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, Balduck, Maes, and Buelens 2011, Kim and Walker 2012) as well as destination image (Alonso-Dos-Santos et al. 2014, Armenakyan et al. 2012, Berkowitz et al. 2007). 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.

Keywords:

• Social impact
• city image
• sport participation
• psychosocial benefits
• marathon