Award Date

5-1-2021

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

William F. Harrah College of Hospitality

First Committee Member

Hyelin Kim

Second Committee Member

Seyhmus Baloglu

Third Committee Member

Zihui Ma

Fourth Committee Member

Anjala Krishen

Number of Pages

195

Abstract

The unprecedented global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has led to a critical reconsideration of the way humans work and live. In turn, true paradigm shifts are arising across diverse industries based on remote and online communication. Undoubtedly, traditional in-person events are transforming into virtual events through more innovative platforms and safer experiences. The market for virtual events is considerably expanding and promising; thereby, the demand for research on the nature and dynamics of virtual events is increasingly growing. However, research on virtual events and virtual event quality (VEQual) is still in its infancy and has lagged behind, resulting in a lack of understanding of the concept and its measurement. Therefore, to fill the gap in the current literature, the primary purpose of this present study is to develop and validate a psychometrically sound and managerially useful instrument for measuring VEQual.This paper is divided into five studies that are primarily based on Churchill’s (1979) paradigm and include multiple qualitative and quantitative data collections. In Study 1, multiple dimensions and items of the VEQual scale are explored and generated through an extensive review of the literature and in-depth interviews with 20 virtual event attendees and providers. In Study 2, the generated pool of items is systematically screened by nine subject-matter experts consisting of event faculties, PhD students, and event coordinators. In Study 3, the items retained from Study 2 are analyzed and refined using data collected from 482 virtual event attendees. Study 4 validates and confirms the retained items and dimensions by employing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with newly collected data from 500 virtual event attendees. Therefore, this study develops and validates a 35-item VEQual scale that comprises seven factors: vividness, functionality, ease of use, responsiveness, entertainment, fulfillment, and privacy/security. The results confirm that VEQual is a multidimensional variable evaluating various performances of virtual events. In Study 5, the developed VEQual scale’s usefulness is examined; this procedure is called nomological validation. A research framework is proposed based on two grounded theories, social presence theory and the information systems (IS) success model, and tested using a new sample comprising 699 virtual event attendees. A structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was adopted and used to empirically analyze the proposed model. The findings of Study 5 reveal that positive evaluations of VEQual influence positive levels of perceived social presence, satisfaction, and revisit intention, thereby successfully confirming the predictive validity of the developed VEQual scale. In addition, another interesting result is that the level of perceived social presence is a critical factor in determining event attendees’ satisfaction and intention to revisit a virtual event. This study allows both researchers and practitioners to investigate and operationalize a focal concept, “VEQual”, and thereby significantly contributes to a better understanding of the measurement of various phenomena related to virtual events. More interesting and specific implications and suggestions for further research are also discussed in this paper.

Keywords

Event Management; Scale Development; Social Presence; Virtual Event

Disciplines

Business Administration, Management, and Operations

File Format

pdf

File Size

4400 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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