Developing Impacts and Indicators for Sustainable Event Management Using a Triple Bottom Line Approach: A Study of Auto Expo
Nripendra Singh, Kumar Shalender, and Ching-Hui (Joan) Su
Page 1
Marked by the pressing need to make events sustainable, this study aims to develop impacts and indicators for a special category event—The Auto Expo—one of the largest automobile events hosted in India. The study begins with literature review of event evaluation on key indicators of triple bottom line (TBL): economic, social, and environment. Historical roots of Auto Expo is also reviewed, which is then followed by a Delphi survey of experts from event organizers to auto professionals, and from academia to domain experts. A rigorous three-phase Delphi analysis is conducted following which resulted into 18 impacts and 25 indicators related to Auto Expo. The study also delves into potential methods that could be employed for holistic TBL evaluation of Auto Expo. Key challenges and issues in this regard are mentioned as well as discussing the implications of the research for stakeholders toward the end.
Volunteers, Place, and Ultramarathons: Addressing the Challenge of Recruitment and Retention
Tom D. Hinch and Craig D. Cameron
Page 17
Ultramarathons are often hosted in peripheral areas featuring challenging natural landscapes. Given limited local volunteer pools in these areas, the recruitment and retention of visiting volunteers is crucial to the sustainability of these events, yet little is known about the importance of the destination or place in terms of the volunteer experience. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to gain insight into the role that place plays in volunteer experiences at an ultramarathon in a peripheral area. A case study methodology was adopted with a focus on volunteers at the Canadian Death Race in Grande Cache (GC), Alberta, Canada. Semistructured interviews with event hosts, local volunteers, and visiting volunteers provided insight into the place dimension of the volunteer experiences. In phase 1, interviews with event/community hosts confirmed that local volunteer retention was challenging due to the growing demands of the event and to local volunteer fatigue. A systematic thematic analysis in phase 2 found that volunteers were connected to the destination through the place-based themes of: 1) beauty, 2) remoteness, 3) event, and 4) community. These findings demonstrated that “place mattered” in the experience of local and visiting volunteers. Therefore, organizers should actively recognize the importance of place when recruiting and retaining volunteers for these types of events in remote communities.
Motivations of Federal Workers to Volunteer in Public Sector Special Events
Keon Artis and Seung Hyun Lee
Page 33
Volunteers are considered a core component of special events and they have proved to be an asset to the execution of special events. Although motivations of volunteers have received a great deal of attention from many organizations and individuals in the private sector, little research has been done on motivations of volunteers in the public sector, or within the federal government. Therefore, this article identified motivational factors that prompt federal government workers to volunteer at a government-related special event. A survey was used to gather data from a volunteer sample of 263 individuals who had volunteered for public sector special events in recent years. Exploratory factor analysis and t test were employed to establish motivations that stimulate public sector employees to volunteer for special events and further determine the differences in motivation between females and males. The results showed that government workers mostly volunteer for purposive motive and external motive. In addition, gender played significant roles on egotistic and purposive motives. Thus, this research provides a unique theoretical contribution to research in event management by advancing our understanding of the process by which factors associated with motivation can lead to federal government workers volunteering at a government-related special event; subsequently, impacting how event planners and organizers of public sector special events market to and recruit volunteers.
A Primer on the Assessment of Economic Impacts of Leisure Events – 47
Ove Oklevik, Grzegorz Kwiatkowski, Mona Kristin Nytun, and Helene Maristuen
Page 47
The quality of any economic impact assessment largely depends on the adequacy of the input variables and chosen assumptions. This article presents a direct economic impact assessment of a music festival hosted in Norway and sensitivity analyses of two study design assumptions: estimated number of attendees and chosen definition (size) of the affected area. Empirically, the article draws on a state-of-the-art framework of an economic impact analysis and uses primary data from 471 event attendees. The results show that, first, an economic impact analysis is a complex task that requires high precision in assessing different monetary flows entering and leaving the host region, and second, the study design assumptions exert a tremendous influence on the final estimation. Accordingly, the study offers a fertile agenda for local destination marketing organizers and event managers on how to conduct reliable economic impact assessments and explains which elements of such analyses are particularly important for final estimations.
Using a Sport Event to Create a Sense of Community: Charity Sport Event Manager Perspectives
Ebe Daigo and Kevin Filo
Page 57
Charity sport events not only involve completing the activity, but also the opportunity to bring people together. A variety of research has examined charity sport events’ capacity to foster a sense of community from the participant point of view. The current research examines sense of community within charity sport events from the event management perspective and advances the following research question: What do charity sport event managers feel they have put in place to create sense of community among participants? To address this research question, qualitative data were collected via interviews with 15 charity sport event managers in Japan. An interview guide comprised of six demographic questions, along with nine questions based upon the sense of community in sport framework was utilized. Five themes were identified within the interviews: charitable contribution, soliciting feedback from participants, interactive event environment, supplementary activities, and lack of competition. Two themes from the sense of community in sport framework that did not emerge across the interviews underscore opportunity for event managers to leverage mobile applications and online discussion forums to engage participant’s shared interest in sport, as well as enlist leaders among event participants to serve as advocates. Based on the current results, future research can include managers from the designated charities aligned with events to assess whether the sense of community created within these events leads to long-term benefits for the organization.
