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The global manufacturing landscape is undergoing a profound shift, and the paradigm of service-led industrial evolution has taken on paramount importance. Service-oriented manufacturing has emerged as a pivotal conduit for the transformation and elevation of China’s sporting goods manufacturing sector. However, we acknowledge that the current state of service-oriented transformation in this sector is still in an embryonic phase. The nuanced interplay between the level of servitization and its consequent impact on corporate performance, along with the intricate forms of interference exerted by various factors in the process of servitization, are shrouded in ambiguity. This article, which is predicated upon the financial disclosures of China’s sporting goods manufacturing enterprises listed on the A-share and New Third Board markets, presents a rigorous investigation. Through the construction of an imbalanced panel dataset covering the period of 2007 to 2022, we embark on an empirical journey examining the intricacies of a moderated mediation model to ascertain the mechanisms underlying the influence of servitization on the performance of sporting goods manufacturing entities. Through this research, we unearth a compelling revelation: (1) Within the cohort of sampled enterprises, an elevation of servitization evokes a modest suppressive effect on corporate performance, thus resulting in the enigmatic \"servitization paradox.\" (2) A total of 29.1% of the servitization impact on enterprise performance is achieved through marketing intensity; that is, there is a partial mediating effect of marketing intensity on the relationship between servitization and enterprise performance. (3) Market power play a negative regulatory role in this relationship, which drives the servitization paradox in sporting goods manufacturing but can also promote the positive impact of servitization on marketing intensity. In addition, with the expansion of market power, corporate servitization does not need to impact corporate performance through marketing activities. (4) R&D intensity negatively affects the relationship between marketing intensity and corporate performance, promotes the inhibitory effect of marketing intensity on corporate performance, and aggravates the inhibitory effect of servitization on corporate performance through marketing intensity.

PurposeThis study focuses on memorable customer shopping experience design in the sporting goods retail setting. It aims to identify the phygital customers' needs and expectations that are satisfied through in-store technologies and to detect the in-store strategies that use these technologies to make the store attractive and experiential.Design/methodology/approachThis exploratory study adopted a qualitative research methodology, specifically a multiple-case study, by performing semi-structured interviews with sporting goods store managers.FindingsSporting goods retailers use various in-store technologies to create a phygital customer shopping experience, including devices, mobile apps, wireless communication technologies, in-store activations, support devices, intelligent stations, and sensors. To improve the phygital customer journey and the phygital shopping experience, retailers meet customers' needs for utilitarian, hedonic, social, and playfulness experiences. Purely physical or digital strategies, as well as phygital strategies, are identified. This research also proposes a model of in-store phygital customer shopping experience design for sporting goods retailers.Practical implicationsSporting goods managers can invest in multiple technologies by designing a physical environment according to the customers' needs for utilitarian, hedonic, social, and playful experiences. In addition, they can improve the phygital customer shopping experience with specific push strategies that increase customer engagement and, in turn, brand and store loyalty.Originality/valueThis study highlights how the phygital customer experiential journey can be created through new technologies and improved with specific reference to the sporting goods stores.

Although findings of prior studies have provided insights into brand-consumer relationships, there is a scarcity of investigation into the effect of an athlete endorser's credibility on consumers' brand passion and brand loyalty. Thus, we investigated the effects of an athlete endorser's attractiveness and expertise on both brand passion and brand loyalty of sporting goods consumers. Participants in our study were 178 Korean golf product consumers. Results revealed that athlete endorser attractiveness and expertise were both significant determinants of brand passion among golf product consumers. Results also confirmed that brand passion positively affected brand loyalty. Lastly, brand passion had significant positive mediating roles between athlete endorser attractiveness and expertise and brand loyalty. The study has contributed to advancing previous research on brand-consumer relationships by examining the effects of endorser source attractiveness and expertise on brand passion and brand loyalty among sporting goods consumers.

