Free Paper Sample: The Influence of FIFA 2018 on the Quality of Service Offered in Russia

Background history on the topic

The World Cup is plausibly the most global tournament, with Olympics being the only real and comparable competition. However, even the Olympic Games cannot in any way compete with the iconic and global football was and still is. The World Cup was first held in 1930 after staging of an international football tournament as proposed by the then FIFA president Jules Rimet. Its inauguration edition was held in 1930 and was contested by only thirteen teams that were invited by the organization. The teams battled for the trophy as a final tournament. However, since then, the world cup has experienced immense expansions and remodeling of its format to the current 32-team final tournament that is preceded by a two-year qualification process and incorporating over 200 teams from all over the globe.

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The FIFA World Cup tournament has been held in various countries including France, Germany, Brazil and South Africa. The sport draws people from different nations across the globe resulting in multiple adjustments in the host country to make it accommodative to the football fans. It brings about positive economic impacts by improving the hotel pricing strategies, service quality and value perceptions, tourism expectations and more business opportunities among others to the host country.

This research aims to analyze the influence of FIFA 2018 on the quality of service offered in Russia. However, it does this by examining the impacts the tournament has on the previous countries that held it. Some of the aspects under consideration include its economic effects on the host country, its impact on hotel pricing strategies, tourism, service quality and value perceptions and the opportunities the sport offers to the host country.

Objectives of the study

To analyze the impacts of FIFA 2018 on the hotel and accommodation services.

To analyze the effects of FIFA 2018 on the tourism services.

To analyze the effects of FIFA 2018 on transportation services in Russia.

Literature review

Various studies have been conducted concerning the FIFA World Cup tournament and its contributions to the hosting countries over the years. This literature review provides a summary of the various studies and their findings.

Swantje & Wolfgang (2009), conducted a study on the economic impacts of the FIFA Soccer World Cup in France (1998), Germany (2006) and the outlook for South Africa (2010). The study focused on how the hosting of this event could influence the economic impacts of these countries. According to the research, it was clear that the sport led to economic growth and created jobs for the citizens. However, since Africa is different from the European countries, is was cumbersome to identify the potential risks and benefits of the event.

Another study was conducted to show how mega sporting events, i.e. the 2014 FIFA World Cup could influence the pricing strategies for hotels in Brazil. The study indicated how FIFA travel demand affected pricing strategies and the revenue management practices in the Brazilian hotels during the World Cup. According to Barreda et al. (2017), all the hosting cities in Brazil experienced significant RevPAR growth and significant growth in demand over the sporting period. All the host cities' hotel average daily rate increased and the visitors wanted to be there for the sport regardless of the accommodation expenses (Barreda et al., 2017).

Another study was conducted to examine the relationship between service quality and value perceptions of the FIFA WC 2014 in Brazil. It aimed at exploring the extent to which consumers' varied opinions with Brazil hosting the sporting event would contribute to the understanding of the value perceptions of the event to the country. According to Rui et al. (2017), not all service quality attributes were significant predictors of the value dimensions. Moreover, hosting the FIFA in Brazil had a positive effect on the consumer's perception of the events' value.

Briedenhann (2011) conducted a study to show the economic and tourism expectations of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa as established from a resident perspective. The results showed that the event was recognized by the government to obtain economic, employment and benefits from tourism to half the poverty levels in the country. More people were of the opinion that the money spent on construction should have been better spent on setting up housing, health and education centers.

Another study was conducted to analyze the potential benefits of the 2010 FIFA in South Africa for bed-and-breakfast (B&B) establishments. According to Darkey & Horn (2009), maximizing the positive socio-economic spin-offs for the tourism and accommodation sector remained a significant problem with many B&B entrepreneurs remaining unenthusiastic over financial prospects and quality control issues.

Further research was also conducted on the opportunities and challenges for Qatar (FIFA World Cup host 2022). The study aimed at analyzing the opportunities and challenges that incorporate in Qatar's strengths and weaknesses as they host the tournament in 2022. According to Henderson (2014), the economic, socio-cultural, political and environmental aspects influence Qatar's hosting opportunities and challenges. However, the country demonstrated weaknesses that could result in adverse consequences.

Methodology

Service quality is a complex and multidimensional concept that requires standardized analysis of customer's perceived expectation and performance gaps in a manner that is specific to the idea. One of the commonly used and scientifically recognized methods used to measure service quality in the service sector is the SERVQUAL (Service Quality) tool. The model's dimensions include reliability, tangibles, responsiveness, empathy, and assurance. Application of the SERVQUAL instrument would help to identify and measure the elements of customers' expectations in a manner that psychological states and views that refer to a service can be captured and analyzed.

To effectively apply SERVQUAL in measuring the quality of services offered in Russia, we will develop a questionnaire within the frameworks of the dimensions of SERVQUAL. A total of 22 questions would be designed that that corresponds to the 22-items mode that was initially suggested by Parasuraman and awarded scales for respondents from 1-strongly disagree to 7-strongly agree. Additional questions that relate to personal data of the respondents such as their gender, age, and prior service experiences would also be collected. The sample size formula would be used to identify the required sample for the research. I will then ensure the 95% confidence interval that the whole population of Russia (including the football fans immigrants) share the opinion of the respondents while minimizing the occasional results to 5 percent and adhering to the suggested sample size formula.

References

Allmers, S., & Maennig, W. (2009). Economic impacts of the FIFA Soccer World Cups in France 1998, Germany 2006, and outlook for South Africa 2010. Eastern Economic Journal, 35(4), 500-519. doi:10.1057/eej.2009.30

Barreda, A. A., Zubieta, S., Chen, H., Cassilha, M., & Kageyama, Y. (2017). Evaluating the impact of mega-sporting events on hotel pricing strategies: the case of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Tourism Review, 72(2), 184-208. doi:10.1108/TR-02-2017-0018

Biscaia, R., Correia, A., Santos, T., Ross, S., & Masayuki, Y. (2017). Service Quality And Value Perceptions Of The 2014 FIFA World Cup In Brazil. EventManagement, 21(2), 201-216. doi:10.3727/152599517X14878772869685

Briedenhann, J. (2011). Economic and Tourism Expectations of the 2010 FIFA World Cup - A Resident Perspective. Journal Of Sport & Tourism, 16(1), 5-32. doi:10.1080/14775085.2011.568085

Darkey, D., & Horn, A. (2009). Homing in(n) on the Economic Benefits of 2010 FIFA World Cup: Opportunities for and Misgivings of Bed-and-Breakfast Operators in Gauteng, South Africa. Urban Forum, 20(1), 77-91. doi:10.1007/s12132-009-9050-4

Henderson, J. C. (2014). Hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup: opportunities and challenges for Qatar. Journal Of Sport & Tourism, 19(3/4), 281-298. doi:10.1080/14775085.2015.1133316 - Article 5