Guest Introduction: Making Sense of Event Experiences

Abstract

surely can be described as learning, for all involved. However, this introduction ends with the question of whether learning truly takes place if there is no reflection in line with Kolb's Learning Cycle (Kolb, 1984), and how and when this reflection takes place is an issue for event managers, event educators, and researchers in terms of embedding learning and knowledge. Conceptualizing "Events" and "Event Experiences" It is widely accepted that making sense of event experiences is difficult. As Ooi (2005) and O'Dell (2007) aptly summarized: "experiences are highly personal, subjectively perceived, intangible, ever fleeting and continuously ongoing" (p. 35). However, undeniably, in the context of event management, event experiences are more than random phenomena occurring in the minds of individuals. As O'Sullivan and Spangler (1998) pointed out, experience is about Involvement and participation; the state of being physically, mentally, socially, spiritually and emotionally involved; the changing knowledge, skill, memory or emotion; a conscious perception

The Stakeholder Sandwich: A New Stakeholder Analysis Model for Events and Festivals

“…Demonstrating "value" in a multistakeholder context can also inform a longer-term perspective on outcomes and legacy (Brown, Getz, Pettersson, & Wallstam, 2015). This extends the importance of event experience in relation to influencing customer perception (Ramsbottom et al, 2018) and customer satisfaction (Michopoulou & Giuliano, 2018), and demonstrates an increasingly complex stakeholder map and the need to ensure the broadest possible sampling and representation is included.…”

“…A shift away from the economic emphasis on stakeholder understanding has opened up questions about assigning overall value or "worth," particularly in planned events, and how this defines or influences stakeholder behavior. Managing event experiences in a way to ensure value creation for a range of disparate stakeholders is believed to be of vital importance, with experiences, rather than goods or services, the only way to achieve industry economic growth (Ramsbottom, Michopoulou, & Azara, 2018).…”

Constraints and Facilitators of Sport Participation in Qatar: Perceptions of Ooredoo Marathon Participants

“…Nonetheless, the current research represents an important starting point in an underresearched context (i.e., Qatar). Learning from the experiences of event participants provides a basis for future improvement in event design and promotion (Ramsbottom et al, 2018). Further, Patterson and Getz (2013) recommended that application of leisure theory to event research could shed light on how "event designers suggest, constraint or facilitate desired experiences" (p. 238).…”

Investigating the triangular relationship between temporary event workforce, event employment businesses and event organisers

“…The events industry is a dynamic and growing sector whose social and economic impact is increasingly recognised at academic and industry levels (Berridge, 2007; Michopoulou et al , 2019). However, similar to the hospitality and tourism sectors, research on issues of human resources management and specifically on the challenges to define, recruit, manage and retain “talented staff” in the context of small- and medium-size event organisations’ remains lacking (Baum, 2008; Clark et al , 2017; Deery and Jago, 2015; Getz, 2012; Getz and Page, 2016; Hanlon and Cuskelly, 2002; Hanlon and Jago, 2004, 2009; Hanlon and Stewart, 2006; Kim et al , 2013; Mair and Whitford, 2013; Park and Park, 2017; Ramsbottom et al , 2018).…”