Design/methodology/approach – Through an online questionnaire, the study uses a large sample of 6,584 users from 44 low-cost fitness centres from different cities in Spain. After validating the measurement model, the hypotheses were tested through structural equation (SEM) modelling technique, noting the existence of significant relationships. Findings – The results showed that two dimensions of perceived quality have a positive influence on perceived value (employees) and satisfaction (facilities). However, the enthused participation dimension of customer engagement also indicated an important impact on perceived value and satisfaction, thus confirming the influence of this dimension in the context of sports services for users’ loyalty. Originality/value – With a large sample, the importance of this study lies in the use of strategies to achieve a greater influence on perceived value and satisfaction, with the aim of increasing customer loyalty in fitness centres. This is why, in addition to the service quality, the influence of the customer engagement dimensions is included, which have not been previously analysed in this emerging business model. Keywords Perceived quality, Customer engagement, Perceived value, Satisfaction, Loyalty, Fitness industry Paper type Research paper Resumen Proposito – El proposito de este trabajo es analizar la influencia de la calidad percibida y el compromiso del cliente sobre el valor percibido y la satisfaccion en un modelo para evaluar la lealtad en usuarios de centros de fitness. Diseno/metodolog ~ ıa/enfoque – A traves de un cuestionario online, el estudio utiliza una muestra amplia de 6.584 usuarios de 44 centros de fitness low-cost de diferentes ciudades de Espana. Tras validar el modelo de ~ medida, las hipotesis fueron contrastadas utilizando analisis de ecuaciones estructurales, observandose la existencia de relaciones significativas. Hallazgos – Los resultados mostraron que dos dimensiones de la calidad percibida tienen una influencia positiva en el valor percibido (empleados) y la satisfaccion (instalaciones). Sin embargo, la dimension de participacion entusiasta del compromiso del cliente tambien indico un impacto importante en el valor percibido y la satisfaccion, lo que confirma la influencia de esta dimension en el contexto de los servicios deportivos para la fidelizacion de los usuarios. Originalidad/valor – Con una extensa muestra, la importancia de este estudio radica en el uso de estrategias para lograr una mayor influencia en el valor percibido y la satisfaccion, con el objetivo de fidelizar a los clientes de los centros de fitness. Por eso, ademas de la calidad del servicio, se incluye la influencia de las dimensiones del compromiso con el cliente, que no han sido analizadas previamente en este modelo de negocio emergente. Palabras clave Calidad percibida, Compromiso del cliente, Valor percibido, Satisfaccion, Lealtad, Industria del fitness Tipo de papel Trabajo de investigacion 1. Introduction The fitness industry is currently one of the industries with the largest increase in participants worldwide (Foroughi et al., 2019). Currently, there are 63.1 million fitness centre users in Europe, with a total of 63,830 fitness centres, generating a total revenue of 28 billion euros (EuropeActive and Deloitte, 2023). In turn, this industry has been the subject of numerous studies in recent years that analyse the loyalty chain (Yoshida et al., 2023). To this end, different measurement models have been validated with the aim of establishing the best management systems and strategies based on different dimensions. However, regarding customer engagement, most of the existing literature has focussed, on the one hand, on conceptualising, delineating and identifying the dimensionality of the term, leading to different definitions and conceptualisations, and on the other, on the analysis of the consequences for companies (Vivek et al., 2012), than to customer-based research (Prentice and Correia, 2018). For this reason, authors such as Vivek et al. (2014) suggest that more studies are needed to examine its influence on other variables, including satisfaction and perceived value when representing consequences of customer engagement (Brodie et al., 2011; Hollebeek, 2013). Customer engagement, in fitness industry, encourages participation in sports activities, promoting social relationships and, ultimately, increasing consumer loyalty in fitness centres ARLA 36,4 446 (Garcıa-Fernandez et al., 2020) by developing a sense of brand ownership. In this sense, Kim et al. (2013) suggests these variables could become positive antecedents of behavioural intention and, consequently, of consumer loyalty. Additionally, consumer non-transactional behaviour with engagement is useful to explain how consumers and companies create new value propositions in non-transactional exchanges between buyers and sellers (Yoshida et al., 2014). This allows for the creation of positive social exchanges between organisations and their consumers. That is why customer engagement, in addition to attracting customer purchases and brand loyalty (Prentice et al., 2019), could create a sustainable competitive advantage through lower customer churn, highly involved customers, creative customers of value, more sales and a stronger loyalty base (Itani et al., 2019). Within the context of sports services, the literature has focussed on mainly on a loyalty model, based on the evaluation of the perceived quality of the service and its influence on perceived value, satisfaction and future intention (e.g. Garcıa-Fernandez et al., 2018b; Jeon et al., 2021; Sevilmis¸ et al., 2022). Furthermore, within the loyalty model in fitness centres, studies show included dimensions of service experience (Baena-Arroyo et al., 2020), service convenience (Garcıa-Fernandez et al., 2018a), corporate image (Alguacil et al., 2022), or even consumer motives (Teixeira and Correia, 2009), being very few studies in this context include customer engagement in loyalty models. Therefore, and despite the emergence of conceptual studies related to customer engagement, research in which scales have been developed and tested is relatively scarce (McDonald et al., 2022; Vivek et al., 2014), existing therefore a gap in the literature focussed on the fitness industry and sports services in terms of evaluation tools that allow a greater knowledge of customer engagement and its influence on the main dimensions that lead to the future intention. Considering this scenario and taking into account the increased growth of physical and sports activity in fitness centres (IHRSA, 2022), this study examined how perceived quality (facilities, employees and programmes) and customer engagement (conscious attention, enthused participation and social connection) influence perceived value and satisfaction and, in turn, how satisfaction influences future intentions in consumers of low-cost fitness centres. Thus, this work offers potential contributions to research in a context of high relevance in the last decade, also providing important practical implications. 2. Literature review Research carried out in recent decades on fitness centres has been oriented towards global studies, focussed primarily on perceived quality and perceived value (Garcıa-Pascual et al., 2023). Regarding its conceptualisation, perceived quality is understood as “the result of an evaluation process in which clients compare their expectations with the service they perceive to have received” (Gr€onroos, 1984, p. 37). Regarding perceived value, Zeithaml et al. (1996, p. 14) indicated that it is a “general evaluation of a product based on the perceptions of what it receives and what it gives in return”, and Oliver (1999, p. 45) summarised it as a positive function of what the client received and a negative function of what the client sacrificed. The relationship between these dimensions has been confirmed in various studies in sport industry, such as spectators of sporting events (e.g. Calabuig et al., 2014), sports facilities and organisations (e.g. Jin et al., 2015) and specifically in the fitness sector (e.g. Garcıa-Fernandez et al., 2018a; Theodorakis et al., 2014). On the other hand, satisfaction has also been of interest in the academic literature (e.g. Garcıa-Fernandez et al., 2018b). According to Westbrook and Oliver (1991), satisfaction is a post-choice evaluative judgement that refers to a certain purchase (p. 84), observing a positive relationship between perceived quality and satisfaction in studies carried out in the context of sports services and fitness (e.g. Avourdiadou and Theodorakis, 2014; Tsourela, 2022). In the same way, perceived value is recognised as an indicator prior to consumer satisfaction in the