The role of corporates in creating sustainable Olympic legacies

Abstract

The Olympic Games is a major stimulus for increased tourism. In recent years, there have been greater calls for this and other mega-events to leave sustainable positive legacies for the host city, partly to offset the massive cost of hosting. To date, little consideration has been afforded to the role corporates might play in contributing to event legacies. This gap is compounded by the lack of research examining stakeholder engagement in legacy planning more generally. This paper adopts Holmes, Hughes, Mair and Carlsen’s (2015) sustainable event legacy timeline to conceptualise how corporates through the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of sponsorship and employee volunteering can engage across the Olympic event planning cycle to generate volunteering legacies. Drawing upon a comparative study of the Sydney 2000 and London 2012 Olympic Games, tentative evidence of corporate engagement was noted but for the most part it was fragmented and CSR initiatives primarily focused on the immediate planning and delivery stages of the event cycle. The paper advances new knowledge of how volunteering legacies can be generated through the best practice engagement of corporates as key stakeholders involved in legacy planning and governance across the Olympic planning cycle.     

Support of politicians for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro

The purpose of this research was to explore and describe politicians’ evaluations of the work done by the government, perceptions of legacy and support for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games. The literature has argued that organisers must know in advance the opinion of main stakeholders in order to plan, organise and stage sport mega-events which are going to leave important legacy to the hosts. Considering politicians have privileged information about costs and benefits of sport mega-events, they are more likely than any other group of stakeholders to be able to make rational choices about social exchanges related to such events. Social exchange theory provided the theoretical background to test a structural model, where evaluations of the work done and perceptions of legacy were antecedents of support. Out of 715 politicians, 13 senators, 40 congressmen, six Rio state representatives and five Rio city councillors took part into a survey responding a questionnaire. Controlling for political affiliation of respondents, the tourism legacy was evaluated as the most likely to happen, while the environmental legacy was evaluated as the least likely to stay after the games. Political affiliation affected the evaluation of the work of the government, but not perceptions about positive legacies and support. Overall, politicians’ support depends on evaluations of the work of the government and perceptions of legacy.     

Characterising and identifying gaps in sustainability assessments of tourism - a review

This paper highlights the main stages in developing a process of sustainability assessments in tourism (SAT) and applies a systematic literature review of empirical research based on pre-developed assessment categories. The aim is to characterise general approaches to measuring sustainability in tourism and to identify patterns and research gaps within these approaches. Four major assessment methodologies were identified through a hierarchical cluster analysis. Whereas new frameworks and indices explore new conceptual approaches to sustainability assessments, case studies and systems approaches rely on existing indicator work and create new assessment contexts. The literature review confirms the heterogeneity of these assessments, albeit without an overall sector-specific consensus. The results show that stakeholder involvement is not widely implemented in the indicator-selection process, and indicators are not linked to sustainability targets. The findings demonstrate that more effort is needed in relation to contextualising frameworks and assessment approaches, to foster target-oriented decision-making.     

Rio 2016 and the sport participation legacies

The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions held by physical education professionals of the sport participation legacy associated with the 2016 Olympic Games (Rio 2016). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 professionals who resided in Rio de Janeiro at the time of the study. In general, apart from the tangible legacies, individuals were completely unaware of what is being proposed by the different levels of government and the organising committee to maximise the potential benefits of the event for the local community. According to participants, the local population was never consulted about, or properly informed of, what was involved in staging the event and its planned legacies. The perceptions of post-Games changes in sport participation, using the 2007 Rio de Janeiro Pan-American Games as a point of comparison, ranged from no impact to a short-term increase. The reason for this, according to participants, was the lack of long-term planning and policies to encourage and promote sport participation. In conclusion, in order for benefits of mega events to be leveraged, the different levels of government need to develop long-term actions and policies to encourage sports participation in conjunction with the employment of the infrastructural legacy towards this end.     

A framework for monitoring during the planning stage for a sports mega-event

This paper proposes a monitoring framework to be used during the planning stage for a sports mega-event. The research identifies a lack of monitoring and evaluation studies during the development stage for sports mega-events. Importantly, it notes the absence of research which evaluates an event systematically from the outset of the process and from the perspectives of host residents and event planners. The framework was developed on the basis of the philosophical approach of pragmatism; it focused on a sustainable development perspective, and it was applied to a case study of the Kaohsiung 2009 World Games. A survey of the views of 606 host residents about the potential impacts of the event revealed that the respondents tended to show higher levels of agreement on the host benefits. The results of 38 interviews with various stakeholders indicated big gaps in both the city's long-term development aspirations and the Games themselves and also in the event strategies adopted. Using this information, key sustainability issues can be identified and monitored during the event planning stage so that the desirable outcomes of events can be enhanced and then sustained in the longer term.     

