Event Leverage Research Articles

Sustaining commercial viability and community benefits: management and leverage of a sport-for-development event

ABSTRACTResearch question: When managed strategically, sport events have the capacity to generate economic, sociocultural, and health-related benefits for host communities. To date, the majority of academic research has focused on the impact components of large-scale and mega-sport events, such as the Olympic Games. In an attempt to provide empirical evidence of management strategies and tactics related to small-scale events, the purpose of this study was to examine how an event business strategically manages and leverages an event to sustain its commercial viability, while focusing on generating social benefits for the community.Research methods: Through the lens of sport-for-development theory and event leverage concepts, we explore the case of an annual, mass participation sporting event on the island of Spetses, Greece. Against the background of financial hardship and subsequent social disparity in the country, our qualitative investigation includes 19 semi-structured interviews with various stakeholders of the Spetses Mini Marathon.Results and findings: Outcomes of the qualitative analysis indicated three main thematic categories: (a) managing context, (b) engaged change agent, and (c) involved community. In the midst of an economic crisis, the change agent managed to secure the commercial sustainability of the event, while generating several social, cultural, economic, and sporting benefits for the local community through a participatory community approach.Implications: In discussing our findings, we provide implications for strategic management and leverage of local sport events, and we highlight opportunities and challenges for maximizing the reputational capital for organizers as well as social benefits for communities.

Sport development in challenging times: leverage of sport events for legacy in disadvantaged communities

ABSTRACTThis paper is focused on the legacy of 2016 BMX World SuperCross event held in Manchester. In the current social, political and economic climate, the consideration of wider impacts of major events has come under increasing scrutiny. An increasingly critical debate in a growing literature has addressed social benefits, sporting and community impacts of major events and the methods to achieve increases in sport participation. This paper considers the impacts on people, processes and practice, or “soft legacy” through the realistic evaluation of two BMX projects which were hosting. The impact of attempts to leverage social and sport development impacts in particularly challenging communities are examined, applying a Realistic Evaluation framework [Pawson, R., & Tilley, N. (1997). Realistic evaluation. London: Sage] to two programmes. Though the programme of Street BMX was successful in reaching over 500 participants and in the targeted event-based programme there were positive benefits to the participants, limited evidence of longer term impacts was found. Conclusions highlight implications for event-based sport development interventions attempting to engage hard-pressed communities.

From “clone towns” to “slow towns”: examining festival legacies

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the role of grassroots (food) festivals for supporting the sustainability of micro and small producers, whilst exploring potential productive linkages between both stakeholders (festivals and producers) for enhancing a more authentic cultural offering and destination image in the visitor economy.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is exploratory, qualitative and inductive. Evidence is underpinned by a purposive sample, drawing on ten in-depth interviews and 17 open-ended survey responses collected across 2014 and 2015 – drawing perspectives from traders participating in the EAT Cambridge festival.FindingsThis paper unpacks a series of serendipitous [as opposed to “strategic”] forms of festival and producer leveraging; strengthening B2C relationships and stimulating business to business networking and creative entrepreneurial collaborations. Positive emergent “embryonic” forms of event legacy are identified that support the longer-term sustainability of local producers and contribute towards an alternative idea of place and destination, more vibrant and authentic connectivity with localities and slower visitor experiences.Originality/valueThis study emphasises the importance of local bottom-up forms of “serendipitous leverage” for enhancing positive emergent “embryonic” legacies that advance “slow” tourism and local food agendas. In turn, this enhances the cultural offering and delivers longer-term sustainability for small local producers – particularly vital in the era of “Clone Town” threats and effects. The paper applies Chalip’s (2004) event leverage model to the empirical setting of EAT Cambridge and conceptually advances the framework by integrating “digital” forms of leverage.

Perspectives of event leveraging by restaurants and city officials

PurposeHosting events can attract visitors to an area and provide an opportunity for local businesses in the host community to benefit economically. Restaurants, in particular, have an opportunity to benefit as food is a necessary expenditure. However, previous research suggests that the intentional attraction of event visitors by local businesses has been minimal. The purpose of this paper is to explore perspectives of event leveraging held by restaurant owners/managers and a destination marketing organization (DMO).Design/methodology/approachData were collected through semi-structured interviews with owners/managers of 16 local restaurants and from three DMO executives in one medium-sized city in Ontario, Canada. Data were analyzed using initial and axial coding.FindingsFindings indicate that restaurants did not engage in event leveraging. Three common reasons emerged to explain their lack of engagement in leveraging, including: a lack of a belief in benefits from leveraging, inconvenient proximity to event venue, and not being prepared for event leveraging opportunities. The DMO had a desire to assist local business in leveraging, but their ability to do so was negatively impacted by a lack of awareness of events being hosted, disengagement by local businesses, and limited resources.Originality/valueFindings suggest that there is a need for DMOs and local businesses to create stronger and more supportive working relationships that address financial and human resources constraints preventing the adoption and success of event leveraging. As part of this approach there is a need for cities to make stronger financial investments in supportive agencies such as a DMO.

