The social impact of participative sporting events: a cluster analysis of marathon participants based on perceived benefits

Abstract

Since many years, hosting mega-events is known to have potential positive effects on local communities. In the recent years, there has been a growing interest for non-strictly economic impacts, among which well-being, quality of life, sense of belonging, civic pride (Crompton 2004 Crompton, J. L. 2004. “Beyond Economic Impact: An Alternative Rationale for the Public Subsidy of Major League Sports Facilities.” Journal of Sport Management 18 (1): 40–58. doi:10.1123/jsm.18.1.40.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], Balduck, Maes, and Buelens 2011 Balduck, A. L., M. Maes, and M. Buelens. 2011. “The Social Impact of the Tour de France: Comparisons of Residents’ Pre- and Post-Event Perceptions.” European Sport Management Quarterly 11 (2): 91–113. doi:10.1080/16184742.2011.559134.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], Kim and Walker 2012 Kim, W., and M. Walker. 2012. “Measuring the Social Impacts Associated with Super Bowl XLIII: Preliminary Development of Psychic Income Scale.” Sport Management Review 15 (1): 91–108. doi:10.1016/j.smr.2011.05.007.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) as well as destination image (Alonso-Dos-Santos et al. 2014 Alonso-Dos-Santos, M., F. Calabuig, F. Montoro, I. Valantine, and A. Emeljanovas. 2014. “Destination Image of a City Hosting Sport Event: Effect on Sponsorship.” Transformations in Business and Economics 13 (2): 161–173. [Google Scholar], Armenakyan et al. 2012 Armenakyan, Anahit, Louise A. Heslop, John Nadeau, Norm O’, N. A. Reilly, and Irene R. R. Lu. 2012. “Does Hosting the Olympic Games Matter? Canada and Olympic Games Images before and after the 2010 Olympic Games.” International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing 12 (1/2): 111–140. doi:10.1504/IJSMM.2012.051265.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar], Berkowitz et al. 2007 Berkowitz, P., G. Gjermano, L. Gomez, and G. Schafer. 2007. “Brand China: Using the 2008 Olympic Games to Enhance China’s Image.” Place Branding and Public Diplomacy 3 (2): 164–178. doi:10.1057/palgrave.pb.6000059.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Most of the studies have investigated these effects through spectator events. Researches regarding participative events are much less developed. Hence, this article seeks to delve into this area, more particularly by wondering what impacts participative events can have on the participants themselves. Based on a literature review that identifies three main areas of impacts (i.e. city image, sport participation, and psychosocial benefits), a questionnaire was built and submitted to the participants of the Unicef Geneve Marathon (N = 1305). A statistical segmentation (cluster analysis) procedure was performed, which allowed for the identification of three distinct groups of participants based on a combination of eight factors. Each of these groups are described, thereby confirming the existence of a variety of effects related to participative sporting events that are then discussed both from theoretical and managerial perspectives.