BA (Hons) Events Management
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/7236
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Item An investigation into the role of employer-supported volunteering: benefits to employees and employers(2019)This dissertation aims to examine the benefits of employer-supported volunteering (ESV) to employees and employers. The primary research question is: ‘How does employer-supported volunteering benefit employees and employers?’. The research objectives are: to identify the main facilitators and barriers of ESV; to analyse the impacts of ESV programmes on employees and employers; to evaluate the benefits of participation in employer-supported volunteering programmes by analysing employee and employer’s views. The research employs the mixed methods approach, in which qualitative approach is examined more closely and quantitative approach is only used for a more descriptive data. Five semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted, of which three were with employees and two with employers. Short questionnaire was used for several background questions about the participants. The research was done using a single case study approach and therefore all the findings received were based on views of employees and employers from one organisation. The significant finding of this study is that ESV programmes are very beneficial to organisation’s employees and employers. Main benefits for employees are improved job-related skills, enhanced attitudes and increased knowledge. For employers the main benefits are enhanced public image, reputation and attractiveness of the organisation. Secondary research findings suggest that benefits for employees also count as benefits for employers, as once employees’ skills and attitudes are increased, their productivity is also increased, which overall translates into success for the business. This study also analyses the employees’ perceptions and their reasons for volunteering, of which the most common ones are individual, careerrelated and social reasons. Further, the research shows the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in ESV programmes and how employer-supported volunteering affects the organisation’s recruitment strategies.Item Greening the Festival Industry: adopting different initiatives to encourage sustainability in events(2019)Event organisers play a vital role to the implementation of sustainable events among festivals’ organisations and audience. The success of sustainable festivals can be related to the use of local communities and stakeholders due to the potential they have to increase the concept of sustainability among attendees. Considerable attention has been paid to the importance of implementing sustainable events among festivals’ organisations and audience in order to reduce or solve environmental impacts. Drawing upon a mixed method research undertaken, this study aims to examine different ways in which event organisers perceive the socio-economic importance of such sustainable festivals from attendees’ perceptions, to explore the interest that attendees have in sustainable practices at festivals and to examine strategies in which organisers could implement a greener event to their audiences. The aim of this research is to contribute to the gap in the literature on these topic areas, whilst providing an insight into attendees’ interest in green practices and event organisers’ experiences in sustainable festivals. In addition, studies on this field were conducted using a qualitative and quantitative research, consequently, to carry out this research study, a mixed method was used to provide further research of both, attendees and event organisers’ perceptions. The sample size for the quantitative research was 50 participants, data was gathered through an online survey. On the other hand, the sample size for the qualitative research was an event manager, data was collected through a semi-structured interview.The findings of the study revealed that festivals can educate consumers’ behaviours by implementing green practices into visitors’ core values and marketing the event with messages of environmental responsibility. The results showed that there is a high interest among festivals’ attendees in participating in green practices. Therefore, event organisers are considered key drives in the journey toward a sustainable world in the event industry. Keywords: festivals, sustainability, green practices, organisers, attendeesItem An investigation into how safe people feel attending large-scale music events in terms of terror threats(2019)This project set out to establish how safe people feel whilst attending a large-scale music event in terms of the heightened terror threat facing this area. The project also explored whether or not people feel as though their security expectations are being met and what more could be done to ensure this. The terror threat facing large-scale music events is something which event managers are having to take into consideration when deciding on the overall event design. As music events such as festivals and concerts are becoming increasingly popular there are more people being attracted to these events meaning the attendance is also increasing (Getz 2005). There have been many terror related incidents at large-scale music events across the globe including inManchester, Paris and Las Vegas (Müser 2017). Although tour promoters and event managers are trying to ensure that these events are safe for participants to attend, research needs to be conducted to uncover whether attendees think enough is being done to ensure their safety. It became clear that there was a lack of literature on security in terms of the heightened terror threats facing the industry in recent years when conducting background research for the project topic. A survey was posted online, aimed at people who attend large-scale music events in order to ascertain how safe they feel whilst in attendance. The survey showed that although there are stricter security measures being implemented at these events they are not consistently applied and further research is needed to better understand exactly the consumer expectations in terms of safety. The overall outcome of this study shows that consumer expectations are changing in response to the recent terror attacks which have occurred during similar events. The survey also suggests that more can be done by the event industry in ensuring adequate security is in place across large-scale music events. Having better security in place will help to prevent future terror attacks and help people feel safer at these events.Item An Investigation into Volunteers’ Motives for Participating in Smaller-Scale Sporting Events, in Particular School-related Sporting Events(2019)It is recognised that without volunteers, certain events would be impossible to run. In addition, volunteers provide a diverse skill set and their free efforts to the event (Strigas and Jackson 2003). Within the literature, it becomes clear it is crucial that event organisers understand what motivates people to