Constraints to leveraging regular season sport team events

Abstract

Research on event leveraging has revealed that certain constraints inhibit the realisation of desired benefits from event hosting. Using qualitative action research methods, this study examined the constraints to leveraging regular season professional sport team events for tourism. The leveraging potential of regular season professional sport team events has been largely ignoredboth by researchers and practitioners. This presented an ideal opportunity to examine the pre-leveraging phase with a view to understanding leveraging constraints. The results identified five overarching constraints: lack of collaboration; priorities and resources; perceived benefit radius; perceived tourism potential; and, unclaimed responsibility. We propose a process model to better understand how leveraging constraints emerge and can be negotiated over time. This research is among the first to demonstrate the utility of team events for inclusion in regional event portfolios. It, therefore, builds on extant knowledge by presenting a more holistic conceptualisation of the inherent constraints to event leveraging, and further, provides a basis from which to successfully negotiate these constraints.

Strategic environmental leverage of a sport tourism event: Approaching the global challenge locally

“…There are also several factors that can influence the success of implementing strategic leverage, both positively and negatively. Several studies (Kelly & Fairley, 2018;Misener et al, 2020;Sobral et al, 2023;Taks et al, 2014) have highlighted the importance of collaboration between organisations and other stakeholders involved in the leverage process. Also, these studies have considered performing timely planning with a view to integrating local capacity to provide the infrastructure, material and human resources necessary for the strategic leverage of sport events.…”

“…At the same time, the literature (e.g., Mascarenhas et al, 2021;Misener et al, 2020;Perić et al, 2016) also recommends the existence of a coordinating group for strategic leverage process initiatives, which should promote strategic alliances with stakeholders, especially when there are many of them and partners involved in the process. On the other hand, according to Sobral et al (2023), there are several types of constraints associated with the implementation of leverage in sport events, namely: lack of collaboration; cultural constraints; insufficient resources and capacity; change in political priorities; and absence of responsibility/leadership in the coordination of strategic leverage actions.…”

“…In order to overcome the adverse effects caused by lack of communication, it is essential to have a team responsible for disseminating information to all entities involved in the process. This way, the necessary coordination for the effectiveness of leverage efforts will be ensured (Chen & Misener, 2019;Lu & Misener, 2023;Sobral et al, 2023). For example, the relationship established between academia and the local government and other organisers of the events, contextualised in action research, could play the role of active participant in the research team, as an external agent/facilitator (Sampson, 2023;Schulenkorf et al, 2019), effectively disseminating information across the entities involved in the various phases of the strategic leverage process.…”

“…In order to enhance the integration of key actors in strategic leverage, it is important to anticipate their perception of the benefits that can be generated by the events, thus favouring their involvement in the strategic leverage process (Kelly & Fairley, 2018;Sobral et al, 2023;Wood et al, 2018). In short, the advantages arising from the environmental leverage process should be understood as added value for all parties involved (e.g., athletes, sponsors, partners, etc.…”

“…According to the literature (e.g., Duignan et al, 2023;McGillivray et al, 2020), there has been evidence of the weak capacity of mega-events in the effective implementation of benefits in the host communities, thus hindering real sustainable development at the local level. Some studies (e.g., Misener et al, 2020;Sobral et al, 2023) have argued that the coordination of the process of strategic leveraging in events, including the establishment of local partnerships, is more simplified in smaller events size. This way, the implementation of strategic leverage and environmental actions (Mascarenhas et al, 2021;McCullough et al, 2016) is easier in non-mega events than in mega events (Taks et al, 2015).…”