Mega-sporting events and children’s rights and interests – towards a better future

Abstract

The public subsidy of Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup hosting opportunities is invariably justified on the basis that they will secure a range of public good outcomes. Problematically, the information available inspires less confidence that these ambitions will be met and highlights how social costs and benefits are unevenly distributed. As a result, interest in the social dimension of hosting has grown, yet the knowledge to support responsive and evidence-based events policy remains relatively underdeveloped, particularly in relation to the specific needs and experiences of affected communities. The impact on children as a particularly stakeholder group reflects this context of recognition and knowledge gap. For example, while it is accepted that immovable deadlines and risk of reputational consequences raise a variety of social justice concerns throughout the event lifecycle, the nature and scale of these impacts on children is poorly understood and frequently mismanaged. Findings drawn from research commissioned by Terre des Hommes International Federation which explored the intersections between children’s rights and social justice concerns highlights how such initiatives present risks and opportunities that cannot be managed effectively until children are included within associated planning processes as a specific stakeholder group with distinct needs and interests.     

Building social capital in a divided city: the potential of events

Abstract

It is widely held that social capital can help build sustainable communities, yet researchers agree that further research is needed to fully understand the social dimensions of sustainable development. In event settings, understanding how social capital is formed remains limited. This paper addresses this issue by examining the extent to which the UK City of Culture 2013 (CoC13) succeeded in building social capital in post-conflict Derry/Londonderry. The authors adopted a case study approach and mixed qualitative methods in the form of in-depth interviews and focus groups. The findings suggest that CoC13 helped to generate both bonding and bridging social capital, however, while intra community bonds were strengthened, exclusivity was also fostered. More positive were the examples of bridging capital cultivated across communities, particularly between young attendees, and between event organisers, with cooperation building trust and goodwill between volunteers. Some of the cross community relationships developed have been sustained. However, the lack of legacy planning has meant that the long-term social goals have not been met. In summary, the study suggests that in a post conflict society, events can help build social capital. However, in the absence of legacy planning, the benefits gained may soon evaporate.     

The role of voluntary sport organisations in leveraging the London 2012 sport participation legacy

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to understand the perceptions of national Voluntary Sport Organisations (VSOs) managers towards a mega sports event and identify the components they felt enhanced or inhibited their organisations capacity to implement a sport participation legacy. London 2012 was the first Olympic Games to explicitly attempt to deliver this type of legacy, and an exploratory, online mixed-method survey examined the perceptions of 105 senior managers from 37 VSOs, post-event. Principal Component Analysis identified four distinct factors: ‘objectives, standards & resources’, ‘event capitalisation & opportunities’, ‘monitoring & evaluation’ and ‘club engagement & implementation’, explaining 51.5% of the variance. Also, relevant organisational characteristics such as sport type, funding and sport size were examined to investigate the influence this had on their capacity. From these findings, the main recommendations are that future mega sport event hosts should: 1) Engage and consult with multiple stakeholders to engender sustained sport participation. 2) Set clear and monitorable objectives. 3) Establish funding and support mechanisms relevant to each sport. 4) Engage non-competing sports in the leveraging process. 5) Finally, event organisers should try to ensure personnel consistency.     

Sustainable water demand management in the hotel sector: a policy network analysis of Singapore

Abstract

Water use in the tourism industry is a vital sustainability issue in destination development. Achieving sustainable water demand management (WDM) is challenging and requires destination stakeholder collaboration for effective participatory policymaking. Taking the WDM of Singapore’s hotel sector as a case, this article applies a policy network analysis to prevailing stakeholder collaboration based on public policy documents published between 2001 and 2015. Thirty-three interconnected organisational stakeholders and 76 policy domains were identified. Longitudinal analyses revealed structural changes in stakeholder collaboration during WDM policy development. The findings also indicate that the policy stakeholders of WDM are becoming increasingly diverse, and with this expansion in stakeholder participation, the collaboration network has evolved from being simple to remarkably complex. This article also discusses the relationship between policy stakeholders and policy domains, revealing that the responsibility, available resources, and interests of stakeholders are the main factors influencing their policy preferences in this discourse. The results enrich our understanding of inter-stakeholder relationships and the dynamic relational structure of interdisciplinary policy system.     