‘You belonged to something’: exploring how fundraising teams add to the social leverage of events

ABSTRACTResearch question: Participatory sport event managers and marketers encourage individuals to register and complete events as members of teams that raise funds for a specific charitable cause. The prevalence of fundraising teams presents an opportunity to investigate how these subgroups can deliver social impacts that are complementary to those sought by event organisers. Accordingly, the purpose of the current research is to examine how successful teams contribute to the social interactions and event experience of members.Research methods: We purposively sampled two highly successful fundraising teams that participated in a running and swimming event. Qualitative data were collected via post-event focus groups and 14 interviews with members of Mands’ Mob (Run Melbourne) and the Yarra Babes (MS 24-Hour Mega Swim) who raised funds for two charities: Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation and Multiple Sclerosis Australia.Results and Findings: Five themes were uncovered: (1) team leader communication, (2) team catch-ups, (3) theming, (4) humanising the cause, and (5) bonding at the event. These themes demonstrate that fundraising teams bolster the experience throughout, assist with training, and facilitate social interaction throughout the event among team members.Implications: The themes demonstrate how successful fundraising teams create social impacts that might be leveraged by organisers. There is scope to broaden efforts to complement the work of team leaders in order to inspire participants through personal narratives and distinguish teams through a visual identity and image.

Leveraging Sport Events to Maximize Community Benefits in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

For many years, special events have played an important role as strategic elements within community development. However, to date little work has been conducted on how to maximize the social potential of special events in low- and middle-income countries. In addressing this issue, we reflect on event management processes and leverage mechanisms that have underpinned a community sport event in the Pacific Island nation of Sāmoa, and identify strategies for maximizing beneficial event outcomes. We present findings related to previously identified leverage areas, including sociocultural and participatory leverage, and also suggest new areas that seem particularly relevant in the context of community development, including educational, health-related, and reputational leverage. Finally, key challenges and opportunities for event managers and local communities are discussed, implications for event leverage are provided, and areas for future research are outlined.

“We’ve never measured it, but it brings in a lot of business”

PurposeThis paper aims to examine participatory sport event organizers’ perspectives on potential connections between their events and tourism and destination marketing outcomes.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study entailed in-depth interviews with participatory sport event organizers in the United Kingdom, coupled with thematic analysis of event websites and social media. The paper uses Chalip’s (2004) model for host community event leveraging to interpret findings.FindingsEvent organizers focused on attracting participants and delivering positive experiences, rather than on stimulating tourism-related outcomes. However, organizers used a range of strategies to attract participants, such as emphasizing attractive and unique location features, which could also serve to entice active sport tourists and promote the event host destination.Research limitations/implicationsParticipatory sport event organizers may not prioritize or even sufficiently understand the potential for their events to generate tourism outcomes. For organizers confronted with operating constraints and event delivery challenges, it may be difficult to find the time, and practical ways, to satisfy the needs of tourism stakeholders.Originality/valueThe unique contribution of this paper is its focus on supply-side perspectives on the role of participatory sport events as tourism catalysts, and its examination of the potential for such small-scale events to contribute to sustainable tourism development. This paper also considers the nature of event organizers’ role in implementation of Chalip’s (2004) model for host community event leveraging.

Challenges facing immediate tourism leveraging: evidence from the London 2012 Olympic Games

ABSTRACTModels of event leveraging identify strategies that organisers can use to increase the benefits that sport events bring to host destinations. Among these, leveraging tourism benefits during the event is a frequently cited strategy by which organisers can bring more money into a destination. To date, little work has been conducted on leveraging immediate tourism benefits from mega sport events. In addressing this issue, we reflect and present findings related to previously identified event leveraging theories that are determined by tourists’ activities at a host destination. These are (a) enticing visitor spending and (b) lengthening visitor stay. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the use of such leveraging strategies during the London 2012 Olympic Games to increase event-related tourism. Results from 15 interviews with key stakeholders demonstrate that the effectiveness of these leveraging strategies can be limited by a number of challenges: (1) limited strategies to entice visitor spending, (2) limited interest in tourism attractions, (3) lack of location attractiveness, (4) the displacement effect and (5) the impact of the wider economic environment. Key challenges and opportunities are detailed, a discussion on the implications for event leveraging is provided and potential areas for future research are outlined.

