Daniel James O'Brien

Points of Leverage: Maximizing Host Community Benefit from a Regional Surfing Festival

Abstract This research investigates the potential for sport event leverage in the context of a relatively small surfing festival in regional Australia. Chalips (2004) model for sport event leverage underpinned the study. Event leveraging is a recent phenomenon, with empirical research sparse and limited to mega and hallmark events in large cities. This study develops our understanding of event leverage in a smaller, more regional context. Data came from participant observation, interviews with key stakeholders and documentary evidence. The study reveals the centrality of sport subculture to both immediate and longer-term event leverage. By demonstrating the potential for leverage from a small event in a regional centre, the findings lend empirical weight to Chalips (2004) theoretical model and suggest the model may be more generally applicable than previously thought. Implications for triple bottom line leverage and sustainability in the sport event context are also drawn.

Marketing stakeholder analysis: branding the Brisbane Goodwill Games

Purpose – The paper aims to explore a major issue in international marketing: how to build a global brand in a way that makes a strong local connection.Design/methodology/approach – Using qualitative research methods on a single case, the Brisbane Goodwill Games, the processes used in the staging of this major sport event are analyzed. In particular, the stakeholder relations employed by the marketing department of the Goodwill Games Organization are investigated and a process model is developed that explains how a global brand can be built locally.Findings – A major outcome of the paper is a revision to the four‐step Freeman process to make it more proactive; and three major principles for effective stakeholder management are articulated. The findings demonstrate that stakeholder analysis and management can be used to build more effective event brands. Stakeholder theory is also proposed as an appropriate and possibly stronger method of building inter‐organizational linkages than alternatives such as net...

Executive training exercise in sport event leverage

Purpose – Some sport event stakeholders now look beyond “impact” to achieving longer‐term, sustainable outcomes. This move away from an ex post, outcomes orientation towards an ex ante, strategic approach refers to the phenomenon of event leveraging. This paper aims to introduce readers to the concept, and poses practical exercises to challenge current thinking on sport event impacts.Design/methodology/approach – This paper provides an introduction to the literature on the strategic leveraging of sport events and presents three theoretical models depicting various aspects of event leverage. The paper includes training exercises on the subject of sport event leverage along with possible answers.Findings – Building on prior work, this paper proposes a new model for social leverage. The model and the related discussion highlight potential synergies between economic and social leverage.Research limitations/implications – As the proposed model for social leverage is essentially exploratory, it remains empirica...

Deinstitutionalising the Amateur Ethic: An Empirical Examination of Change in a Rugby Union Football Club

In 1996/97, the first season of openly professional rugby union was played in England. For many of the clubs which opted to become involved in the professional game, this was the end of an era. In some cases, over 100 years of institutionalised amateur practice was brought to an end, and professionalism became the dominant mode of operation in these organisations. In order for those clubs which chose to professionalise to operate effectively, the values and related organisational structures which were the very essence of amateurism, had to be deinstitutionalised. Deinstitutionalisation is the erosion or discontinuity of organisational activities and practices, which through the force of habit, tradition, or history, have come to be accepted as legitimate. This paper provides a case study analysis of the process of deinstitutionalisation as it occurred in one Premiership rugby union club. Using data collected through a series of semi-structured interviews conducted with both the adherents of amateurism and the proponents of the new professional organisational structure, this paper identifies some of the forces that contribute to deinstitutionalisation. Following Olivers (1992) theoretical lead, we empirically show how political, functional, and social pressures contributed to the process of deinstitutionalisation, and how these are mediated by inertial and entropic organisational forces. We also extend Olivers analysis by showing the way in which the manipulation of organisational symbols can play a role in the dynamics of deinstitutionalisation.

