The perceptions of stakeholders in small-scale sporting events

Abstract

Small-scale events represent an important asset for the development of tourist destinations. As local stakeholders play a major role in conceptualizing and developing small-scale events, this study sheds light upon stakeholders’ perceptions toward such events. The current study was carried out through qualitative interviews based on the case of the FIS (International Ski Federation) World Junior Alpine Ski Championships 2019. The findings of this study reveal that for small-scale event success, the involvement of local stakeholders in the decision-making process is key. Furthermore, stakeholder involvement makes the decision-making processes when staging an event more effective across all organizational phases. The findings invite event managers and policy makers to involve local stakeholders in the organization processes of small-scale events. The research on small-scale events is enriched by the evidence that partial involvement of the stakeholders in the organizational processes reaches a limit in what Freeman (2010) describes as “stakeholder management capacity”.