Personal incentives for participation in summer children's camps: Investigating their relationships with satisfaction and loyalty

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate consumer behaviour issues in a summer children's camp setting. Specifically, the study aimed to: (a) identify the personal incentives that drive children to participate in summer camps, (b) test gender and age differences in children's personal incentives, and (c) investigate which of the incentives are the most important ones in predicting children's satisfaction, loyalty, and word-of-mouth communications. The sample of the study consisted of 453 (N = 453) children, who participated in a camp located at the mainland of north Greece. The results indicated that: (a) six personal incentive dimensions revealed from a factor analysis of the personal incentive scale, named: Camp Experience, Socialization I (making new friends), Socialization II (meeting old friends), Independence, Activities Participation, and Parents' Decision, (b) Socialization I and Camp Experience were the two highest scored dimensions, (c) girls were more driven by Socialization II (meeting old friends) related incentives than boys, who scored higher on the Activities' Participation dimension, (d) older and more experienced campers expected more independence and social interaction than younger campers, who expected to participate in a variety of sport and cultural activities, and (e) the Camp Experience dimension was the most powerful and consistent predictor of satisfaction, loyalty and word-of-mouth communications. The managerial implications of these results are discussed.