Impact of City Image, Event Fit, and Word-of-Mouth Attempt Through the Host City of an International Sporting Event

Abstract

This study develops a structure of host city image, verifies the backgrounds and consequences of host city image, and predicts spectators’ positive word-of-mouth (WOM) attempt through the host city via structural equation modeling. A descriptive methodology was used with the cooperation of the local city government; questionnaires were distributed to spectators of the 30th Iran International Cycling Tour (Tour de Urmia) in Iran. Convenience sampling was utilized, and 280 usable questionnaires were obtained. First, the results produced a city image scale comprised of six factors and 21 items with reliability and validity. This scale incorporates the sports image into the city image to enable a comparison between the sports image and other city images, which is original to this paper. Second, the results indicated that affect toward the event (ATE) was a background variable to city image, image fit, and WOM attempt as a consequent variable. Third, the theoretical model could predict positive WOM attempt through the host city with a 23% explanatory rate. The host city of Tabriz provides evidence about the role of ATE, city image, and image fit, which is an important new contribution, as few studies have focused on city image or image fit.