Economic Impacts on Event Management - Literature review Example

?Economic Impacts on Event Management Table of Contents 0.Introduction 3 2.0.The Dimensions of Event Management 3 3.0.Conceptualising Event Management from an Economic Perspective 5 Conclusion 9 References 10 10 1.0. Introduction The increasing concentration on the profession of event management has drawn the attention of scholars towards various significant aspects among which the relationship between economic factors and events held in different regions can be considered as vital. ‘Events’, in this context can be termed as any social or corporate happenings organised in a planned and structured manner. Hence, it is quite apparent that events have to be systematically managed to be organised efficiently that in turn can provide with utmost satisfaction to the participants in terms of investors, visitors and other stakeholders (Getz, 2008). Damster & et. al. (2006: 11) observed, “Events can be described as transient, and every event is a unique blending of its duration, setting, management and people”. Events can be of various types on the basis of the invested amount as well as on the basis of its purpose. However, the management process in organising any event is almost similar taking into account a broad process of analysing, planning, directing, organising and controlling. It is in this context that market analysis and the economic trends are currently being considered as vital aspects to be considered while planning for event management (Getz, 2008; O'Toole, 2000). Although, the concern has been noticed very recently in the context of event management, the significance of economic impacts has gained considerable attention in the field of research. From a similar perspective, this paper will also intend to critical review a few literatures which are focused on the economic impacts observed during event management. 2.0. The Dimensions of Event Management Events have always been an inseparable part of the social culture of different countries. But in the current era, the impact of events on the social setting and the rapidly growing influence of event management profession as a profitable career option have increased to a large extent. Along with the growing attention towards the concept of event management as a newly developed extension to managerial paradigm, the conception has also developed to be more complex and multi-dimensional. As noted by Damster & et. al. (2006), in the current scenario, events can be classified into various categories on the basis of purpose and also based on its size. Stating precisely, Gertz (2008) noted the classification of events on the basis of their purpose as cultural events, political events, corporate events, private events, recreational as well as sports events can be documented as a few of the classified categories of events. Where cultural events can be recognised as the festivals and carnivals as well as commemorations, the political events include summits, VIP visits and royal occasions. Similarly, meetings and trade shows are included in the corporate events classification, while private events can be illustrated in terms of weddings, birthday parties and such other occasions. Further elaborating on the concept of event management, Damster & et. al. (2006) classified events into three broad categories, i.e. special events, hallmark events, and mega events. As embarked in the study of Jago (1997), researchers have provided intense significance to the aspect of special events. These events are mostly termed as the programmes organised exclusively on days which are excluded in the mentioned holiday lists for special reasons. Even though, a wide range of researches have been developed focusing on the concept of special events, there is a substantial lacuna witnessed in literatures which can provide with a comprehensive and just definition to the concept (Jago, 1997). A major feature of the special events can be attributed as its intention to attract large crowds and media attentions being unique and fundamentally emphasised on retaining tourists. Thus, special events can be stated to play a vital role in supporting the growth of tourism industry in various economies (Damster & et. al., 2006). In the similar context, hallmark events are observed to be another classification of events in the contemporary era of event management. With reference to the study of Akerlund (2009), hallmark events can be defined as the actions which are held in particular historical anniversaries providing an edge to the social and cultural ideology of an economy. The literature also reveals that hallmark events play a crucial role in sharing the cultural and social values as well as beliefs within economies which in turn can act as a beneficial tool to enhance harmonisation in the global stature. Last but not the least, mega-events are also considered as vital in relation to tourism. As denoted by Greene (2003), mega-events can be either termed as those programs which engage a substantial amount of investment or expenditure, or it can be termed as those programmes which intend to attract large volume of spectators. However, it is worth mentioning that these classifications still lack in appropriate definitions which in turn tends to develop the groupings as ambiguous and overlapping (Jago, 1997). 