Leveraging of Sport Events to Support Tourism in Egypt

Sport events attract large spectators from local residents and international tourists and provide worldwide media coverage. Nowadays, there is a great global competition among destinations for hosting sport events; accompanied by leverage programs. The phenomenon of event leverage maximizes both short and long-term outcomes. So sport event leverage involves planning long- term outcomes from such events, to promote tourism and develop local business, besides, short-term outcomes such as: visitation-related impacts. The research initiative focuses on tourists’ intentions to visit Egypt for attending a sport event. Moreover, the research implies to the benefits generated from sport events, which may support tourism in Egypt. To carry on with this research a questionnaire survey was conducted among non- sport tourists visiting Egypt. The findings identified some key factors that influence tourists’ intentions to visit Egypt for sport tourism. The research showed also that Egypt has the capabilities that allow it to compete strongly with other countries in both hosting and organizing sport events, as well as applying leverage programs to support tourism.

Leveraging sport heritage to promote tourism destinations: the case of the Tour of Flanders Cyclo event

ABSTRACTThe conceptual framework of event leverage has been applied to cases of event sport tourism, but it has been under-examined in cases of heritage-based active sport tourism. Using the framework of event leverage, the purpose of this paper is to explore the strategic opportunities for tourism destination development associated with hosting heritage-based active sport tourism events. Quantitative and qualitative survey data were collected from participants (N = 1091) at the 2013 edition of the Tour of Flanders Cyclo event. This annual active sport tourism event has gained world-wide popularity through explicit associations with Flanders’ cycling heritage. The findings reveal significant differences between national and international event participants in terms of their socio-demographic profiles, cycling behaviours, and event motivations. Active sport tourists who travelled internationally to take part in the event were more committed to experiencing and pursuing the event’s heritage, as active participants as well as passive spectators. While sport tourism events are commonly identified as the key resource in the event leveraging literature, this paper highlights the leveraging potential of other event and destination-related resources, including event heritage, route, and atmosphere. The findings contribute to the conceptual framing of event leverage by identifying active sport heritage as an important resource to promote participation among sport tourists. This study suggests a broader conceptualisation of sport heritage as an active and embodied process. Event stakeholders are advised to create temporary and permanent transformations that can enhance the connection between the facets of the event and the context of the host to attract domestic and international participants all year round.

Leveraging parasport events for sustainable community participation: The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games

Drawing on a case study of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, this article examines the extent to which the hosting of an integrated parasport event where able-bodied athletes and athletes with a disability compete alongside one another is being leveraged to create opportunities for community participation, and influence community attitudes towards disability. The assumption about hosting parasport events is that the mere visibility of events will impact attitudes and perceptions towards persons with disabilities in a positive manner; however, little evidence beyond anecdotes supports this assumption. Recent research on leveraging events also suggests the need to strategically utilize the opportunity of the event and related resources if seeking to attain sustainable positive impacts for the host community [Chalip, L. 2006. “Towards Social Leverage of Sport Events.” Journal of Sport & Tourism 11 (2): 109–127. doi:10.1080/14775080601155126]. Empirically, this article draws on extensive data collection undertaken before, during and after the 2014 Commonwealth Games, specifically an analysis of policy and legacy planning documents and strategic interviews conducted pre-Games examining the tactics, strategies and programmes used by stakeholders to enhance community participation opportunities. The results suggest that whilst at the strategic level there was evidence of an integrated policy approach to leveraging the event for broader accessibility outcomes, this was not always accompanied by clear programmes or projects that are likely to lead to demonstrable impacts beyond the normal temporality of large-scale sporting events. We conclude by suggesting that the absence of clear, resourced and measurable aspirations for the parasport element of the Games may lead to unfulfilled leveraging possibilities as levels of interest and resources diminish.

