Event Revisit Intention in the Context of Covid-19 Risks

With the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic widely visible in the event industry, event organizers face challenges regarding customer retention in the form of return visits. Because event revisit intention is crucial to predicting event attendees' behavior, this study attempts to examine the likelihood of return for customers who have prior event (state fair) experience. Drawing from previous studies on event-related hazards and safety risks, our proposed framework suggests that a certain type of trust (i.e., social trust and confidence) reduces perceived risk, leading to increased event revisit intention in a time of pandemic. To test hypothesized relationships among trust, perceived risk, and event revisit intention, consumer information was gathered through Amazon's Mechanical Turk crowdsourcing platform. Key findings that emerge include the fact that trust in events is a strong predictor of event revisit intention, while perceived risk mediates the relationship between trust and revisit intention, albeit weakly. These results offer event organizers insights into how to enhance revisit intention in the face of health risks and ongoing uncertainty.

Reexamining event attributes, benefits, and values in a time of pandemic: A multi-faceted approach.

The COVID-19 pandemic increased attention to product/service-customer relationships in the context of events where social gatherings take place. Event attributes have been a topic of continued interest in research and practice. Due to COVID-19, however, event attendees' preferences and requirements related to personal values and satisfaction may be changing. Using a sequential mixed-method exploratory strategy with means-end chain theory and the Kano model as a research framework, this study identifies important event attributes, benefits, personal values, and specific satisfaction attributes. Key findings highlight pleasure and excitement and sense of safety as salient personal values. Respondents also found health/safety attributes particularly important, considering them must-be attributes. Providing health/safety services prior to the event would be effective in decreasing dissatisfaction. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.