3.0. Conceptualising Event Management from an Economic Perspective Multiple literatures can be effortlessly observed focused on the economic impacts led by the events whether it is a cultural, special, political or sports events or even if it is a mega-event including the studies of Akerlund (2009), Damster & et. al. (2006), Greene (2003), and Jago (1997). However, there are comparatively lesser noteworthy studies which have been developed focusing on the vice-versa perspective. To be specific, there are a few studies conducted by authors from around the globe which intends to elaborate on the impacts created by economic factors on the conception of event management in the contemporary era. For instance, Bowdin & et. al. (2008) stated that one of the most vital reasons to justify the rapidly increasing concentration over the profession of event management worldwide can be apparently related to the governmental inclusion or support rendered so as to foster tourism. As a matter of fact, tourism industry is considered to be one of the fastest growing industries in the global marketplace with considerable potential for future growth. Thus, with the purpose to facilitate the tourism industry, governments of various economies tend to promote events to a greater extent as a strategic measure for overall economic development. In the similar context, corporate entities also tend to favour events as a tool to promote their image amid the stakeholders along with to broaden their network in new markets (Bowdin & et. al., 2008). Concentrating on the business side of event management, Gertz (2008) noted that an increasing number of events can be apparently recognised in almost all the cities around the world both in the developed or developing economies. As Gertz (2008) notes, the economic value added by events are one of the major reasons for their rapidly increasing favouritism amid the corporate culture. For instance, overall economic and organisational development can be obtained with sustainable growth potential, environmental value, economic benefits and image enhancement. Events organised professionally tend to provide with similar benefits which offers better development and growth prospects to the organisations participating in the managerial process as well as the economy at large. According to the study of O’Toole (2002), corporate events tend to provide with significant advantages and beneficial growth opportunities to the corporate entities who are directly or indirectly engaged with the events organised. For instance, by promoting an event, the corporate entity tends to enhance its image as a socially responsible corporate entity. Similarly, the organisations which are indirectly related to the events organised, such as those into travel and tourism sector, entertainment sector, hospitality sector and others, also tend to be benefited as these actions play a crucial role in increasing their market capitalisation to an extent (O’Toole, 2002). Events, for example, cultural mega events and special events as well tend to attract large volume of crowd from the global marketplace which in turn can be observed to facilitate these sectors in an economy to a substantial extent by increasing the volume of Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs) inflows. Hence, it becomes quite apparent that due to the corporate advantages obtained from events, organisations in the contemporary era intend to provide greater emphasis on event management. From an in-depth point of view, the economic impact on corporate events can be observed as quite significant with reference to the literature reviewed in this discussion revealing that organisations which are facing a fiercely competitive environment and are in need for substantial competitive advantages through image enhancement tend to be more focused on event management. Even those organisations which are concentrated on expansion in new targeted markets are also observed to take into account the virtues of event management as a tool to promote corporate image and thus gain a sustainable foothold in the market (O’Toole, 2002). Governments also tend to provide with significant emphasis on the events management. Similar to the context of corporate events, cultural, political, hallmark and other categories of special events as well as mega-events are stated to be quite beneficial in rendering overall economic development. The fact has been apparently revealed from the study of Nishio & et. al. (2009) where the author has taken the example from the impact created by Olympics as mega-event in relation to the stock market indices changes in the host countries. The results obtained from the study reveals that mega-events like Olympics, have a significant impact on the stock indices on the host country as it tends to operate as a fundamental factor contributing in market capitalisation of various business sectors including banking, transport, media, and construction among others. This finding was also supported by the research results obtained by Waitt (2003), Cashman (2002), and Duran (2002). However, it is worth mentioning that the impacts created by mega-events on the industry capitalisation influencing the stock indices of the host countries are limited to small economies such as South Korea, Greece and others possessing minimum effect on the large economies for example USA, Japan, and France among others (Nishio & et. al., 2009). Taking the illustrations of these studies, it can be stated that small economies which are observed to intend for higher FDIs are likely to be more emphasised on event management treating it as a vital source of overall economic development. With due consideration to the economic impacts created by professionally managed events in the contemporary era, it becomes quite apparent that why event management is emerging as an inevitable and increasingly emphasised phenomenon of the post-modern socio-cultural as well as socio-economic setting. However, on the other side of the same coin, economic configuration also has a significant impact on the scope of events along with its significance within the setting. As stated by Bramwell (1997), it is due to the impact created by economic factors that event management processes require focusing on proper strategic planning taking into concern the purpose of the event along with the geographical, social and economic factors of the targeted region where the event is likely to be held. Furthermore, the author states that large scale events tend to have a substantial impact on the employment rate, foreign earnings and overall socio-economic development of a particular region where the event will be held. It is due to this reason that the managers should consider focusing on the development requirements of the region as well as on the spending capacity of the targeted audiences to make the programme a successful one. Thus, the success or failure; in other words, the impacts created by events largely depend on the influence of various economic factors existing in the particular region (Shibli & Coleman, 2005). Conclusion From the above discussion it becomes quite apparent that economic factors and the impacts created by events are interrelated. Warnick & et. al. (2009: 247) noted, “Special event sponsors usually aim to create a successful event using a concentrated and re?ned marketing e?ort and to demonstrate positive economic gains to the host community”. It is in this context that to perform a ‘concentrated and refined marketing effort’, managers or sponsors should also focus on the various economic factors existing within the targeted region and influencing the targeted audiences to a significant extent. However, in-depth researches are still required to demonstrate the fact with sufficient evidences comprehensively depicting the economic factors which are likely to have noteworthy impacts on the process of event management. A lack of sufficient studies which focus on revealing the reasons why event management process should consider economic factors as significant influencing factors can also be witnessed in the current era. Conclusively, it can be stated that there are various issues related to event management taking into consideration the various economic factors which require effective and comprehensive researches to be developed with the objective to reveal these facts. References Akerlund, U., 2009. Implementation of Hallmark Events among Tourism Stakeholders: The Discourses of Umea’s Bid for European Capital of Culture 2014. Umea University. Bowdin, G. & et. al., 2008. Events Management. Routledge. Bramwell, B., 1997. Strategic Planning Before and After a Mega-Event. Tourism Management, Vol. 18, pp. 167-176. Cashman, D., 2002. Impact of the Games on Olympic Host Cities. University Lecture on the Olympics. Damster, G. & et. al., 2006. Event Management: A Professional and Developmental Approach. Juta and Company Ltd. Duran, P., 2002. The Impact of the Olympic Games on Tourism. Barcelona: The Legacy of the Games 1992-2002. Getz, D., 2008. Event Tourism: Definition, Evolution, and Research. Tourism Management, Vol. 29, pp. 403–428. Greene, S. J., 2003. Staged Cities: Mega-events, Slum Clearance, and Global Capital. Yale Human Rights & Development Law Journal, Vol. 6, pp. 161-187. Jago, L. K., 1997. Special Events and Tourism Behaviour: A Conceptualisation and an Empirical Analysis from a Values Perspective. Victoria University. Nishio, T. & et. al., 2009. Analysing the Economic Impact of the Olympics Using Stock Market Indices of Host Countries. 18th World IMACS / MODSIM Congress, pp. 1258-1264. O'Toole, W. J., 2000. Towards the Integration of Event Management Best Practice by the Project Management Process. Events Beyond 2000: Setting the Agenda. Shibli, S. & Coleman, R., 2005. Economic Impact and Place Marketing Evaluation: A Case Study of the World Snooker Championship. International Journal of Event Management Research, Vol. 1, pp. 13-29. Waitt, G., 2003. Social Impacts of the Sydney Olympics. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 30, pp. 194–215. Warnick, R. B. & et. al., 2009. Economic Impact and Market Analysis of a Special Event: The Great New England Air Show. Proceedings of the 2009 North Eastern Recreation Research Symposium, pp. 247-255. Read More