Negotiation of Leisure Constraints in Recreation Football

Charilaos Kouthouris,1 Konstantinos Alexandris,2 & Marina Bountolou1

1Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, University of Thessaly, Trikala, Hellas

2 Department of Physical Education & Sport Science, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Hellas

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the negotiation strategies that were adopted by recreational soccer par- ticipants and also examined the relationships between negotiation strategies and frequency of participation. One hundred and sixty customers of two recreational centers from an urban area in Greece participated in the study. An adjusted version of Alexandirs, Kouthouris and Girgolas’ (2005) scale was used to measure negotiation strategies. A principal component analysis revealed six negotiation dimensions: 1) increasing knowledge (according to sport) 2) time management, 3) adjusting life-style, 4) evaluating alternatives (ac- cording other centres), 5) finding partners, and 6) increasing self – motivation. The results supported that more frequent participants were shown to have higher scores in the development of negotiation strategies. Specifically, statistical significant differences were found in the following dimensions: “time management”, “life style”, ”self – motivation”, and ”find partners”. These results supported the negotiation theory proposed by Jackson, Crawford, and Codbey (1993) and might help football managers to provid higher levels of quality in their sports services.

Key words: negotiation strategies, recreational soccer, frequency of participation