Experiences and hunter satisfaction: Applying marketing research methods

Substantial research has examined experience preferences and multiple satisfactions associated with hunting. Marketing researchers have employed revised importance-performance (IPA), importance-grid (IGA), and... [ view full abstract ]

Substantial research has examined experience preferences and multiple satisfactions associated with hunting. Marketing researchers have employed revised importance-performance (IPA), importance-grid (IGA), and penalty-reward-contrast analyses (PRCA) for decades to examine the determinants of customer satisfaction, but these methods have seen limited application in research on hunting and other outdoor recreation activities. Using results from a 2014 mail survey of Minnesota spring turkey hunters and a 2015 mail survey of Minnesota waterfowl hunters, we applied revised IPA, IGA, and PRCA analyses to examine how variables related to pursuing and bagging turkeys and ducks related to hunter satisfaction. Results suggest differences between the explicit and implicit importance of factors related to turkey and waterfowl hunting. Employing specific preferences related to pursuing and bagging game, our results underscore the importance of harvest opportunity to hunter satisfaction. Our results parallel previous research that has found actual harvest to be less important to satisfaction, while specific success-related variables such as seeing wildlife and opportunities to harvest game along with harvest-related motivations and expectations have been found to be important predictors of satisfaction among sportspersons. Our use of penalty-reward-contrast analysis with specific preferences related to pursuing and bagging game helped to clarify the directional influence of specific hunt attributes on hunter satisfaction versus dissatisfaction. Results from the different methods provide complementary information about factors related to hunter satisfaction, and suggest management priorities for maximizing hunter satisfaction.