The use of a modified importance-performance framework to examine visitor satisfaction with attributes of outdoor recreation settings

Abstract

A modified version of the importance-performance (I-P) framework that includes a measure of statistical variance (in addition to mean values) is compared to the traditional I-P model (that includes only mean values). The I-P framework is used to evaluate customer satisfaction with outdoor recreation settings and to identify specific attributes that managers should target their marketing efforts toward. Results are displayed in a four-quadrant grid based on how customers rate the attributes along a scale from low to high importance and low to high performance. The modified I-P approach is demonstrated using different sample sizes (ranging from small to large) and a diverse array of outdoor recreation settings (ranging from the primitive to the developed). Over 11,000 visitors to 31 outdoor recreation sites across the US completed a mail-back survey that measured importance and performance characteristics of multiple setting attributes for one of five specific outdoor recreation settings (developed, dispersed, water, roaded or winter). Results show that the traditional I-P model works well for very large samples (e.g., in excess of 1000 respondents), but not as well for smaller samples (e.g., less than 400). In the modified model, the number of attributes that fell fully within one of the four I-P quadrants varied from an average (across all recreation settings) of 57.9% for large sample sizes to 48.1% for small sample sizes. Only one attribute (hazards) consistently fill within the 'concentrate here' quadrant. Adaptations and considerations of the I-P framework for future research are proposed, along with implications for using the approach in recreation planning models.