THE SOUL OF MUAY THAI: A CAUSAL MODEL OF SPECTATOR SATISFACTION IN HYBRID CULTURAL-SPORT ENTERTAINMENT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18623/rvd.v23.6136Keywords:
Digital Media Engagement, Martial Arts, Service Experience Innovation, Thailand, Visitor MotivationAbstract
Hybrid cultural-sporting events are increasingly global, yet spectator satisfaction in this context remains undertheorized. This research develops and empirically tests a causal model of spectator satisfaction (SS) for Thai Fight, Thailand's premier Muay Thai soft-power spectacle. The model positions Service Experience Innovation (SEI) and Digital Media Engagement (DME) as antecedents of Visitor Motivation (VMT), which, in turn, together with SEI, predicts SS. Data were collected from 380 returning spectators at two Thai Fight events in 2025 and analyzed using structural equation modeling in LISREL. All six hypotheses were supported. The final model explained 70% of the variance in satisfaction, with SEI showing the strongest total effect (β = 0.67). SEI directly influenced both VMT (β = 0.44) and SS (β = 0.51), while DME influenced SS only indirectly via VMT (β = 0.47 → VMT). These findings demonstrate that authentic, innovative experience design rooted in cultural ritual matters more than digital media alone. For practitioners, investing in immersive, ritual-rich event staging yields higher spectator satisfaction and loyalty. The model offers a new paradigm for understanding spectator behavior in hybrid cultural-sport events globally.
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