A review of the business case for CSR in the hospitality industry

Despite prolific research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in its various forms in the hospitality industry, there is no consensus regarding the business case for CSR initiatives. Using a stakeholder lens, we review the research on CSR and its rationale by analyzing its impact on the environment, employees, customers, community, and investors in the hospitality industry. Our review analyzes 170 articles published between 1990 and 2017 covering different conceptual frameworks, measures, and samples to evaluate the current state of the field, integrate findings, identify gaps, and suggest avenues for future research. Our review calls for a) more studies that examine hospitality-specific CSR initiatives to examine impact on firm performance, b) greater theory-driven research, and c) expansion of contexts both in terms of different sectors of the industry and geographical locations, than is covered by existing studies. Future research directions are provided.     

A case study investigating the impact of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on participation in two non-traditional English sports,Judo and Fencing

The hosting of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOPG) brought with it detailed legacy plans aiming to ‘Inspire a Generation’. The idea that hosting a sports mega-event will encourage the host population to engage in more physical activity is commonly used by governments to justify the large investments they make. The aim of this research paper was to investigate the impact that hosting the 2012 Games had on grass-root sports participation within the host nation. This paper focuses on two non-traditional English sports, Fencing and Judo and investigated the changes in mass sports participation. The membership rate analysis of our sample highlighted an overall increase in participation between 2007 and 2013, in both Judo and Fencing. The data gathered from the interviews with the head office staff at the National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and local club coaches suggested that the grass-root participation programmes were the most effective way of increasing participation, rather than the reliance, solely on the inspiration effect from hosting the LOPG itself. The study highlighted the importance of strengthening communication between local voluntary clubs and the NGB, to ensure sports could promote themselves and capitalise on this global sporting phenomenon, which provided unprecedented media coverage and opportunities for these non-traditional sports. This case study provides initial results relating to the effect that a major international multi-sport event can have in the development of non-traditional sports in the host population, in terms of membership variations, participation programmes and organisational dynamics.     

Measuring the Effects of Event Sponsorship: Theoretical Frameworks and Image Transfer Models

The use of event sponsorship or other types of sponsorship as a means to establish, enhance, or change brand image is a fairly common practice for a variety of organizations. This objective has been identified as one of the two most common goals for organizations to engage in sponsorship programs. The rationale behind the popularity of sponsorship as a marketing tool to achieve image goals is the general assumption that, by linking a brand to an event, the image of the event can be transferred to the image of the sponsor.

Despite the increasing sophistication of event sponsorship and rising academic interest in understanding sponsorship practice, there is still a lack of in-depth understanding of how sponsorship processes work, in particular in what concerns its brand outcomes. The article addresses this issue by documenting, examining, and critically assessing the existing literature. The main explanations of brand image transfer, including theoretical frameworks and models, are presented; empirical research, divided into effectiveness of brand image transfer and the factors affecting such process, is analyzed; and two main issues found in the more recent articles—direction of brand image transfer and multiple sponsorships—are discussed. Finally, existing gaps are identified and research propositions are presented to guide future research.     

The Relationship Between Inquiry and Visitation: What Is (or Should Be) Conversion?

Abstract

The various possible sequences of commitment, inquiry, and visitation are considered for their impact on the practice of conversion research to measure the impact of travel advertising. It is proposed that many of the suggestions for the enhancement of the validity of conversion studies are contrary to both the scant empirical evidence and not consistent with what should be measured as conversion.     

Understanding and managing the threat of common method bias: Detection,prevention and control

Common method bias can appear when both the independent and dependent variable is captured by the same response method. While the consequences of common method bias can be detrimental to a study's validity, they are, as the authors empirically show, often neglected in tourism research. The authors provide a comprehensive discussion of sources of common method bias, as well as methods to identify and control for it. They structure these controls and critically discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each. The authors develop a decision tree that features recommendations for choosing appropriate procedural and statistical controls. By doing so, they hope to spur recognition of the threat of common method bias and active management thereof in future tourism research.     

Reconnoitering relationships among value,trust, affect,and loyalty at association events

Meetings and conventions organized by associations are considered the most competitive industry segment due to the number of associations and their frequency of regular meetings and events. The success of association events may result from greater attendees' loyalty. This loyalty, in turn, may be determined by association event value they received from the event, trust in the association, and by feelings or affect elicited by the association. However, little research has been done on the value of attending an association event in relation to association trust and affect, leading to loyalty toward an association and association event. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship among “association event value,” “association trust,” “association affect,” and loyalty in the context of association events. The survey has been disseminated to those who had attended an association event no more than 1 year prior to taking the survey. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to test the hypotheses. The findings suggest that attendees' perceived value at an association event builds loyalty toward the association. In addition, association trust and affect mediate the relationship between value and loyalty toward the association.     