Statistical shape analysis, or morphometrics, is a technique commonly used in evolutionary biology to summarise a population of samples. Theoretical morphometrics extends the current population of samples into a theoretical space. Using the lawn tennis racket as an example, this paper showcases the potential of morphometrics as a tool for inspiring design concepts for novel sporting goods. It showcases how morphometrics can be applied to summarise the shape of a sample of rackets and applies theoretical morphometrics to systematically present new candidate designs that fall outside of the inputted existing, racket population. The input population was 514 tennis rackets dating back to the origins of the game. The shape analysis was performed on “front-on” silhouette images of the rackets using the R Package Momocs. The outline shape of each racket was reconstructed using the elliptical Fourier transform curve fitting technique. A principal component analysis performed on the reconstructed outlines showed that >90% of the variance in the shape of the rackets was captured by the first two principal components. An evenly spaced grid of theoretical racket shape outlines was then created in a principal component 2 vs. principal component 1 “morphospace”. The limits of this space were then expanded to give a theoretical morphospace that extended beyond the range of the first two principal components for the 514 samples. We propose that the shapes located within such a theoretical morphospace could inspire designers and help them to systematically identify candidates for novel products. Specifically, we suggest that experimenting with wide-angled throats and heads with angled sides might be an interesting starting point for exploring future tennis racket design concepts. The novel technique presented here could be used by a sporting goods brand during the ideation phase of product development to schematically summarise current designs and identify candidates for new ones.

The present study investigates consumer preferences for eco-friendly practices implemented by outdoor sport brands, identifying which practices are perceived as most significant among the overall consumer group and within consumer segments differentiated by ecological consciousness. This study targeted consumers who had purchased outdoor sport brand products within the past one to two years. The results indicated that overall consumers regarded ‘Materials usage’, particularly ‘100% organic materials’, as the most critical eco-friendly attribute. The second most significant attribute identified was the ‘Type of campaign’, specifically ‘Consumer behavioral engagement campaigns’. ‘Carbon footprint reduction’, notably ‘Reducing 50% by 2030’, ranked third, while ‘Implementation of donations’ was considered the least important. Segment-specific analysis revealed that high-ecological-conscious consumers prioritized carbon footprint reduction more than other groups. Furthermore, the optimal combination of eco-friendly practices identified for overall and low-ecological-consciousness consumers consisted of using 100% organic materials, implementing consumer behavioral engagement campaigns, reducing carbon footprint by 50%, and actively participating in environmental conservation donations. Highly ecological-conscious consumers preferred a slightly adjusted combination, emphasizing 100% organic materials, followed by reducing carbon footprint by 50%, implementing consumer behavioral engagement campaigns, and actively participating in environmental conservation donations. These findings suggest that outdoor sport brands can strengthen their competitive advantage and sustainability by aligning eco-friendly practices with consumer preferences segmented by ecological consciousness.

Although findings of prior studies have provided insights into brand--consumer relationships, there is a scarcity of investigation into the effect of an athlete endorser's credibility on consumers' brand passion and brand loyalty. Thus, we investigated the effects of an athlete endorser's attractiveness and expertise on both brand passion and brand loyalty of sporting goods consumers. Participants in our study were 178 Korean golf product consumers. Results revealed that athlete endorser attractiveness and expertise were both significant determinants of brand passion among golf product consumers. Results also confirmed that brand passion positively affected brand loyalty. Lastly, brand passion had significant positive mediating roles between athlete endorser attractiveness and expertise and brand loyalty. The study has contributed to advancing previous research on brand--consumer relationships by examining the effects of endorser source attractiveness and expertise on brand passion and brand loyalty among sporting goods consumers.

Although findings of prior studies have provided insights into brand--consumer relationships, there is a scarcity of investigation into the effect of an athlete endorser's credibility on consumers' brand passion and brand loyalty. Thus, we investigated the effects of an athlete endorser's attractiveness and expertise on both brand passion and brand loyalty of sporting goods consumers. Participants in our study were 178 Korean golf product consumers. Results revealed that athlete endorser attractiveness and expertise were both significant determinants of brand passion among golf product consumers. Results also confirmed that brand passion positively affected brand loyalty. Lastly, brand passion had significant positive mediating roles between athlete endorser attractiveness and expertise and brand loyalty. The study has contributed to advancing previous research on brand--consumer relationships by examining the effects of endorser source attractiveness and expertise on brand passion and brand loyalty among sporting goods consumers.