Editorial

Citation

Jago, L. and Carlsen, J. (2012), "Editorial", International Journal of Event and Festival Management, Vol. 3 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijefm.2012.43403baa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Event and Festival Management, Volume 3, Issue 2

Criticisms that have been levelled at the field of event studies over the years are that it is not underpinned by a conceptual framework and research in the area does not generally draw upon theory. Previously, many of the research articles that have been published in the field of events have been case studies that have not made much use of theory, nor have they contributed to the broader field of events in any substantive fashion. It is pleasing, therefore, that this journal is now receiving a larger proportion of manuscripts that do build upon existing theory and employ the outcomes of research for the overall advancement of the study of events and festivals. This is a very positive sign that the field of event studies is coming of age.

This issue has a number of themes emerging from the articles. The research by Devine and Devine investigates the challenges and opportunities for event organisers during a time of economic downturn. The study, based on the Northern Ireland Milk Cup Youth Football Tournament, examines two alternative approaches available to event organisers during difficult economic times, namely, downgrade or innovate. The author’s interviews with key stakeholders found that the organising committee needed to focus more on commercial opportunities and this would require a change in the mindset of the organising body. The paper discusses a number of innovative ways in which the Milk Cup could attract additional revenue from gate receipts, corporate hospitality, merchandising, programming and sponsorship, but such activities must be based on strong business plans.

In a similar vein, Seungwon and Goldblatt have examined the impact of the global financial crisis in the article, “The current and future impacts of the 2007-2009 economic recession on the festival and event industry”. Festival and event industry professionals were surveyed about their business performance during the global recession and about their potential strategies for coping in both the short and long terms. Their study found that about the half of respondents profit margins decreased during the recent financial crisis. The respondents also indicated that the primary factors that impacted the decrease were the reduced sponsorship funding available and the general effects of economic recession on all other revenue sources. The strategies that the festival and event professionals intended to use to build successful businesses following the recession were “increase marketing efforts,” “work to reduce expenses overall,” and “increase the use of technology.”

The Fullagar and Pavlidis article entitled, “It’s all about the journey: women and cycle tour events” draws upon empirical findings from a qualitative research project on women’s experiences of the event “Cycle Queensland”, an event with over 1,000 cyclists and 150 volunteers. The ethnographic approach found that women are far more concerned about safety and risk than are men and are looking to share the experience with others. The authors provide a range of suggestions for organisers to facilitate these needs for women cyclists. They conclude that “taking a gendered approach can also enable event managers to provide a socially inclusive experience that has broader reach in meeting diverse participant desires”.

The examination of consumer profiles of runners at three marathon races in Germany by Hallman and Wicker, identifies the key drivers for the runners’ intention to revisit the marathon. In segmenting the sample, Hallman and Wicker found three main groups. The first, holidayers, were marathon runners whose primary reason for their participation in the marathon was to make this part of their holiday. This type of marathon runner stayed in private accommodation with friends or relatives, The socialisers indicated that their main reason to stay in the host city was to visit friends and family. The third group was called the marathoners and their reason for participating was purely for the marathon. The spending behaviour, number and type of accompanying people and levels of satisfaction with the host city is provided for each of the segments and Hallman and Wicker suggest, with the knowledge of the different groups, that special packages be offered to the runners when they register for the race. In addition, they argue that the event organisers could offer more targeted side events such as athlete workshops on nutrition, training, and medical advice.

Testing the accuracy of event economic impact forecasting is the key aim of Ramchandani and Coleman’s research. The paper examines the findings from ex ante and ex post economic impact appraisals of six major sports events with the aim of identifying the factors that cause differences between the various forecasts of direct expenditure. In examining the data and documentation for each of events, Ramchandani and Coleman found that three of the forecasts were inflated and three were conservative, based on the visitor and organisational expenditure. The study provides sound guidelines for event organisers and funding agencies.

In order to improve the measurement error in event expenditure surveys, Raybould and Fredline experiment with the number of expenditure categories to determine whether a larger number results in a higher expenditure estimates. They also recognise that a longer survey instrument may increase administration costs as well as non-response bias. Employing a split-sample of participants in the 2008 Pan Pacific Games in the Gold Coast, they find that a higher number of expenditure categories do result in significant increase in reported expenditure. However, there is no difference in non-response bias between the two samples. The findings have implications for the choice and accuracy of survey instruments used in event research and therefore the accuracy of event participant expenditure studies.

Once again, we thank the esteemed members of our Editorial Advisory Board, our contributors and reviewers for their ongoing support for the journal. We will be seeking Thomson ISI Listing in 2012 in order to measure citations and other bibliometrics associated with quality journals.

Leo Jago, Jack Carlsen