From Legacy Rhetoric to Business Benefits: A Case Study of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games
Joan Carlini, Alexandra Coghlan, Alana Thomson, and Andrew O’Neil
Page 75
Bids for large-scale sporting events and the accompanying political rhetoric typically include promises of economic development and gains for host business communities over the short and long term. Although conceptual models for economic leverage of large-scale sport events have been developed, our knowledge of the practical experiences of private enterprise converting opportunities presented by large-scale sport events is limited. In this article, the authors address this gap through a case study of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. The article investigates the opportunities and challenges perceived by private enterprises across the host city and explores the implementation of existing strategies to leverage benefits for business. Although participants identify the general benefits of hosting the event, they struggle to conceptualize benefits in relation to their own business settings. This suggests a disconnect between the legacy rhetoric of large-scale sporting events and the conversion of these opportunities into outcomes by private enterprises in the host city. Against this background, the article outlines a range of practical implications for private enterprise and key areas for future research.
Who Is Riding to the South African Bike Festival?
Hanneri Borstlap and Alicia Fourie
Page 97
Events play an integrated part in tourism industry. South Africa events have grown over the past years, especially when it comes to promotion and hosting of events. One such event is South African Bike Festival. The event’s organizers host these events for special causes, such as riding for a purpose, social implications, and social responsibility. Motorcycles have been around since the early 1900s for the dual purpose of transportation and recreational or pleasure riding, but little is known about motorcyclists’ sociodemographic profile and behavior. From an international perfective, the sociodemographic and behavior aspects of motorcyclists are well documented; what is lacking is literature within the South African perceptive. The purpose of this research is to characterize those who attended the first South African Bike Festival. The research attempts to segment the motorcycle market and identify bikers’ motivations, needs, and behavior. A structured self-completion questionnaire was developed and handed out to willing participants. Trained fieldworkers distributed the questionnaire over a 3-day period and received a total of 484 usable questionnaires. A multiple regression based on sociodemographic variables and spending habits was done to determine any significant differences. Respondents were segmented based on their motives for attending the event. In this way three markets were identified, namely hardcore biker, feisty biker, and fortuitous biker. The results showed that there are indeed significant differences between the three markets identified. This research not only contributes to the motorcycling literature, but also to motorcycling behavior of bikers in South Africa.
Business Event Destination Determinants: Malaysia Event Organizers’ Perspective
Stanley Nwobodo, Kwang Sing Ngui, and Mung Ling Voon
Page 113
The choice of destination for a business event is influenced by a range of attributes, including the event type, location, or number of attendees. This article investigates the influence of event characteristics on destination selection attributes in Malaysia. Data collected from 261 event organizers using a simple random probability method were analyzed to test for significant differences between destination attributes and event characteristics. The findings revealed that the event size and venue have a significant and direct impact on some destination attributes; however, contrary to previous studies, event type was insignificant and had no direct impact on destination attributes. The results contribute knowledge on approaches to improve the marketing of destinations to business event organizers in Malaysia. Furthermore, the results imply that marketers, who want to optimize strategies to better meet the needs of the Malaysia business event industry, should align destination attributes with the dimensions of event characteristics.
The Role of Use and Nonuse Values on Festival Attendees’ Behavioral Intentions
Renuka Mahadevan
Page 127
This article distinguishes between use and nonuse values in their impact on two behavioral intentions to a rural cultural festival. Results from the case study showed that in the willingness to recommend the festival and intention to revisit by repeat tourists, both use and nonuse values were influential but first timers’ intention to revisit was mainly affected by use values. In addition, there was support for the recency–frequency–monetary value paradigm and the distance decay theory with some evidence of a nonlinear relationship between distance and behavioral intention. The life cycle theory and length of festival stay on the other hand saw mixed effects on the two types of behavioral intention. Overall, a two-pronged marketing strategy based on the importance of use and nonuse values to attract first timers and repeat tourists could be considered for a cultural festival.
