Association Members' Meeting Participation Behaviors

Abstract

Understanding meeting participation behaviors of association members is the key to a well-attended meeting, which is a common goal of both associations and host destinations. However, little research has contributed to theoretical development in this area, and the lack of a theoretical framework may negatively influence the validity of research. This study attempts to explain association members' meeting participation behaviors by introducing the meeting participation model (MPM) derived from existing human behavior models (the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior). The proposed MPM was examined empirically using the data collected from 245 members of the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (CHRIE). The results reveal that the MPM fits the data very well, providing a fuller understanding of association meeting participation. In addition, findings from this study suggest that past behavior and subjective norm are strong predictor of meeting participation intention. Several implications and marketing strategies for meeting planners and destination marketers are discussed.

Key Words:

• Theory of reasoned action (TRA)
• Theory of planned behavior (TPB)
• Meeting participation model (MPM)
• association meetings
• destination image