Festivalization of business events: exploring a new strategy for designing more engaging conference experiences
研究了在虚拟和现场两种商务会议中引入节日化元素对参会者体验的影响，发现节日化能显著提升参会者的积极反应，尤其对现场会议效果更佳，其机制是通过提升感知价值和会议参与度来改善体验。
Purpose This study aims to explore a potential conference experience design strategy, namely, festivalization. It investigates the potential festivalization effects on conference attendees in two formats of business conferences: virtual and in-person. Design/methodology/approach A series of two scenario-based experimental studies were conducted. A series of one-way analysis of covariance and PROCESS procedures (Model 6) were performed for data analysis. Findings The inclusion of festivalization elements significantly enhances positive responses of attendees, especially for in-person conferences. This effect is further explained by a serial mediation effect, where enhanced perceived values and conference engagement play key roles in improving attendees’ conference experience. Practical implications By incorporating festivalization elements, conference organizers can create a more engaging and satisfying event experience for attendees. This can lead to greater satisfaction, positive word-of-mouth and increased registrations. Originality/value This study represents a pioneering effort in revealing the underlining mechanisms that explain how festivalization affects attendee engagement and subsequent behaviors in business event management in both face-to-face and virtual settings.