Agricultural shows are community-based festivals that represent a majority of festivals staged in rural destinations within Australia. Recent anecdotal evidence indicates their survival is being threatened. Declines in the overall number of shows and visitor attendance have been widely reported, yet an analysis of the reason for these declines has not been investigated. Agricultural shows are managed by volunteers within not-for-profit show societies who are finding it difficult to survive in an increasingly competitive and challenging external environment. Little is understood about these show societies, their volunteer managers and the management effectiveness. This study has addressed these gaps by investigating show society management effectiveness by means of a marketing concept paradigm. A case study method employing qualitative in-depth interviews with key show society members and other stakeholders was conducted on one agricultural show. Findings reveal that this show society is managed by volunteers whose primary involvement motivation is based upon self-interest in one or more components of the show. The majority of these individuals do not have management skills and expertise required to manage a festival and whilst it is important to note their volunteering contribution, it is this lack of skills and knowledge that has prevented a systematic approach to management. There is no attempt at consumer research, strategic planning, organisational planning or volunteer recruitment. The show programs do not change to reflect the current needs of the community, rather what is affordable, who can organise it and what has always been done. As a result, the case study show society is not employing a marketing concept orientation but a product concept orientation. This study concludes that without this focus, the show society will be ill equipped to meet changing customer demands and stay abreast of competitors. To assist agricultural shows to manage future challenges and adopt a marketing concept, a theoretical model has been proposed that incorporates existing frameworks and this study’s findings. / M. Commerce (Hons.)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/208068 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Meyer, Paula, University of Western Sydney, College of Business, School of Marketing |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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