The relationship between organisational issues and social impacts of Rio Olympic Games: a volunteer’s perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT The current article examines the effects of organisational issues on the perceived social impact from the volunteer’s perspective of Rio 2016 Olympic Games. A field study was conducted in Rio de Janeiro, and data were collected from local volunteers who attended the Olympic Games through a self-administered questionnaire (n = 487). The questionnaire included measures of perceived operational, infrastructural and environmental issues as well as positive and negative social impact perceptions. A confirmatory factor analysis analysed the psychometric properties of the constructs, and a subsequent structural equation model examined the relationships between organisational issues and social impact perceptions. The results indicate that the organisational issue construct was significantly related to negative social impact (social conflicts and costs) perceptions. The findings highlight the major role of local volunteers in preventing issues, strategic planning and social anchoring of this event. Managerial implications of these results are discussed and guidelines for future research are suggested.