volunteer. This is so they can help cater a role to suit to volunteers which will ultimately help with volunteer recruitment and retention. Purpose: The overall aim of this research project is to ascertain what motivates individuals to volunteer at small scale sporting events in particular school-related events, as well as to investigate the effect volunteering has on the surrounding community. Methodology: A mixed method approach was used to conduct this research, utilising online survey and semi-structured interviews. The survey participants had a variety of characteristics, such as different ages, backgrounds and levels of educational attainment. The interview participants included both male and female and they were involved in a cross spectrum of different fields of sport organisations. Both survey and interview participants read an information sheet prior to taking part in the research and gave consent before continuing with the gathering of information. The survey generated 105 responses. Social media was the main method in distributing the survey on platforms such as LinkedIn. The survey preceded the interviews. Initial interviewees were found from local sport volunteer organisations on LinkedIn, who then recommended others. Of the interviewees, 5 were male and 5 were female. This range of demographics provided a wide variety of responses through both data collection methods. Findings: The research project found various motivations and reasons why volunteers specifically choose to volunteer at school-related sporting events, such as individuals volunteering to improve their mental health, improve children’s lives or volunteer to give back to their school community that once helped them. In addition, the researcher identified motivations can be grouped depending on an individual’s background. Limitations: Within the research there were limitations. Firstly, the survey was initially completed by people who were linked to the researcher’s social media which was ultimately of female dominance. Secondly, all interview participants were from the same geographical location which could influence similar answers. Lastly, motivations that emerged could have been analysed and discussed with participants further but because of the time frame this was not possible. For example, it was identified mental health was of great importance, this could have been expanded by asking questions as to why this was important. However, despite these limitations the research was successful, valid and provided meaningful results. The researcher’s findings would be extremely useful to organisations who are interested in recruiting volunteers to help them source and match correct individual’s to specific events. Given the limited studies on this topic and identified gaps, this study will focus on small scale sporting events in-particular those which are school-related.Item A quantitative investigation into eating out and the status of this activity in consumers with particular emphasis on events and experience(2019)The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the rising trend of eating out and why the experience is so sought after by consumers, which has proven to be uncharted territory within events and eating out literature. All literature on this subject dates back to the start of the century, and with the rise of social media and casual dining restaurants, consumers are different. As a result, this research paper will aim to examine modern-day consumer behaviour within this environment whilst extracting new data that has not been considered before. Additionally, this paper will relate back to existing literature whilst comparing the new results to the old. The quantitative method of data collection used within this study was an online questionnaire, generated on social media platform, Facebook, which saw 139 respondents. The sample comprised mostly of consumers aged between 18-25 which allowed the researcher to compare and analyse modern-day consumer traits with existing statistics from the literature. The results discovered three main themes which spoke volumes in conjunction with the existing literature. The findings only highlighted the problem further as it proved the existing data was no longer relevant as consumer behaviour had changed. The findings from this dissertation will be of use to restaurant managers and owners alike as it illustrates the most important factors that consumers look for when going out to eat. Furthermore, it will also assist them in developing their own brand and establishment that will reflect the needs and wants of the modern-day consumer. While this study has contributed to an understanding of the modern-day consumer, there is still further research to be done on selected groups of individuals. These results would broaden the industry’s knowledge of their consumers even further and generate great insight into their differences.Item An Investigation on the Portrayal of Women in Male-Dominated Sporting Events(2019)The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the portrayal of women in male-dominated sporting events, focussing specifically on football and rugby. This research study will explore factors relating to the portrayal of women in male-dominated sporting events such as media representation, the barriers sportswomen face and differential treatment sportswomen receive compared to their male counterparts. A qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews, was utilised to gain a deeper insight into the experiences of sportswomen competing in male-dominated sports. A total of 11 semi-structured interviews were undertaken, 4 with women rugby players and 7 with women footballers playing for Hibernian Football Club women’s team. The key findings from this research study identify that sportswomen, competing in football and rugby, face a number of barriers as gender stereotypes, discrimination as a result of aesthetics, pay discrimination, unequal access to funding and sponsorship opportunities as well as unequal media coverage compared to their male counterparts. The research study concludes by providing recommendations for future research which would benefit future event managers at sporting events. It also incorporates recommendations which can be used to reduce the unequal treatment towards women in male-dominated sporting events.Item An Investigation into Motivations of Visitors to the Traditional Harvest Wine Festivals “Vinobraní” in the Czech Republic(2019)This research investigates the motivation of visitors to the traditional Harvest Wine Festivals in the Czech Republic. Harvest Wine Festivals are traditional autumn festivities hosted annually by communities mainly in the wine region of South Moravia. Furthermore, the research explores whether the motivations of visitors are influenced by demographic variables and to what extent cultural identity and wine are important to the visitors. The review of literature introduces the concept of motivation and highlights the importance of its research to the festival organisers. Motivations of festival visitors are discussed with a reference