Does relationship quality matter in policy-making? The impact of government-public relationships and residents’ perceptions on their support towards a mega-sport event

Abstract

ABSTRACT Guided by the increase in social and political challenges faced by local governments in their efforts tohost mega-sport events, this study attempts to shed light on theunder-researched relationship quality between a local governmentand its residents. Enhancing the relationship quality and mutualunderstanding through two-way communication between thegovernment and its residents has become more important thanever, with the host community considered a key stakeholder in thepolicy decision-making process, due to the development of onlinecommunication technologies. This research aims to identify themajor determinants of residents’ support, using government publicrelationships and social exchange theory. Data collected througha survey of Tokyo residents (N = 406), where the Tokyo 2020Olympic and Paralympic Games were hosted, are analysed usingstructural equation modelling. Results show that satisfaction withthe government can considerably influence the perceived impactsof a mega-sport event and trust, while trust in the government isshown to be a robust predictor of residents’ support and a mediatorto social exchange theory. Also, the importance of a mega-sportevent’s perceived impacts on residents’ support is shown, furthersupporting social exchange theory. Through the findings and theintegration of the two theories, this study illustrates the need forthe government to focus on producing policies aiming to increaseits public satisfaction and thus their trust in government usingbalanced symmetric communication, which in turn can raiseresidents’ support for a mega-sport event and help establish amutually beneficial relationship between the government and itspublic.