Kiki Kaplanidou

Capacity of Mass Participant Sport Events for the Development of Activity Commitment and Future Exercise Intention

Mass participation sport events are often cited as increasing population-level physical activity, but empirical evidence is scarce as to their effectiveness. The current research examined the developmental role of these events in increasing positive attitudes toward physically active leisure by a) determining its motivational capacity and b) investigating how sport event participation contributes to activity commitment and future exercise intentions. A multiattribute survey was distributed on-line to participants of a running event held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, (N = 2,791) three months after the event. Inferential statistics revealed that 10 motives directed participation across 75% of the population. Multivariate multiple linear regression analyses revealed event participation motives combined with event satisfaction and physical activity involvement explained 30% of running commitment and 31% of future exercise intentions. Most notably, the event promoted stronger attitudes toward regular exercise among participants who were more satisfied with their event experience, least active before the event, and had completed fewer prior organized events. This evidence demonstrates that mass participant sporting events can serve as important social and environmental correlates of physical activity.

Drivers of social media use among African Americans in the event of a crisis

Research has examined the role of social media during the time of a crisis in various fields; however, there is a paucity of research in this area as it relates to tourism. Moreover, few studies have examined at-risk populations, such as tourists, in times of crisis. To assess the drivers of turning to social media during a crisis, a national survey of 1,018 African American travelers was conducted. Respondents were asked to indicate on a 5-point scale the likelihood of turning to social media for information “if they were currently in the middle of their trip and heard that a crisis has just occurred within the immediate vicinity of their current location.” Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to determine drivers on African American travelers’ decisions to use social media during a crisis. These drivers were age, perceptions of risk during their trip, and frequency and type of social media use engaged in on a regular basis. Overall, findings suggested that when controlling for age only, crime, financial, and physical perceptions of risk drove social media use during a crisis, while controlling for age and perception of risk, use of social media in ones daily life showed no influence.

Event leveraging of mega sport events: a SWOT analysis approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) that a host city can experience to utilize these for future strategy planning and event leveraging.Design/methodology/approach – Five phone interviews were conducted with administrators of the Athens Olympic Games. Respondents were asked four questions relating to the SWOT of hosting the Olympic Games. Responses collected were transcribed and analyzed using a content analysis.Findings – Findings suggest that the strengths lie in having certain infrastructures in place, volunteers, a strong economy and good political standing. Weaknesses stem from a lack of infrastructure, the size of the country, uncertain political and economic stability. Opportunities included the growth of the tourism industry, business developments, increase in the quality of life, the use of legacies post‐event, and the improvement and development of infrastructures. Threats included the cost of the event, pollution, relying...

2022 Qatar World Cup Impact Perceptions among Qatar Residents

The purpose of this study was to evaluate how the impacts from the 2022 World Cup preparations in Qatar influenced local residents’ attitudes, personal and community quality of life perceptions, excitement about hosting the event, and support toward the event. The examination of the way mega sport event impacts influence residents’ perceptions of personal and community quality of life is lacking in the literature. Data were collected using systematic sampling in October 2014 from Qatari nationals and white-collar expatriates. Overall, 2,163 interviews with Qatari nationals (1,058) and white-collar expatriates (1,105) were completed. The results revealed that eight years before the event, sociocultural impacts were the most influential type of impact for residents’ attitudes toward the event, community and personal quality of life, excitement about the event, and support of the FIFA decision to host the event in Qatar.

Host and non-host resident awareness and perceptions of legacies for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games

Given the large investment among host cities, the question about legacy program creation and management becomes important. Creating and managing such programs that benefit residents should derive from the examination of prominent legacy aspects among residents of the host country (i.e., host/non-host city) over time (pre-, during, and post-event). This study aimed to understand and describe host and non-host residents’ perceptions regarding dominant legacy themes and residents’ awareness of specific legacies before, during, and after the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. Results indicated that before and during the event host residents identified the material, tangible, and direct legacies. Non-host residents identified the non-material, intangible, and indirect legacies. Post-event, residents identified the non-material, intangible, and indirect legacies. In terms of residents’ awareness of specific legacies, host residents were most aware of the intangible and indirect legacies. Non-host residents were most aware of the potential debt and cost of hosting the Olympic Games.

Event quality and loyalty among runners with different running involvement levels: The case of “The Alexander the Great” International Marathon

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: to investigate if the three service quality dimensions (service environment, interaction and outcome quality), proposed by Brady and Cronin (2001), influence the development of event loyalty, among runners of the “‘Alexander the Great’ International Marathon”, and to test if running loyalty moderates the relationship between event quality and event loyalty. Design/methodology/approach In all, 368 runners participated in the study and filled the Sport Event Quality Questionnaire (Theodorakis et al., 2015) and an adjusted version of the Leisure Involvement Questionnaire (Kyle et al., 2010). Findings The results indicated that only the service environment and outcome dimensions contributed significantly to the prediction of event loyalty, while, and in contrast to other sport services, interaction quality was not shown to be an important determinant for the development of event loyalty. Furthermore, running involvement was shown to play a moderating role in the relationship between event quality and event loyalty. Service quality is more important for the development of event loyalty among low- than high-involved runners. The theoretical and applied implications of these results are discussed. Research limitations/implications The study provided results on how high- and low-involved runners perceive event quality, and for which of these groups the event quality is an important antecedent for the development of event loyalty. Practical implications Investigating the moderating role of involvement on the relationship between service quality and loyalty has also applied value. While committed runners have been traditionally seen as a key target group for event marketing professionals, the majority of runners in city marathons today are more leisure oriented. The increase in the number of leisure runners is actually the reason for the rapid growth of city marathons in the last few years. Meeting the needs of these leisure runners and increasing their loyalty levels is therefore a key task for marathon marketers today. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature, as for the first time it explores the moderating role of involvement on the relationship between service quality and loyalty in the context of a sport event.

Examining the cross-cultural attitudes of Qataris and expatriates in Qatar, the host country of 2022 World Cup

The purpose of this paper is to examine how residents in Qatar, the host country of the 2022 World Cup, interact, socialize and acculturate in order to create a more harmonic society, a critical factor for the event delivery and preparations.,Data were collected from Qatari nationals and expatriates residing in the country of Qatar using a survey. A stratified random sampling approach was applied using as sampling framework all households having a mailing address with the country’s electric company. In total, 2,398 Qataris were contacted and 1,020 completed the survey. From the expatriate population, 1,852 were contacted and 1,134 completed the survey.,The results showed Qatari nationals were favorable toward Arab and Asian expatriates but not as favorable as Arab and Asian expatriates were toward them. Both groups of residents showed high quality of life (QOL) perceptions, with the locals having slightly higher QOL. Finally, Asian expatriates were more open to socializing with the locals and Arab expatriates.,The results of the study shed light into the acculturation process in host societies of mega sport events such as the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.,This is the first study that examined a mega event’s host country resident’s cultural interactions to identify potential issues that can arise and interfere with the event experience of the 2022 World Cup in a very diverse society.