Events are a part of every culture and community (Allen, et al., 2002; Getz, 1997; Getz, 2007; Rogers, 2003). They may differ in their purpose (celebration, education, marketing), but at the core they are a gathering of people (Goldblatt & Nelson, 2001). Economically, the event industry is an important sector of the tourism industries; in the USA it is estimated at $652 billion USD in revenues and to have created more than 1.7 million jobs in 2005 (Rutherford Silvers, 2008). Inherent within this industry are risks of varying types (financial, physical, legal, etc) that are the responsibility of the event planner to assess and manage. There are numerous proposed risk assessment and management strategies (GWU Tourism, 2007; MacLaurin & Wykes, 2003; Rutherford Silvers, 2008; Ryerson, 2008; Tarlow, 2002a), which are based on models presented in the general risk literature (Althaus, 2005; Johnson, 1993; Law, 2006; Sjoberg, 2000b; Slovic, 2000; Slovic, et al., 2004). However, there are no empirical data to support these proposed models, nor any research that has studied event planner perceptions of potential sources of risk. This study is an exploration of the socio-demographic influences of event planners on risk perception and how these support the current risk assessment and risk management strategies. A model was developed that outlined the manner in which experience, education, gender and country of residence influenced the risk concepts of “dread” and “familiarity”. These concepts then lead to risk perception that, in turn, influenced risk assessment and risk management. In order to test this model, a mixed-methods, two-stage approach was used (Creswell, 2003; Veal, 2006). In-depth interviews were used to develop a definition of risk specific to the event industry, followed by an on-line survey to measure perceptions of various risk elements and gather socio-demographic information. There was evidence to support education, experience, gender and country of residence as influencing perceptions of “dread” and “familiarity” that, in turn, directly correlated with levels of risk perception. This exploratory research has opened the way for many new facets of research in the event industry. Future research is suggested in the areas of cultural influence on risk perception, risk perception related to various event types (festivals, sports, mega-events, etc), and risk management strategies utilized by event planners.

Events are a part of every culture and community (Allen, et al., 2002; Getz, 1997; Getz, 2007; Rogers, 2003). They may differ in their purpose (celebration, education, marketing), but at the core they are a gathering of people (Goldblatt & Nelson, 2001). Economically, the event industry is an important sector of the tourism industries; in the USA it is estimated at $652 billion USD in revenues and to have created more than 1.7 million jobs in 2005 (Rutherford Silvers, 2008). Inherent within this industry are risks of varying types (financial, physical, legal, etc) that are the responsibility of the event planner to assess and manage. There are numerous proposed risk assessment and management strategies (GWU Tourism, 2007; MacLaurin & Wykes, 2003; Rutherford Silvers, 2008; Ryerson, 2008; Tarlow, 2002a), which are based on models presented in the general risk literature (Althaus, 2005; Johnson, 1993; Law, 2006; Sjoberg, 2000b; Slovic, 2000; Slovic, et al., 2004). However, there are no empirical data to support these proposed models, nor any research that has studied event planner perceptions of potential sources of risk. This study is an exploration of the socio-demographic influences of event planners on risk perception and how these support the current risk assessment and risk management strategies. A model was developed that outlined the manner in which experience, education, gender and country of residence influenced the risk concepts of “dread” and “familiarity”. These concepts then lead to risk perception that, in turn, influenced risk assessment and risk management. In order to test this model, a mixed-methods, two-stage approach was used (Creswell, 2003; Veal, 2006). In-depth interviews were used to develop a definition of risk specific to the event industry, followed by an on-line survey to measure perceptions of various risk elements and gather socio-demographic information. There was evidence to support education, experience, gender and country of residence as influencing perceptions of “dread” and “familiarity” that, in turn, directly correlated with levels of risk perception. This exploratory research has opened the way for many new facets of research in the event industry. Future research is suggested in the areas of cultural influence on risk perception, risk perception related to various event types (festivals, sports, mega-events, etc), and risk management strategies utilized by event planners.

This Master Thesis focuses on the communication strategy of a selected company that operating in A-class Event Market in Europe. The thesis brings theoretical and practical analysis and recommends the set of improvements how to make communication strategy more effective. At the beginning of the text theoretical aspects of communication strategy are presented. The following chapters describe its application in practice on the example of the Company A s.r.o.. The evaluation of all aspects of communication plan such as communication goals and objectives, target audience, communication mix, major communication channels, implementation budget and timeline is elaborated. The last part brings practical suggestions to be implemented by the company.

Tourism industry is one of the hardest hits by the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, Event industry as an important stakeholder of tourism has been fiercely damaged globally. In this study the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the event industry businesses in Sweden, their methods of coping with this situation and the recovery plans will be evaluated. Further some predictions about the future trends and possible transformations of the industry have been made. This research has been conducted qualitatively and by gathering data from both primary and secondary sources provided a very broad reference for the researcher. Restrictions in Sweden started with a 500-person limit then the figures went down to 50 people, followed by 8 people, afterwards 300 and finally 8 people limit again. Commercially, it has been difficult to conduct business due to the massive uncertainty brought on by COVID-19 for all the companies in the event industry in Sweden. Cancelling or postponing events caused huge revenue losses, redundancies, closing businesses etc. limitations and uncertainties brought by COVID-19 pandemic forced some innovative companies to start rethinking their event packages. By upskilling staff and digital investing in building the needed infrastructures, many event companies could step into the virtual and hybrid events landscape. Meanwhile , Small to medium-sized companies suffered the most in terms of tackling the situation due to limited resources and severity of the situation. The forceful hiatus to hold-on till going back to normal has been the best solution for those who were not able to come up with coping strategies. Clearly by the mass vaccine distribution, the event industry will gradually go back to its normal status quo, while virtual on demand and hybrid events will stay as important components of the industry.The result of this study reveals the value of resiliency and being prepared that will help companies to survive during crisis situations. But after all, although this pandemic is a disruption that caused many challenges for the event industry. But, at the same time it brought many dynamic opportunities for the sector to slowly evolve and develop.