Determinants of business engagement with regional sport events

Research question: Small-scale sports events provide commercial opportunities for regional communities, and yet research suggests that local commercial organisations are sometimes reticent to engage with sport event organisations to leverage benefits. This paper examines variation in business engagement with sport events and identifies determinants to sport event leverage that are previously unrecognised in the academic literature.Research methods: Using a multiple case study approach in three regions of eastern Australia, this research examines reactions to a sport event within each respective host business community. The multiple cases allow comparison of results across regions, using a mixed method strategy of personal interviews, observation and document analysis.Results and findings: The main findings reveal six key determinants of organisational engagement with regional sport events being: event cooperation, tourism dependency, business size, promotional strategy, strategic direction and skills and knowledge. These key determinants are explored to create a framework for future research in this area, and further contribute to the field of sport leverage research, with particular importance to sport events.Implications: The barriers to the development of strategies to maximise event leverage are identified and discussed, and in so doing implications for improving business relationships with sport events are explored. These implications are relevant to managing impacts upon businesses, visitors, and event and regional destinations.

Extending the benefits of leveraging cycling events: evidence from the Tour of Flanders

Research question: This paper examines event leveraging for public health benefits with the outcome of increasing physical activity participation. While event leveraging provides the foundation for this research, social ecological theory is additionally applied to further examine how leveraging efforts can increase physical activity participation through an understanding of systems and targets.Research methods: An in-depth case study of the Tour of Flanders (Dutch: Ronde van Vlaanderen), Belgium's most popular annual cycling event, is conducted by using qualitative data from interviews and documents.Results and findings: Results reveal that community and sport event-related leverageable resources have been leveraged simultaneously through the strategic use of Flanders' cycling heritage to increase bicycle tourism and active participation in cycling in the region. The Village of the Tour and the Centennial Tour are discussed as two leveraging processes that occur at distinct social ecological systems, using different targets to promote cycling.Implications: The paper argues for greater cooperation between different levels of government operating in the advent of leveraging cycling events to extend the benefits of leveraging.

Applying event leveraging using OGI data: a case study of Vancouver 2010

Although the topic of strategically leveraging the hosting of sport mega-events to achieve socioeconomic outcomes has received some academic attention, research has not systematically applied the theoretical model of event leveraging. The challenge of this paper is to review some of the assumptions of the current theoretical model while using secondary data from the Olympic Games Impact (OGI) study that has been conducted on the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. These data illustrate that, from the perspective of the host, the costs associated with leveraging far exceed the costs associated with hosting the Olympic Games. However, event leverage proves to be a complex process, in which it is nearly impossible to differentiate between impacts and outcomes, even when only government investments into infrastructure are illuminated. Therefore, a conceptual framework that links the sport mega-event with the context of the host is proposed and it is aimed at inviting and guiding future research by clearly assigning the responsibility of leveraging to host governments, with the involvement of other event stakeholders throughout the process.

Cultivating Safe Space: Lessons for Sport-for-Development Projects and Events

Recent research has examined how sports events and sport-for-development projects can create, sustain, and maximize positive social impacts for local communities. This article takes this debate forward by arguing that the cultivation of safe space is a key ingredient of sport-for-development management and community event leverage. Safe space is conceptualized as a multidimensional process that involves physical, psychological/affective, sociocultural, political, and experimental dimensions. Drawing on empirical findings from Sri Lanka, Israel, and Brazil, the article shows how these dimensions of safe space operate and interact in practice, and identifies practical strategies that sport managers, policymakers, and practitioners can use to cultivate safe spaces in and through sports projects and events.

Managing impact: Leveraging sacred spaces and community celebration to maximize social capital at a sport-for-development event

The purpose of this investigation was to understand how a sport-for-development event can be leveraged socially, and if event organizers created the best possible experiences for homeless participants through the creation of communitas and thus, social capital. We also examined the mechanisms through which liminality is cultivated and communitas can emerge, along with the means for leveraging liminality. It was found that liminality was cultivated and communitas materialized at this SFD event, as event organizers employed various processes to foster a liminoid space and develop community. Additional tactics were employed to leverage liminality and associated communitas for social capital development. We contribute to the research literature on event leveraging and also make important contributions to theory development. Implications are drawn forth for theory, practice, and future research.

Understanding sport event success: exploring perceptions of sport event consumers and event providers

The success of a sport event is an important outcome for both the organizing entity and the destination where the event is hosted to properly leverage its hosting. Utilizing the multiple constituency approach in assessing organizational effectiveness, the purpose of this study was to examine factors that contribute to the success of a sport event through the perspectives of the event providers and the spectators of small-scale sport events who experience the events. Employees from organizations from across the USA involved in the attraction and delivery of the event, namely local sports commissions and Convention and Visitor Bureaus of a destination, were asked to participate in the study to provide factors they perceived to make an event successful. In addition, spectators from two small-scale sport events were asked to describe the factors of successful small-scale sport events for them and their home community. The results revealed complementarity in the views from both sides and a differential weight placed on stated success factors for each group. Effective event management and delivery was the common denominator between the two entities. The supply side prioritized economic development while the demand side psychological and social events aspects. Implications are provided for event management, destination marketing and event leveraging.

