PERSONAL TRAINERS AS CULTURAL INTERMEDIARIES IN PROMOTION OF FITNESS CULTURE YONG PUI SAN MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN FACULTY OF ACCOUNTANCY AND MANAGEMENT APRIL 2019 Personal Trainers As Cultural Intermediaries In Promotion of Fitness Culture Yong Pui San A research project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Business Administration Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman Faculty of Accountancy and Management April 2019 Personal Trainers As Cultural Intermediaries In Promotion of Fitness Culture By Yong Pui San This research project is supervised by: Mr Lee Yoon Heng Lecturer Department of International Business Faculty of Accountancy and Management Copyright @ 2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this paper may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, without the prior consent of the authors. ii DECLARATION I hereby declare that: (1) This Research Project is the end result of my own work and that due acknowledgement has been given in the references to all sources of information be they printed, electronic, or personal. (2) No portion of this research project has been submitted in support of any application for any other degree or qualification of this or any other university, or other institutes of learning. (3) The word count of this research report is 17608. Name of Student: YONG PUI SAN Student ID: 16UKM07617 Signature: Date: 23.05.2019 iii Acknowledgement After several months with dedication and hard work I am finish with my final year project. It has been a challenging process of experimental and learning process. And I would like to thank take this opportunity to thanks those people around me for helping go through such hard and challenging period. To Mr Lee Yoon Heng , thank you for all your patience and guidance. Thank you for your honest feedback those have pushed and motivated me during these months, and your explanation marks will always remind me to do my best, and that everything is possible. I feel thankful for having you as my supervisor and for sharing your knowledge with me; it has made me grow as a student and person. There are someone that are very important to me in pursuing of this study which is my family and friends. I would like to thank my parents, whose love and guidance are with me in whatever I pursue. To all my friends for support and motivation especially for your patience and lending your support when I need it the most. I will also like to thanks the informants that participate in this study, appreciate for sharing your thoughts and experience because this couldn’t be done without all of you. iv DEDICATION This research paper is devoted to my grandfather who passed away during my journey in pursuing this program. Besides that I would like to dedicate this research paper to my beloved parents and siblings who has motivated me attentively with their fullest and genuine care to complete my study with self-confidence. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Copyright Page........................................................................................................ ii Declaration ............................................................................................................. iii Dedication .............................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgement ...................................................................................................v Table of Content .................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ......................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ..........................................................................................................x Abstract .................................................................................................................. xi CHATPER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................1 1.1 Research Background ........................................................................................1 1.2 Problem Statements ...........................................................................................3 1.3 Research Objectives ...........................................................................................5 1.4 Research Questions ............................................................................................5 1.5 Significance of Study .........................................................................................6 1.6 Chapter Layout...................................................................................................8 1.7 Researcher Profile ..............................................................................................9 1.8 Conclusion .........................................................................................................9 vi CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................10 2.1 Fitness As A Big Business ...............................................................................10 2.2 Fitness Culture .................................................................................................13 2.3 Fitness Instructor ..............................................................................................15 2.4 Cultural Intermediaries ....................................................................................17 2.5 Role of Fitness Instructor as Cultural Intermediaries ......................................20 2.6 Conclusion .......................................................................................................24 CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................25 3.1 Research Methodology of the Study ................................................................25 3.2 Research Design...............................................................................................26 3.3 Target Population and Sampling ......................................................................27 3.4 Data Collection ................................................................................................28 3.5 Interview Process .............................................................................................30 3.6 Ethical Consideration .......................................................................................31 3.7 Method of Data Analysis .................................................................................31 3.7.1 Observation Analysis ....................................................................................33 3.8 Conclusion .......................................................................................................34 CHATPER 4 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 4.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................35 4.1 Research Findings ............................................................................................36 4.1.1 Core Activities In Consuming Fitness Culture ......................................36 4.1.2 How Fitness Consumer Affect Fitness Instructor Training Offerings ...39 4.1.3 Fitness Instructor As Cultural Intermediaries ........................................43 4.2 Research Discussion ........................................................................................43 4.2.1Fitness Consumer Approaches To Fitness Culture .................................46 4.2.2 The Power of Fitness Consumer ............................................................50 vii 4.2.3 Process of Fitness Instructor’s Role Changes as Intermediaries ...........53 4.3 Conclusion .......................................................................................................61 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION, LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................62 5.1 Study Limitations and Their Implications .......................................................62 5.2 Recommendations ............................................................................................63 5.3 Conclusion .......................................................................................................64 References ..............................................................................................................67 Appendix A ............................................................................................................72 Appendix B ............................................................................................................75 Appendix C ............................................................................................................76 Appendix D ............................................................................................................83 viii LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1 Data collection of Fitness Members .........................................................76 Table 2 Data collection of Fitness Instructors .......................................................83