Ce mémoire universitaire provient de la volonté suivante : découvrir comment les différent·es professionnel·les de l’événementiel, expérimentant l’imprévu quotidiennement, arrivent à faire face à l’inattendu sans grande difficulté apparente. Ce questionnement, nourri par mes intérêts professionnels, m’a amenée à m'interroger plus précisément sur le sujet. Pour ce faire, cette recherche propose une revue de la littérature élaborée autour de deux concepts, l’improvisation et la collaboration interprofessionnelle, mis en perspective par un cadre théorique portant sur le sensemaking. Les résultats apportés par cette étude sont doubles. Ils permettent dans un premier temps de poursuivre les recherches déjà menées sur les concepts mobilisés en abordant cette fois un contexte organisationnel nouveau. En accord avec les définitions existantes sur l'improvisation, trois ressources permettant aux planificateurs d’improviser ont d’ailleurs été identifiées : le guide de coordination, les conditions de la flexibilité des rôles ainsi que le processus d'enactment. De surcroît, par l’exploration de ces trois ressources, cette recherche permet dans un second temps d’identifier des dynamiques nouvelles issues de l’association des concepts d’improvisation, de collaboration interprofessionnelle et de sensemaking. Entre autres, nous avons pu découvrir qu’un objet-frontière peut faire office de ressource pour l’improvisation et qu’il doit, pour cela, être compréhensible par tous les membres de la collaboration ; les conditions favorables à la conduite d’une collaboration interprofessionnelle influent également sur la gestion de l’improvisation ; et enfin, la production de sens face à l’inattendue varie en fonction de la profession de chaque membre de la collaboration. L'ensemble de ces résultats, ainsi que l'étude d'un contexte organisationnel inexploré proposent quelques pistes d'études à approfondir par la suite. / This university research comes from the desire of discovering how the various professionals in the event industry, who experience the unexpected daily, manage to cope with the unexpected easily. This curiosity, fueled by my professional interests, made me wondering more precisely on the topic. In order to bring some answers, this research offers a review of the literature developed around two concepts: improvisation and interprofessional collaboration, put into perspective by a theoretical framework on sensemaking. The results of this study are twofold. First of all, they allow us to continue the studies already carried out on concepts used by addressing a new organizational context. In accordance with the existing definitions of improvisation, three resources enabling planners to improvise have been identified: the coordination guide, the conditions of roles' flexibility, and the enactment process. Moreover, by the exploration of these three resources, this research enables, in a second step, to identify new dynamics resulting from the association of the concepts of improvisation, interprofessional collaboration, and sensemaking. Among other things, we have discovered that a boundary object can be used as a resource for improvisation and this is why all the members of the collaboration must be able to understand it; the conditions that are favorable to the conduct of interprofessional collaboration also influence the management of improvisation ; finally, the sensemaking production in unexpected situations varies according to the profession of each member of the collaboration. All these results, as well as the study of an unexplored organizational context, provide various avenues for further studies.

Syftet med studien är att studera hur projekt inom besöks- och evenemangsbranschen avgör huruvida ett projekt varit framgångsrikt eller ej.Efterföljande frågeställning Hur är upplevelsen av framgångskriterier inom projekt i branschen? fördjupar ämnet ytterligare. Studien genomfördes med en kvalitativ metod och en induktiv ansats där semistrukturerade intervjuer användes för att besvara syfte och frågeställning. Respondenternas kärnfulla berättelser mynnade ut till ett resultat med tre centrala teman som var framstående för studien: Den komplexa vägen till framgång, Är vi på väg åt rätt håll? samt Vi får inte glömma vad vårt egentliga uppdrag är. Därefter har en diskussion formats med utgångspunkt av temana där efterföljande slutsatser formulerats där upplevelsen av framgångskriterier inom branschen är komplex. Sammanfattningsvis har studien påvisat en stor utmaning och komplexitet som besöksnäringen både har och står inför varje projekt. Detta då flera delar som förväntningar bland alla intressenter tillsammans med destinationens stärkande och utveckling alltid är något som bör tas i beaktning. Även mätningen av framgångskriterier upplevs vara en utmanande del, då det i flera lägen på förhand inte går att avgöra vilken nivågräns som siffror och nyckelvärden bör uppnå. / The purpose of the study is to study how projects in the hospitality and event industry determine whether a project has been successful or not. Research question How is the experience of success criteria in projects in the industry? deepens the subject further. The study was conducted with a qualitative method and an inductive approach where semi-structured interviews were used to answer purpose and question. The respondents' core stories led to a result with three central themes that were prominent for the study: The complex path to success, Are we heading in the right direction? and We must not forget what our real mission is. Furthermore, a discussion has been formed on the basis of the themes where subsequent conclusions have been formulated where the experience of success criteria in the industry is complex. In summary, the study has demonstrated a great challenge and complexity that the tourism industry both has and faces in every project. This is because several parts such as expectations among all stakeholders together with the destination's strengthening and development is always something that should be considered. The measurement of success criteria is also perceived as a challenging part, as in several situations it is not possible to determine in advance which level limit quantity and key values should achieve.