Evaluation of the 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition from the perceptions of host-city residents: a new framework for mega-event legacies measurement

Numerous cities have recently hosted and engaged in mega-events to pursue tourism and urban development. Although ample research has focussed on the effects of mega-events, few studies have addressed the measurement indicators of mega-event legacies. Based on the triple bottom line principle, we developed measurement indicators for mega-event legacies to assess empirically the legacy of the 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition based on the perceptions of Taipei City residents. We collected data from 1374 residents who live in Taipei City using the quota sampling method. Based on the study results, we designed a 36-item event legacy scale, comprising 10 mega-event legacy factors. The implications of these findings for managing mega-events and future research directions are discussed.     

Empirical research on leisure and spiritual well-being: conceptualisation,measurement and findings

ABSTRACT

As a follow-up to recent chapters that concluded there is little existing evidence for a relationship between leisure and spiritual well-being, this paper reviews existing empirical research studies on leisure and spiritual well-being: their conceptualisation of spiritual well-being, methodology used, spiritual well-being measurement instruments, sample size, and the research findings. In the last 20 years, there has been an expansion of empirical research on leisure and spirituality; however, research has focused on immediate spiritual experience, not spiritual well-being. Nevertheless, 18 studies focus on leisure and spiritual well-being. All but three studies concluded that leisure was associated with spiritual well-being or contributed to spiritual well-being. Three studies also discovered that leisure could detract from spiritual well-being.     

Public strategies to rescue the hospitality industry following the impact of COVID-19: A case study of the European Union

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a “zero tourism” situation throughout the world with unpredictable consequences. Several authors analyzed the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic during the second trimester of 2020, but none of them have specifically examined European Union countries and the joint actions taken to fight the pandemic. Using a case study methodology, this paper presents a literature review of the most up-to-date studies on the impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Secondly, we specify the different public intervention measures implemented by the European Union in accordance with supranational governance theory and stakeholder theory. Finally, we set out the different COVID-19-related public rescue strategies for the tourism and hospitality sector at the individual level (for tourists), at the business level (for touristic companies) and at the destination level (for the European Union countries), from the perspective of stakeholders. The main contribution of our research is therefore to explore the public strategies to rescue the tourism and hospitality sector in the context of the European Union.     

Tourism Crises and Marketing Recovery Strategies

SUMMARY

The recent frequency and intensity of crises and disasters affecting the tourism industry has resulted in a growing body of research into their causes, effects and management, as the bibliographies of the ensuing papers catalogue. To date, most papers and collections of research have taken a broad approach, describing the origins of a particular event which triggered a tourism crises, followed by an examination of the differential effects of the crisis on local residents, staff, tourists and tourism organizations or the environment and infrastructure. They have also discussed rescue efforts and the complexity of management tasks in the immediate aftermath of an event, often pointing to the need for preplanning to mitigate the consequences of any future disaster. Other researchers have contributed directly to the academic debate about how to theorise tourism crisis management, often by drawing on the wider crisis management literature.

The present collection of research differs in that it focuses on one phase of the tasks which managers face after the immediate consequences of a crisis have been dealt with. This phase addresses the question of how to rebuild the market for a tourism service or a destination which has experienced a significant catastrophe, and how to learn from the experience in planning for future crisis response strategies. It is suggested in this paper that the challenges are actually more varied and complex than is implied by the suggestion, found in much of the literature, that the task is about ‘restoring normality.’ The chaos and complexity experienced in the aftermath of a crisis raise general issues of how organizations learn and adapt to change.     

Revisiting the host city: An empirical examination of sport involvement,place attachment,event satisfaction and spectator intentions at the London Olympics

This paper tests a model based on hypothesized relationships among sport involvement, place evaluations; at the level of venue and host city, and event satisfaction as antecedents of behavioral intentions. The relationships are explored among a sample of people attending the 2012 London Olympic Games (n = 603). Spectators completed questionnaires at event venues, providing responses at the place and time of the consumptive experience. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to determine the dimensions of the constructs and to test the validity of measurement items. The structural model indicated that sport involvement and place attachment influenced revisit intentions but this was not the case for event satisfaction. This suggests that although tourism will benefit when spectators experience a psychological connection with event venues, the Olympic Games offer a distinctive event experience that does not have a direct influence on intentions to revisit the host city.