Volunteers of mega-events as co-creators of host destinations: Volunteers' experience, value, and satisfaction toward host destination

Abstract

Volunteers serve as the largest labor force in a mega sporting event and may become ambassadors for the host city and event. Volunteers at a mega sporting event are considered the co-creators because they mentally and physically participate in the event from start to finish. Therefore, understanding the role of volunteers as co-creators is critical. Volunteers can also have experiences as tourists, because they tend to spend their free time by sightseeing in the host city. However, the tourist and co-creation experiences of volunteers remain underexplored. Therefore, this study aims to empirically explore the experience of volunteers in the host city, by considering the broader perspectives of volunteers. A survey questionnaire was administered to volunteers at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. A latent moderated structural equation (LMS) modeling was employed to test the established hypotheses. The findings demonstrated that volunteers hold experiences as tourists and co-creators, and these experiences influence the perceived value of the event.