47
Relationship with a service worker) are all changed in order to integrate them into this study. This probably
influenced the reliability and completeness of the results.
The concept Behavioural Loyalty is measured using only one item concerning the frequency of theatre
visits per year in order to keep the study manageable. However, the literature showed that several other items
could be used to measure this concept, such as the ‘proportion of the purchase’, the ‘sequence of the purchase’
and ‘residence time in a theatre’ (Dick & Basu, 1994; Iwasaki & Havitz, 2004). In a follow-up study including
these dimensions of the behaviour of theatre visitors can generate new insights. The other loyalty type,
Attitudinal loyalty, was measured using an existing scale of Back and Parks (2003). In this study this scale
existed of three dimensions all measured by three items, however these dimensions did not emerge by means
of a Factor Analysis. In further research it is recommended to include more items per underlying constructs so
it is possible to include the underlying dimensions of Attitudinal Loyalty in the analyses.
The concept Subjective Norms only looks at important others that exert a certain influence on
customer loyalty in the performing arts. This study did not include the influence of other social contacts. An
example is that the so-called "weak ties" are not integrated while these might also be interesting to research in
this context. In addition, it is useful to look at the modern forms of social contacts, like the so-called digital
social networks (MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn) and their effect on the formation of loyalty. This has never
been studied in this context and can contribute to the current knowledge on customer loyalty in the performing
arts.
Within this study Involvement is measured by means of three underlying concepts. The original scale
of Kyle et al. (2007), however, consists five dimensions, with fifteen associated items. The scale used in this
study, including centrality, attraction and identity expression, showed no significant relationship with Attitudinal
Loyalty. Perhaps if also the ‘social bonding’ and ‘identity affirmation’ dimensions of this concept are included in
a follow-up study, the effect Involvement will have a significant affect on Attitudinal Loyalty. Another aspects is
that based on literature, it was assumed that Involvement would have a direct relationship with commitment,
which in this study is equal to Attitudinal Loyalty. However, it is possible that commitment is not exactly the
same as Attitudinal Loyalty, but plays a mediating role between involvement and Attitudinal Loyalty. This should
also be taken into account in further studies.
Relationship with a service worker appeared to be an interesting concept in predicting both Attitudinal
and Behavioural Loyalty. However, this scale did not consist of underlying dimensions, which means no
statements could be made on a disaggregated level. In further research it is important to add several items
(create dimensions) to this concept, so more detailed information can be generated about the effect of this
concept on both forms of loyalty. An interesting finding on this concept is that the scores on this concept differ
for the scale of the theatre. The research shows that visitors from small-scale theatres experience a stronger
bond with theatre employees, which has a large positive effect on both Attitudinal and Behavioural Loyalty. A
follow-up study could further address this outcome by examining why visitors from small-scale theatres
experience this closer bond.
Experiential Value is included in this study as an explorative concept, measured by a scale that has
never been used before. The scale originally consisted of four concepts, but after data reduction it appeared
the 'social bonding’ construct had to be removed in order to make the results interpretable. The scale for
measuring Experiential Value is thus very limited since it only measures three values (entertainment, aesthetics
and cognitive value), while a visitor may have a range of values that he / she looks for when visiting a theatre.
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
48
The effect of this concept on Behavioural Loyalty was unexpected. This result is probably caused by the fact
that a lot of values an individual theatre visitor can have are excluded. This highlights a major shortcoming of
this research. It can be concluded that a repeated visit is not positively linked to the values used in this study,
considering there are other values that do have a positive effect. It might had been better to ask a single
question about the satisfaction of the visitors on the Experiential Value (in general) the theatre delivers or to
use qualitative techniques with regard to this subject.
This research is also based on the assumption that Attitudinal Loyalty totally mediates the effects of
the core variables on Behavioural Loyalty, as stated by Ajzen (1991). In this study, this is not the case; there
exists only partial mediation. This shows that Behavioural Loyalty is not always preceded by a positive attitude.
It might be interesting to study in further research why individuals do buy tickets for a specific theatre, even
though they have a negative attitude towards the theatre. It is also interesting to study why people with a
positive attitude towards the theatre, not always convert this positive attitude into behaviour, in buying tickets.
Both biases can possibly be examined by means of qualitative research, where one specifically addresses
these issues.
6.3
Practical implications of the study
Despite the discussed limitations and implications for further research, this section provides some interesting
practical implications for theatres. First of all, in the theory chapter it was assumed that it is difficult for theatres
to differentiate solely based on the product they deliver (performances), but this is possible for instance by their
size, ambiance and services. The ICC results (which showed that de data was not strongly nested), however,
suggests that the visitors of the nine theatres valued the four theoretical variables of this study quite equally.
With some caution it can be said that the theatres do not differ in terms of the theoretical concepts measured in
this study. Perhaps there lays an opportunity for the management of the theatres to be aware of this and think
about how they can use the particular resources of the theatre to become more distinctive from other theatres
within their genre.
Looking at the scale of the theatres the most striking result is that within small-scale theatres the
relationship with a theatre employee is more present, which delivers a major contribution to both forms of
loyalty. Based on this it is suggested that all theatres, unregarded their scale, need to implement an active
policy that emphasizes the building and maintaining of a bond with the theatre visitor which in turn leads to
higher levels of loyalty. The characteristics of small-scale theatres with regard to individual attention should
also be generated in larger scale theatres. This can be included by actively recognizing customers, mentioning
them by name, showing interest and make small talks before and after the performance. Another practical
implication can be to work with the same labour pool as much as possible in order to create a better opportunity
for the visitors to build an actual relationship with the theatre employees.
Subjective Norms are not positively related to the purchasing of theatre tickets, only when it is preceded by
a positive attitude towards the theatre created by this concept. It is important to translate this in a positive way
in order to create more loyal customers. A possibility for theatres is to offer loyal customers the opportunity to
introduce friends, family and colleagues to the world of theatre by providing them a set of free tickets. An
important condition is that the introduce must be no regular customer of the theatre (not in the database).
Visiting the theatre together may result in a positive attitude towards the theatre, which in turn can result in loyal
behaviour of this new individual (more theatre visits).
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
49
From the study it appears that the entertainment aspect of theatres is not of great importance for visitors of
the theatres. Apparently, the visitor is only interested in the theatre performance and the quality of this service
and not in the delivered additional services. For theatres, a practical implication of this result is that they should
not put too much emphasis on delivering extra services (related to entertainment). It is better to ensure that the
core business (providing theatre performances) is optimal, before providing entertainment related aspects
around these performances.
Involvement shows no significant effect on Attitudinal Loyalty, although it is a significant predictor of
Behavioural Loyalty. Creating involvement among the theatre visitors can therefore ensure that individuals visit
more performances. Creating involvement may be implemented in theatres in a very practical way. An example
is that theatres can provide a magazine with all sorts of fun facts about the world of theatre and for example a
look behind the scenes at various theatres and performances. It is also possible for theatres to digitally
distribute this magazine and in that way distribute film and music fragments of performances to the customers.
Based on the T-test it can be said that men and women differ with regard to the visiting of a theatre,
women on average assign a higher score to the concepts of Subjective Norms, Involvement and Experiential
value than men do. It is important for theatres to recognize these differences between the sexes and create
events and marketing tools that make use of this. This can range from ‘Ladies Nights’, to invitations and other
marketing campaigns for men or women in particular.
Note for the reader: these practical implications will be further developed and implemented in a practical
advice report commissioned by the VSCD.
Performing the arts of loyalty – Zijlstra & de Bloois
50
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