The Relationship of Hygiene, Motivator, and Professional Strategic Capabilities to the Performance of Australian Music Festival Event Management Organizations

Abstract

The Australian music festival event management (AMFEM) industry is situated in a highly competitive industry and dynamic environment. Thus, the purpose of this article is to explain if and how Motivator, Hygiene, and Professional (MHP) strategic capabilities (SCs) are positively associated with the performance of AMFEM companies. A mixed-methods research design comprising a case study of a Western Australian event management company and 12 in-depth interviews with, and a questionnaire survey of, a sample of AMFEM organizations was used to develop and test our proposed MHP model. Fifteen SCs were identified from the academic literature and qualitative research, which were used to construct and measure the variables in the MHP model. The questionnaire survey (sent by e-mail/post to 238 organizations, of which 48 responses were usable) canvassed opinions about the relationships between the MHP SCs and the performance of AMFEM organizations. It was found that all the SCs were related to AMFEM performance; however, only Motivator and Hygiene groupings of strategic capabilities were directly related to organizational performance, while grouped Professional strategic capabilities were indirectly related. Overall, the participants and respondents validated the MHP model. Therefore, managers of events organizations should develop Motivator and Hygiene SCs first and foremost for increased performance of their companies. They should also engage distinguished artists and direct careful attention to planning, customer satisfaction, and innovation in order to ensure a successful outcome. Our findings add to the festival event management literature by demonstrating the importance of Motivator, Hygiene, and additional Professional SCs for the successful performance of music festival event management organizations. All three groups were found to play important, though not equal roles.