Purpose This study examines how residents' event-related environmental, social and governance (ESG) perceptions at a recurring non-mega sport event influence their value co-creation intentions and support for sustainable destination and event development, and the moderating role of place attachment in this process. Design/methodology/approach A structured questionnaire survey was conducted with 417 residents two weeks prior to the 2026 Wuhan Marathon. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4.1 was used to test the hypothesised direct, mediating and moderating relationships. Social embeddedness theory and the value-belief-norm (VBN) perspective served as the theoretical foundation. Findings Event-related ESG perceptions significantly and positively predicted both value co-creation intentions (β = 0.606) and support for sustainable destination and event development (β = 0.720). In the main model, value co-creation intentions positively predicted support (β = 0.213) and partially mediated the ESG-support relationship. Place attachment significantly but negatively moderated the ESG-value co-creation relationship, indicating a weaker link among highly attached residents, consistent with a place-based norm saturation pattern. The moderation of ESG on support was non-significant. Originality/value This study is among the first to conceptualise and empirically test event-related ESG perceptions from a resident standpoint in a non-mega sport event context. By integrating social embeddedness theory with the VBN perspective, it positions resident co-creation as a potential social licence mechanism through which ESG-oriented events gain community legitimacy, and offers a tentative, exploratory interpretation of place-based norm saturation as a possible explanation for the unexpected negative moderating role of place attachment.
Purpose This study examines how the Tea Harvest Welcoming Event is interpreted in stakeholder narratives in relation to tea culture, cultural heritage, local identity and future potential. It evaluates a harvest-based local event in terms of the selection, representation, transmission and functional interpretation of cultural heritage. Design/methodology/approach The research was designed as a qualitative case study. Data were collected from stakeholder representatives involved in planning, implementing or evaluating the event through a semi-structured written interview form consisting of open-ended questions. The data were analysed through a theory-driven abductive framework analysis informed by the cultural heritage approach and Malinowski's functional theory of culture. Findings The findings show that the cultural meaning of the event is constructed through the first harvest ritual, meci/imece, producer labour, tea tasting, local music, shared emotions and belonging. In stakeholder narratives, the event is considered a setting that supports the intergenerational transmission of tea culture, the continuity of local identity and renewed engagement with tea. The future of the event is also associated with experiential tea tourism, local economic contribution, institutionalization, stakeholder collaboration and the safeguarding of cultural content. Research limitations/implications This research is based on written interview form responses from stakeholder representatives involved in the planning, implementation or evaluation of the Tea Harvest Welcoming Event. Therefore, the findings reflect the evaluations of stakeholders who were directly connected to the event, rather than the general visitor experience. The collection of data during the post-event evaluation meeting may have increased participants' tendency to provide positive evaluations. In addition, the focus of the research on a single event case requires the findings to be interpreted contextually. Future studies may comparatively examine the experiences of visitors, producers, different segments of residents, tourism businesses and public institutions. The development of the event over time, its contribution to the local economy, its effects on younger generations and the long-term outcomes of tea culture transmission may be evaluated through mixed-method research. Comparisons with different harvest festivals may open a broader discussion on the relationship between programme design, local participation and tourism development in cultural heritage-based events. Originality/value The study combines the selection, representation and transmission processes of the critical heritage approach with Malinowski's functional theory of culture to examine tea culture within a harvest-based organized event. Its original contribution lies in showing how programme elements are associated in stakeholder narratives with functions related to cultural transmission, belonging, experience and tourism value.
Purpose Wine festivals are events in which wine is the primary attraction, but they often include a range of complementary offerings that enhance the overall visitor experience. Understanding visitors' motivations and experiences is essential for effective festival management. This study aims to examine the motivations and experiences of visitors at a traditional wine festival in Serbia and explore the relationship between visitor motivation and visitor experience. Design/methodology/approach The target population consisted of adult festival visitors, including both local residents and tourists, at the Oplenačka berba festival. Data were collected through an online survey, yielding a final sample of 162 respondents. Descriptive statistics were used to profile the sample. Principal component analysis identified the latent constructs of motivation and experience, while multiple regression analysis examined the predictive relationship between motivation and different aspects of experience. Findings The results revealed two distinct motivational factors: push and pull. Visitor experience was captured through three main factors: Sensory-Emotional-Cognitive Experience, Service and Social Interaction, and Novelty and Uniqueness. Both push and pull motivation significantly influenced all dimensions of experience, with push motivations demonstrating a stronger overall effect. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on event-based wine tourism by demonstrating the central role of internal motivations in shaping holistic festival experiences. The findings offer practical insights for festival organisers aiming to enhance visitor satisfaction and highlight the importance of socially immersive elements in traditional wine festivals.
Mega-events are frequently promoted as catalysts for regional development, yet communities located near event activities may remain peripheral to the governance processes through which opportunities and legacies are produced. This study examines how event governance structures and local relational capacity shaped the participation of two rural, venue-adjacent communities in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and how these relationships performed under COVID-19 disruption. The study adopts a comparative embedded case design of two rural hot-spring (onsen) towns in the Tohoku region of northeastern Japan that were located near Olympic activities. Drawing on 22 semi-structured interviews with local businesses and public-sector stakeholders, the analysis examines how bonding, bridging, and linking relationships interacted with event governance structures to shape planning participation, institutional access, and responses to disruption. COVID-19 is treated as a stress test of these governance relationships. Geographic proximity to Olympic activities did not produce meaningful or evenly distributed participation. Most local stakeholders had limited involvement in planning, while institutional access was concentrated among selected actors, particularly accommodation providers, and cross-sector coordination remained weak. When COVID-19 eliminated anticipated economic and symbolic opportunities, businesses adapted individually and some accessed institutional support, but these capacities rarely developed into coordinated destination-level responses. This study advances event scholarship by conceptualizing peripheral participation as a relational rather than purely spatial condition. It introduces relational peripheralization to explain how communities and local actors may remain connected to a mega-event while occupying weak positions within the relationships that structure information, resources, participation, and influence. The study further reframes social capital as relational capacity within event governance and shows how disruption can reveal whether existing relationships support collective adaptive capacity when anticipated event opportunities collapse.
Purpose This study examines how organisational commitment, organisational culture, employee motivation and performance appraisal jointly shape employee performance in Bali's Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions [MICE] and wider event industry. Grounded in social exchange theory, it explores how reciprocal exchanges between employees and organisations underpin these relationships in a post-pandemic, hybrid work context. Design/methodology/approach Explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was employed, combining a cross-sectional partial least squares structural equation modelling [PLS-SEM] survey (146 useable responses from event planners, wedding organisers, venue-based staff and related actors) with inductive thematic analysis of 18 semi-structured interviews. Quantitative and qualitative strands were analysed separately and then integrated through side-by-side comparison. Findings The structural model confirms significant positive paths among organisational commitment, organisational culture, employee motivation, performance appraisal and employee performance, with motivation emerging as a key mediating mechanism. Qualitative themes show that perceived fairness, supportive and learning-oriented cultures, hybrid work readiness and relational leadership are central to sustaining commitment and discretionary effort among predominantly young, early-career workers. Originality/value This research contributes a novel structural account of employee performance in Bali's MICE sector by showing that organisational culture operates primarily as a motivational antecedent rather than a direct performance driver, and that organisational commitment functions chiefly as a foundation for culture rather than a direct performance lever. This pathway configuration has not previously been documented in Bali's post-pandemic, hybrid-event context. The study additionally offers one of the first mixed-methods applications of social exchange theory in this setting, integrating PLS-SEM and thematic analysis to substantiate this configuration.
