The perceptions of stakeholders in small-scale sporting events

Abstract

Small-scale events represent an important asset for the development of tourist destinations. As local stakeholders play a major role in conceptualizing and developing small-scale events, this study sheds light upon stakeholders' perceptions toward such events. The current study was carried out through qualitative interviews based on the case of the FIS (International Ski Federation) World Junior Alpine Ski Championships 2019. The findings of this study reveal that for small-scale event success, the involvement of local stakeholders in the decision-making process is key. Furthermore, stakeholder involvement makes the decision-making processes when staging an event more effective across all organizational phases. The findings invite event managers and policy makers to involve local stakeholders in the organization processes of small-scale events. The research on small-scale events is enriched by the evidence that partial involvement of the stakeholders in the organizational processes reaches a limit in what Freeman (2010) describes as "stakeholder management capacity". ARTICLE HISTORY

Perceptions and Role of Tourist Destination Residents Compared to Other Event Stakeholders in a Small-Scale Sports Event. The Case of the FIS World Junior Alpine Ski Championships 2019 in Val di Fassa

“…Inspired by recent research [4] which examined, in a pre-event perspective, the role of stakeholders in a small-scale sports event, and based on the results, this article intends to demonstrate that from a residents' perspective, a small-scale sports event can represent an opportunity to reflect upon and plan for sustainable development at a tourism-led destination, now and in the future.…”

“…Sport can also play a decisive role in the realm of sustainable development by adopting in particular policies aimed at paying greater attention to the environment [3]. The author presents a descriptive analysis of a small-scale sports event, taking into consideration a case already analyzed ex ante by the author in a previous study [4]. There is still a clear research gap in the various areas of analysis for small-scale events from a local perspective, given that many studies have chiefly focused on the economic impact [5].…”

A mixed methods stakeholder satisfaction study of sports events based on the case of the 2016 international children’s games

“…Sports event literature has delivered a range of issues organizing committees have to deal with during the scheduling of an event, as shown by Parent and Deephouse (2007). Other examples analyzing different stakeholders' perspectives in the context of sports events were provided by Bazzanella, Peters, and Schnitzer (2019) and Peters and Schnitzer (2015), who assessed expectations, experiences, and (social) legacies as perceived by stakeholders (Reid, 2011). Literature on stakeholders in the context of international sports events has shown that scientific knowledge of perceived experiences is scarce, especially that considering co-creation activities of stakeholders in sports events and customer experience patterns of the respective stakeholders.…”

Brand messages that influence the sport tourism experience: the case of South Africa

“…Major events draw significant economic and marketing benefits that contribute to the success of the destination brand in the long run (Bazzanella et al, 2019). Jago et al (2003) note the importance of the longevity/tradition of an event for a destination when seeking branding opportunities.…”

“…It is from this backdrop that this paper investigates the perceptions of event attendees at two major sporting events in South Africa on perceived brand messages that influence travel experiences. Since local stakeholders play a major role in conceptualising and developing major events (Bazzanella, Peters, & Schnitzer, 2019), the study sheds light on stakeholder perceptions towards the utilisation of major events as destination brand promoters. The focus on South Africa is motivated by the fact that the country is still categorized as a developing destination brand, yet newly transitioned from an old (apartheid) image (Swart, Moyo, & Hattingh, 2019), which therefore marks this particular destination as an interesting case study context for exploring brand perceptions and tourism experiences.…”