Advancing e-business in sports and wellness: the role of synchronicity, coach reputation and home phygital environment on retention in online home fitness

Purpose Associating sports, wellness and digital technology, online home fitness (OHF) e-business models focus primarily on the recruitment of users and, subsequently, on the retention and expansion of their frequency of use. To date, few studies have explored the antecedents associated with retaining and expanding the frequency of use. The current study aims to explore this gap. Drawing on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) theoretical framework and on the theory of the extended marketing mix for services, the research investigates as stimuli the role of type of class (synchronous or asynchronous) (process), coach reputation (people) and home phygital environment (phygital evidence) on patronage and frequency of use (response), mediated by perceived value (organism). Design/methodology/approach A survey comprising 286 valid responses examined the direct and indirect effects of the proposed stimuli on perceived value (hedonic, social and utilitarian) and their subsequent influence on patronage and frequency of use. SmartPLS Version 4.0 was used for the estimation of the structural equation modeling. Findings The findings indicate the duality of synchronicity in generating utility, with synchronous classes directly enhancing hedonic and social value, while also indirectly affecting patronage. Furthermore, phygital home environments significantly contribute to utilitarian value, and coach reputation is critical in fostering social value. Both are relevant to customer retention. While inspecting the mediating effects, the findings of the study demonstrate that the value of OHF extends beyond being a convenient and effective alternative to traditional training classes. To cope with continuous use, users of OHF must perceive fun, excitement (hedonic), a sense of belonging to the group and friendly (social) interactivity. Originality/value The present study makes a significant contribution to theory on an e-business model in sports and wellness by means of mapping the triggers that account for its growth and sustainability, focusing on exploring retention and expansion of their frequency of use by means of proposing and validating as stimuli: type of class (synchronous and asynchronous), home phygital environment and coach reputation.