An Event Quality Scale for Participatory Running Events
John Armbrecht
Page 139
This study focuses on the perceived quality of participatory event experiences by addressing the following question: What are the important aspects of the event experience? The aim of this research is to develop and refine a scale to measure the quality of the event experience for runners at a participatory event. The objective is to combine, apply, test, and refine the existing scales to increase our understanding of the perceived quality of events among amateur running athletes. Both affective and cognitive dimensions are included in the scale. Based on seven dimensions and 36 items, a formal scale development process is adopted. The data consist of 1,923 observations collected during a participatory event with approximately 60,000 registered participants. The seven-factor model, including immersion, surprise, participation, fun, social aspects, hedonic aspects, and service quality, was gradually revised in favor of a four-factor solution: service quality, hedonic aspects, fun, and immersion. As a result, 73.1% of the variance is extracted. This study contributes to a refined scale measuring the perceived event quality of participatory events. Service quality accounts for more than half of the variance extracted. Researchers should continue to develop research on the critical experiential dimensions in an event context. Furthermore, the links between the constructs need attention. The results suggest that event organizers should evaluate their events and event portfolios based on the scale and take actions to increase the perceived quality of these events.
Exploring Attendance at a Traditional Cultural Event: The Case of a Holy Week Celebration
Victor Lafuente, Jose Angel Sanz, and Maria Devesa
Page 153
Holy Week is one of the most important traditions in many parts of the world and a complex expression of cultural heritage. The main goal of this article is to explore which factors determine participation in Holy Week celebrations in the city of Palencia (Spain), measured through the number of processions attended. For this purpose, an econometric count data model is used. Variables included in the model not only reflect participants’ sociodemographic features but other factors reflecting cultural capital, accumulated experience, and social aspects of the event. A distinction is drawn between three types of participants: brotherhood members, local residents, and visitors, among whom a survey was conducted to collect the information required. A total of 248 surveys were carried out among brotherhood members, 209 among local residents, and 259 among visitors. The results confirm the religious and social nature of this event, especially in the case of local participants. However, in the case of visitors, participation also depends on aspects reflecting the celebration’s cultural and tourist dimension—such as visiting other religious and cultural attractions—suggesting the existence of specific tourism linked to the event. All of this suggests the need to manage the event, ensuring a balance is struck between the various stakeholders’ interests and developing a tourist strategy that prioritizes public-private cooperation.
Examining the Relationship Among Experience, Perceived Value, and Satisfaction in Exhibitions
Dae-Hui Lee
Page 169
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship among experience, perceived value, and attendance satisfaction in exhibitions. It used structural equation modeling (SEM) technique to examine the causal relationships and develop a structural model that identified the influencing dimensions of experience and perceived value on attendance satisfaction, both directly and indirectly. The results of structural equation modeling analyses uncovered significant relationships among experience, perceived value, and satisfaction. First, relatively important factors of both experience (i.e., entertainment, escapism, and education) and perceived value (i.e., emotional value, economic value, and social value) applied in the exhibition industry were discovered. Second, a clear experience–perceived value–satisfaction chain was confirmed, with direct and indirect effects. Third, the mediating role of perceived value between experience and attendance satisfaction was identified. Lastly, identifying the significant direct and indirect relationships between experience and perceived value can be the key to discovering marketing strategies of how to ultimately maximize satisfaction of exhibition attendees. The findings provide the opportunity to derive both theoretical and managerial implications.
Bouncing Back and Jumping Forward: Scoping the Resilience Landscape of International Sports Events and Implications for Events and Festivals
Richard Shipway and Lee Miles
Page 185
The purpose of this conceptual article is to critically scope the resilience landscape to help better understand how future studies on international sports events and venues could be informed by existing work in disaster management and resilience studies. The article suggests that within the differing benchmarks currently used to define and classify major international sports events, at present crises and disaster management considerations are largely ignored or underestimated. The article reviews previous research in crisis and disaster management, highlighting the potential for closer synergies between both sport and events studies and crisis and disaster management fields. It contributes new knowledge through the introduction of an international sports events (ISEs) resilience continuum to assist with better understanding resilience. The broader implications for events and festivals are highlighted. Although the interdisciplinary study of crisis, disasters, and emergency management has become increasingly sophisticated, the identification of synergies and useful concepts in relation to both sport and events studies to inform these areas is still at an early stage of development. This article adds to the limited body of knowledge on sports events resilience, and in doing so highlights potential avenues for future research in both sport and events, in terms of both theory and practice.
Arts Festival Offerings: What Do Market Segments Prefer? Evidence From a South African National Arts Festival
Martinette Kruger
Page 197
This research assesses visitors’ push and pull motives for attending the Innibos National Arts Festival in South Africa. The results show that segmenting visitors on the basis of their motives is a useful market segmentation tool, as it produces a clear and direct profile and understanding of different types of visitors and their preferences as regards festival offerings. The study is the first to identify the stalls visitors preferred at the festival. It shows that, when managed correctly, stalls selling arts and crafts, food and drinks, and so on, enhance the overall festival experience. The study consequently proposes a typology of arts festival visitors to Innibos (Curious wanderers, Loyalists, and Socialites) that may be applicable to other arts festival markets. The results of this research can be used by Innibos and other festivals to better cater to the needs of the market.
