A transformative service view on the effects of festivalscapes on local residents' subjective well-being

Abstract

Festivals benefit the local service economy and reinforce social cohesion within the local community. This study draws on transformative service research to argue that festivalscapes have a transformational impact on local residents' cocreation behavior and thus their subjective well-being. Data were collected during the 2016 Taipei lantern festival, amounting to 945 valid survey responses. Our analysis finds that cues related to the festival environment positively influence local residents' sense of place attachment, cocreation behavior, and subjective well-being. Place attachment mediates the relationship between festival environmental cues and customer cocreation behavior. More significantly, the higher the degree of intercustomer social support is perceived to be by local residents during the festival, the greater the sense of attachment to the local community shown. This study contributes to transformative service research by demonstrating that local residents' subjective wellbeing is an essential part of the service ecosystem in hosting a festival. Festival service managers should consider the local community's perception of festivals to simultaneously boost local service sustainability and ecosystem well-being. Service managers may determine improvements to the stimulation of intercustomer social support, as it plays a transformative role, adding value to festivals.