Is QOL a better predictor of support for festival development? A social-cultural perspective

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to understand residents’ support for festival development by exploring their perceived social-cultural impacts, satisfaction with the social-cultural life domain, as well as satisfaction with their life as a whole, using the theoretical frameworks of social exchange theory (SET) and the bottom-up spill-over theory of satisfaction with life. Using a sample of residents in Macao, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were used for data analysis. Empirical results indicated that residents’ support for festival development was positively influenced by perceived social-cultural benefits of festivals, and by their satisfaction with life as a whole. In addition, residents’ perceived social-cultural quality of life (QOL) positively affected their overall life satisfaction. While the results extended support for SET and the bottom-up spill-over theory of life satisfaction, the findings also shed light on practical implications for festival planners and organizers.

KEYWORDS:

• Festival impacts
• quality of life (QOL)
• life satisfaction
• residents’ support
• social-cultural perspective

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.