Importance of fishing as a segmentation variable in the application of a social worlds model
Market segmentation is useful to understanding and classifying the diverse range of outdoor recreation experiences sought by different recreationists. Although many different segmentation methodologies exist, many are complex and difficult to measure accurately during in-person intercepts, such as that of creel surveys. To address that gap in the literature, we propose a single-item measure of the importance of fishing as a surrogate to often overly- or needlesslycomplex segmentation techniques. The importance of fishing item is a measure of the value anglers place on the activity or a coarse quantification of how central the activity is to the respondent’s lifestyle (scale: 0 = not important, 1 = slightly, 2 = moderately, 3 = very, and 4 = fishing is my most important recreational activity). We suggest the importance scale may be a proxy measurement for segmenting anglers using the social worlds model as a theoretical framework. Vaske (1980) suggested that commitment to recreational activities may be best understood in relation to social group participation and the social worlds model provides a rich theoretical framework for understanding social group segments. Unruh (1983) identified four types of actor involvement in social worlds: strangers, tourists, regulars, and insiders, differentiated by four characteristics (orientation, experiences, relationships, and commitment). We evaluated the importance of fishing as a segmentation variable using data collected by a mixed-mode survey of South Dakota anglers fishing in 2010. We contend that this straightforward measurement may be useful for segmenting outdoor recreation activities when more complicated segmentation schemes are not suitable. Further, this index, when coupled with the social worlds model, provides a valuable framework for understanding the segments and making management decisions.