The future of B2B trade shows: Drivers of transformation from a process view
基于对矿业贸易展的35次深度访谈和2012-2024年的民族志观察，从过程视角分析了组织者、参展商和参会者的不同动机，识别出文化、商业和数字三种转型驱动力，并指出贸易展的未来取决于各方参与和知识生成任务的实施。
What is the future of trade shows (TSs)? and are TSs becoming more or less important as the business landscape changes? The present study addresses these questions, drawing on 35 in-depth interviews (including attendees', exhibitors', and organizers' managers) and ethnographic observations (e.g., videos, photos, notes) during the 2012–2024 period for a selected TS in the mining industry. From a process view, we observe the role of the different actors and the TS's changing nature. What motivates the participation/action of organizers, exhibitors, and attendees is divergent. For example, organizers perceive a TS as a business generating economic results by orchestrating the connection among multiple actors (e.g., government, universities). At the same time, attendees and exhibitors are specifically interested in socio-technical interaction and market presence to develop or potentially sustain a commercial relationship. On the other hand, we identify three forces driving the transformation of the selected TS: (1) cultural, (2) commercial, and (3) digital. Also, the future of TSs seems uncertain and depends on the degree of involvement of all actors and the implementation of knowledge-generation tasks. • We develop a process view for trade show (TS) transformation. • We adopt a triadic approach to explore TSs as called by prior research. • We mix (1) ethnographic observation and (2) interview data. • We identify three forces: (1) cultural, (2) commercial, and (3) digital influencing TS transformation. • We link the transformation forces to the three stages of TSs: (1) pre-show, (2) during-the-show, and (3) after-show.