Factors affecting association convention participation decision-making process

Abstract

The primary objectives of this study were to examine factors affecting the association convention participation decision-making process and to develop a measurement scale to assess the process. In addition, the study was extended to investigate relationships between convention participation decision-making factors and the participation decision and to examine longitudinal changes in the relationships. By integrating attitude theory and a paradigm of cognitive decision-making, a measurement scale was developed which provides an original contribution to a better understanding of the association convention participation decision-making process and offers a new approach to expand prior research on convention tourism. The measurement scale was derived from extensive literature review and from personal interviews, and then purified by using data collected through a web survey of selected education association members in the field of hospitality and tourism. A total of 558 usable responses were collected and the data was subjected to exploratory factor analysis and subsequent confirmatory factor analysis. The scale that was developed met rigorous criteria for both reliability and validity tests. A theoretically sound and reliable measurement scale of the association convention participation decision-making process was established. The scale consists of five underlying dimensions: destination stimuli, professional and social networking opportunities, educational opportunities, safety and health situation, and travelability. Subsequently five constructs from the scale were used as the independent variables to test Hypothesis 1 postulated in this study. Testing of hypothesized relationships between convention participation decision-making factors and the participation decision revealed that the decision-making factors of professional/social networking opportunities, travelability, and destination stimuli significantly influenced the convention participation decision. After the measurement scale had been established, subsequent longitudinal study was conducted to investigate whether or not potential attendees' attitude towards association convention participation decision may change over time. For this part of the study, the study panel was selected from a specific education association members and they were repeatedly surveyed at two separated times. The first administration of the survey (Time 1) occurred in February 2004 and the second survey (Time 2) was conducted in May 2004. The time lag between the two administrations was thus three months. Among the total pool of 153 study panel participated in the first-time survey, 107 re-participated in the second-time survey with panel retention rates of 70%. A total of 107 paired data sets were used for the subsequent data analysis. A comparison of the importance of the convention participation decision-making factors in influencing the participation decision over three-month period showed that there had been significant changes in importance, especially in the decision-making factors of networking opportunities, safety and health situation, and travelability. The study guided much needed empirical research on convention tourism, which had not been subjected previously to rigorous investigation. Built upon works from several disciplines including consumer behavior, cognitive psychology, marketing and tourism, this study has established a comprehensive conceptual framework to capture important aspects of association convention participation decision-making from the attendees' perspective. There has been a compelling need in tourism literature for a sound and reliable measurement scale to assess the association convention participation decision-making process, and the study has contributed to the existing body of knowledge in serving as a starting point for more directed research needs of future researchers.