Examining unauthorized events & gatherings in the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Despite the pervasiveness of unauthorized and illegal events and gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic, event scholars have not examined the behavior of attendees, the various types of unauthorized gatherings, and the consequences of meeting and gathering during a pandemic. Thus, the aim of this viewpoint is to bring attention to unauthorized events by highlighting various theoretical frameworks that explain how risk, social needs, and customer deviance provide understanding of unauthorized events and gatherings. A research agenda provides probing research questions that can be used to create a research stream in the area of unauthorized events.

Keywords:

• COVID-19
• customer deviance
• risk assessment
• social needs
• unauthorized gatherings