made to the demographic variables, cultural identity and wine. Moreover, the literature has been concluded as limited in the area of traditional Harvest Wine Festivals in Europe which mainly applies to the Czech Republic. Due to the dominance of quantitative research found in the literature; the mixed method strategy has been adopted. An online survey and semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain more in-depth data and address the question “why” visitors attend Harvest Wine Festivals. A number of 188 survey responses and 4 semi-structured interviews were collected. The researcher explored five motivational dimensions including “Socialisation”, “Family togetherness”, “Cultural identity”, “Wine” and “Event novelty” consisting of twenty-five motivational items. The following five items have emerged; “Spending free leisure time with family”, “Relief from everyday routine”, “Spending time with friends”, “Gaining new experience” and “Mental and physical rest”. Additional two motivational items “Entertainment” and “Travel” were discovered. Significant differences in motivations were found in demographic variables such as gender or place of residence. Although participants of this study expressed an interest in cultural identity and wine, it has been concluded that visitors were significantly motivated by more general factors including “Family togetherness”, “Socialisation” or “Event novelty”. Based on the discussion of findings it has been noted that this study has a few limitations and further research opportunities are available.Item An Investigation on the Effectiveness of Social Media and Influencer Marketing on Music Festival Attendees and Their Motivations Aged 20-30(2019)This study was undertaken to identify the effectiveness of Social Media and Influencer marketing and how this may affect the motivations of music festival attendees. Even though there is a significant number of researches for motivational factors in the tourism and festival industry, a gap in the literature for Music Festivals was established. This research will identify key motivations for Music Festival attendees and examine if these differ from previous studies. This will be followed by an exploration of Social Media and how it can be used by brands to effectively promote their product and service to their target audience. It will also be highlighted what advantages and disadvantages may occur. Lastly, the research will explore the Influencer marketing and how it may be used to create purchase intention. A literature review was developed to show what previous studies have established and what aspects require further research. As there was a gap in the literature identified, primary research in form of a quantitative approach was conducted. A questionnaire was created to collect data online. In order to create a valid and reliable questionnaire, frameworks from past research which were established in the literature were used and adapted. The main findings of the research were that motivations, Social Media and Influencer marketing allows brands to create purchase intention. For Social Media marketing to be effective, managers should improve accounts informativeness, usefulness and entertainment and keep irritations as little as possible. Consumers aged 20 to 25 are more likely to try recommendations of Influencers. For Music Festivals, Influencer marketing may be an effective marketing tool as the majority would be interested to see Influencer posts about music.Item An investigation into the motivations of volunteers at medium scale sport events: A case study of the 2018 Scottish Half Marathon + 10K(2019)It is a well-known fact that volunteers are a vital aspect in the delivery of many events, in particular sporting events (Farrell et al. 1998; Wilks 2014). Volunteers contribute a variety of diverse skills to sporting events in the form of free labour which enables the events to be economically feasible (Salamon et al. 2011). Identifying the motivations and experiences of volunteers is becoming increasingly important for event organisers to understand to enable higher levels of retention (Bang and Ross 2009). It should be said however, that in-depth research which examines the relationship between volunteer motivations, satisfaction and retention is lacking. This study has aimed to investigate common motivations for volunteering at medium scale sporting events and the relationship between volunteer motivation, satisfaction and retention within the case study of the 2018 Scottish Half Marathon + 10K. In addition to this, this study aimed to contribute to the gap within current literature which looks at medium scale sporting event volunteers. Due to the majority of existing studies on this topic using a quantitative approach, this study was carried out using an inductive qualitative approach through the use of semi-structured interviews which consisted of a sample of eight participants. The results of this research study present a link to the current literature surrounding volunteer motivations, satisfactions and retention which are discussed in depth within chapter two. Additionally, the similarities and differences between the results from this study and the existing theories are shown within chapter 4, as well as discussions around new motives found through the research process. Finally, this study concludes with a summary of the findings along with relevant recommendations for future research into the topic.Item An evaluation of the suitability of QMU Events Management programme to the industry expectations(2019)The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the perspective of events professionals, Events Management graduates and 4th-year Events Management students on the Events Management curriculum, in particular reference to the programme provided by Queen Margaret University. According to their perspectives, the research will further examine whether the QMU Events Management programme design reflects the industry needs. The study adopts a qualitative research approach, using the form of semi-structured interviews in an attempt to obtain a detailed understanding. Eleven interviews were conducted with four events professionals, three Events Management graduates and four 4th year Events Management students. The findings indicate a gap between the industry and higher education where there is a lack of awareness of the nature of events management programme among the industry. Managers consider students’ transferable skills to be most important, followed by work experience and qualification. Managers acknowledge an Events Management qualification can give students a competitive advantage at the initial stage but require work experience to support the application. The result of the findings recommends Queen Margaret University to establish a closer relationship with the industry and raise awareness of events management education among the industry. The curriculum should also embed a mandatory placement and educators should continually review the curriculum and re-adjust the programme in according to the industry development.