The Essence and Measurement of Trade Show Event Experiences

Abstract

Trade shows have been seen as the key drivers of the economic and tourism growth. Experiences are the core of any trade show. However, research on trade shows are primarily concerned with trade show performance, leaving experiences as an unexplored subject. The purpose of this study is to understand the essence of experiences and development of a trade show experience scale. This exploratory study was carried out in three phases: identifying the domain of construct and generation of items, item selection, and scale purification. A 21-item scale comprised of five dimensions associated with experience (affective association, cognitive association, unique association, physical association, and well-being association) emerged. Marketers should focus on high-end participant's experiences. Existing experiential practices in the trade show industry can be improved by using the two new dimensions found in the study (well-being associations and unique associations). This study contributes to the existing literature by exploring new experiential attributes (unique and well-being associations). Findings suggest that participants do not see trade shows merely as a business event to fulfill their meaningful objectives, but also as a platform that addresses their hedonic well-being. Future research should be done to complement the findings with a heterogeneous population sample. This research has conceptualized and developed a trade show experience scale comprising of five unique dimensions that are yet to be explored in trade show context. The findings of the study provide a measure for the meaningful evaluation of a trade show event experience. Trade show organizers may use the study outcomes to enhance the effectiveness of events.