Author: Emad Mahmoud A Monshi
Monshi, Emad Mahmoud A, 2019 Understanding entrepreneurial practices in designing major events: an Australian perspective, Flinders University, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
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This research addresses the limited attention given to event design by event studies and suggests that relatively few academic studies have explored the influence of entrepreneurship on event design. The study explores the influence of the essential ingredients of entrepreneurship on designing major events in Australia. There appears to have been an assumption that entrepreneurship had a significant influence on all aspects of event design. In particular, this study focuses on the influence of entrepreneurship on methods used to develop event designs, implemented entrepreneurial practices, and the outcomes of entrepreneurial events.
This study is based on major events staged in Australia and aims to develop a framework with which to explore the influence of entrepreneurship ingredients including vision, calculating risks, marshalling resources and formulating teams for designing major events, implemented designs, and outcomes of entrepreneurial designs (Frederick, O'Connor & Kuratko, 2013). It also reflects design methods, implemented practices, calculated risks and their counter actions, and event outcomes according to the type, size and location of the event.
The findings of the study suggest that the participating designers of major events in Australia have used 16 different methods to develop their event designs during the planning stage. Each used method has been influenced by one or more of the aforementioned essential ingredients of entrepreneurship. Within this context, all event designers showed the behaviour of social or business entrepreneurs in terms of their passion to create new designs for events. The study has also found that major events within the research sample have cumulatively implemented six themes of entrepreneurial designs or entrepreneurial practices during the production stage, which made all major events entrepreneurial. Each implemented design or practice theme has targeted one or more of the event design core values, which consequently impacted on the whole event experience.
The findings also show that entrepreneurial events had six different themes with positive outcomes. The successful outcomes were associated with business as well as social perspectives, based on the objectives of different types of events. While business objectives include attracting sponsors and increasing ticket sales and profit margins, social objectives include growing awareness and attendance. The findings support that event designers have identified six themes of risks associated with entrepreneurial events, and they have developed 11 themes of counter actions to deal with these potential risks. The most important identified risk was direct and indirect financial risk. Financial management was the theme on top of all counter actions of entrepreneurial events, which includes five sub-themes. The five sub-themes are a general perspective of financial management, securing other financial resources, budget management, box office management and insurance. The influence of entrepreneurship on designing and producing major events has provided a solid contribution to better understand entrepreneurial events and their successful outcomes.
Keywords: Event, Design, Entrepreneurship, Major, Risk
Subject: Tourism thesis
Thesis type: Doctor of Philosophy
Completed: 2019
School: College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Supervisor: Sangkyun Kim