Beyond Olympic Legacy: Understanding Paralympic Legacy Through a Thematic Analysis

Over the last decade a great deal of work has examined major sport event legacies and event leverage. Much of this work has involved Olympic studies and this paper seeks to add to the body of knowledge surrounding major sport event legacies by examining the largely overlooked area of the Paralympic Games. The Paralympic Games are the second largest multisport event after the Olympic Games depending upon which parameters are used and since Sydney 2000 there has been an ‘operational partnership’ where bid cities are required to host both Games. Yet, few studies have evaluated the comparative outcomes, legacies and event leverage that Paralympic games have generated. This paper addresses this absence by conducting a thematic analysis of Paralympic legacy research. The thematic analysis used a combination of keywords involving event legacy across 13 major academic databases. Of the 43 articles identified as having Paralympic legacy related content only 13 articles empirically investigated Paralympic legacy. In reviewing the research, it is noted that the bulk of the research has focused on Summer Paralympic Games with little interest in the Winter Paralympic Games. The major findings for legacy-based research include: infrastructure; sport; information education, and awareness; human capital; and managerial changes. However, while these findings may seem congruent with major event legacies frameworks conceptually, an examination of the detailed findings shows that Paralympic legacy research is isomorphic and adds a new component to existing legacy dimensions.

Maximizing Positive Social Impacts: Strategies for Sustaining and Leveraging the Benefits of Intercommunity Sport Events in Divided Societies

Building on the evidence of social impacts generated by sport events, there is a need for research to identify strategies suitable for maximizing event benefits for disparate interest communities. This paper investigates the opportunities and strategic means for sustaining and leveraging social event benefits arising from intercommunity sport events in the ethnically divided Sri Lanka. Following an interpretive mode of inquiry, findings are derived from the analysis of two focus groups and 35 in-depth interviews with Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim and international event stakeholders. To maximize event benefits, findings suggest that event organizers and host communities focus strategically on children as catalysts for change; increase ethnically mixed team sport activities; provide event-related sociocultural opportunities; combine large-scale events with regular sport-for-development programs; and engage in social, cultural, political and educational event leverage. By implementing these strategies and tactics, intercommunity sport events are likely to contribute to local capacity building and inclusive social change, which can have flow-on effects to the wider community. These findings extend the academic literature on strategic event planning, management and leverage, as they provide a focus on community event leverage for social purposes in a developing world context—an area which has thus far received limited empirical research.

Social leveraging of the 2010 Olympic Games: ‘sustainability’ in a City of Vancouver initiative

Heightened inter-city competition for hosting sport mega-events has increased the involvement of levels of government. Governments are seeking to achieve public policy objectives using the sport mega-event as a vehicle to do so. The emergence of the concept of social leveraging is important to understand the involvement of host governments in attempts to amend, fast-track, or generate new public policy, curriculum, community programmes, and demonstration projects. This article presents a case study of the City of Vancouver's newly emerging post-Olympic Greenest City initiative. The purpose of this case study of social leveraging is to better understand this concept in the context of hosting the 2010 Olympic Games and the City of Vancouver's development of a sustainability business brand. This case study is explored according to Chalip [Chalip, L. (2006). Towards social leverage of sport events. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 11, 109–127. doi:10.1080/14775080601155126] and O'Brien and Chalip's [O'Brien, D., & Chalip, L. (2007a). Executive training exercise in sport event leverage. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 1, 296–304. doi:10.1108/17506180710824181; O'Brien, D., & Chalip, L. (2007b). Sport events and strategic leveraging: Pushing towards the triple bottom line. In A.G. Woodside & D. Martin (Eds.), Tourism management: Analysis, behavior, and strategy (pp. 318–338). Cambridge: CABI] framework of social leveraging. Case study analysis offers evidence that suggests that social leveraging does conceptualize the efforts by government hosts to maximize benefits from their intensive investments in sport mega-events. Findings also extend the exploratory framework of social leveraging by considering additional leverageable resources that government officials utilize, especially as these resources might fast-track policy objectives. Our research also suggests amending the sequence of and the parts of this framework in order to elaborate on social leveraging as an iterative rather than linear process.