Liberalizing Nirvana: an analysis of the consequences of common pool resource deregulation for the sustainability of Fiji's surf tourism industry

In July 2010, the Fijian government issued a decree that liberalized Fijis surf breaks and deregulated its surf tourism industry. It did this by canceling licenses that granted resorts exclusive use of surf breaks based on indigenous customary ownership of foreshore and fringing reef fishing areas as common pool resources. This paper analyses the sustainability of surf tourism in Fiji, utilizing a developing framework for sustainable surf tourism. Based on broader sustainable tourism theory and empirical research, the framework considers (1) the impact of economic neo-liberalism, (2) the need for coordinated planning and limits to growth, (3) the advantages of systematic attempts to foster cross-cultural understanding, and (4) the social benefits associated with the development of surfing at the village level. The study found that a lack of regulation is compromising the sustainability of Fijis surf tourism industry in each of these four dimensions. However, evidence of a growing acceptance of the need for regulation by most stakeholders offers a starting point for a transactive, participative process to find solutions. A fifth element to the framework is recommended for future analyses based on the need for surf tourism to contribute to poverty alleviation in destination communities.

Inhibitors to host community participation in sustainable tourism development in developing countries

The involvement of host communities (or destination residents), particularly in developing countries, is critical to the success of tourism development and to the creation of a “Just Destination”. This paper investigates host community perceptions about obstacles to their participation in tourism development in Lombok, Indonesia, providing new insights into institutional influences on tourism opportunities and issues. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques targeted separate groups of destination residents who live in a developed tourism destination, a less developed tourism destination, a remote rural village far away from tourism destinations, as well as a group of university students. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, qualitative questionnaires and observation, and were analysed using content analysis. Results show three main institutional factors inhibit host community participation in tourism: tourism agencies, private sector providers and tourism infrastructure, and perceptions of the negative impacts of tourism. The underperformance of state tourism agencies and private sector providers resulted in a lack of tourism infrastructure and limitations on host community opportunities to participate in tourism development and businesses. The findings suggest the need for improvement in the training of state tourism agency employees, better coordination among government agencies, and improved education and training for tourism operators.

Understanding Chinese Diners in an Overseas Context: A Cultural Perspective

With increasing numbers of Chinese tourists dining overseas, understanding the cultural perspective of Chinese diners would appear essential to international restaurateurs. Thus, this study identifies a set of core Chinese values that is salient in the overseas dining context. Phenomenological in-depth interviews were used to collect data from a convenience sample of 20 Chinese diners. Face, trustworthiness, and harmony were identified as the three core values. In addition, group membership was found to interact with face and trustworthiness in this context. These findings provide a deeper understanding of Chinese diners in overseas dining contexts and hold significance for both practitioners and theorists. Recommendations are made to enhance the dining service encounter for Chinese tourists in overseas dining contexts.

An empirical investigation of the role of camaraderie, cause, competency, and participation motives in the development of attachment to a charity sport event

This paper examines the factors that contribute to the meaning participants hold for charity sport events. Specifically, the paper investigates the role of three value-laden constructs; along with participation motives, to understand participant attachment to a charity sport event. An online questionnaire was given to participants in the Lance Armstrong Foundation LIVESTRONG Challenge (n = 568) following the event. Data analysis revealed two recreational event motives, three motives for charitable giving, and three value-laden constructs contribute to attachment to the charity sport event. In addition, the results revealed the value-laden constructs make a stronger contribution to event attachment than the participation motives. Suggestions are made for increasing the meaning held for the event through community building, calls to action, and customization.

Pioneer volunteers: the role identity of continuous volunteers at sport events

This study examines the role identity of pioneer volunteers. This research expands current conceptualisations of event volunteers to include those individuals who volunteer in a continuous nature in the lead up to a mega-event. Volunteers (n = 125) who had volunteered in the lead up to the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, as well as during the Games, completed a post-event survey that asked them to respond to open-ended questions about their volunteering experience and identity. Additionally, 10 individuals who were pioneer volunteers at the Sydney Olympics were interviewed 12 years later. Six themes described the experience of pioneer volunteers: friendship and teamwork enabled by prolonged volunteering; prestige and teamwork enabled by a small, select group; behind the scenes access and knowledge of the event; learning enabled by the experience of test events; a sense of connection with and ownership of the event; and transition to Games time roles. Pioneer volunteers experienced a strong and sustained identification with their role, and sought out continued opportunities to volunteer in the post-event period. The existence of a volunteer role identity was evident 12 years after the event. The findings of this research provide valuable lessons for recruitment, retention, and transition of event volunteers.

From "clone towns" to "slow towns": examining festival legacies

This 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.,This 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.,This 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.,This 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.