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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 9, No. 7
Publication Date: July 25, 2022
DOI:10.14738/assrj.97.12655. Ton, H. N. N., & Do, Q. H. X. (2022). The Effectiveness of Virtual Events During Covid-19 Pandemics. Advances in Social Sciences
Research Journal, 9(7). 278-295.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
The Effectiveness of Virtual Events During Covid-19 Pandemics
Han Nu Ngoc Ton
School of Business, International University
Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Quynh Hai Xuan Do
School of Business, International University
Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
ABSTRACT
Events suffer from severe impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on mass gatherings. The
industry shifts to digital environment to sustain. However, virtual events’ limitation
is multi-dimensional interaction resulting in consumer experience and satisfaction.
Therefore, the effectiveness of virtual events is questioned. Key themes of COVID- 19 impacts on the event industry and virtual event environment are review. Then,
a conceptual model on event experience is applied as the theoretical framework of
this research. This research is guided by the constructivism approach. Using
qualitative methods and a semi-structured questionnaire, six interviews were
conducted to exploit narratives on virtual event interaction and attendee
experience. Data are analyzed according to three key themes of pre-, during-, and
post-event experience. The incompletion of five senses in virtual event design
restrains interpersonal interaction which negatively affect attendee experience.
Some practices are recommended to increase virtual event’s effectiveness,
including virtual avatars, three-dimensional projection, and hybrid events.
Experience on virtual events is negative due to low degree of interpersonal
interaction. Various application of virtual reality technology is suggested to
improve effectiveness. Despite some limitations, this research has expanded the
literature of virtual events.
Keywords: Virtual events, Interpersonal interaction, Attendee experience, COVID-19
INTRODUCTION
Experience is regarded as highly valuable that it has become an economic offering [1].
Economically, the sector where experience is an offering is called the experience industry.
Customers of that industry, through their purchases, demand a unique, private, and
extraordinary event [2]. That is to say, events and the experience industry are inseparable, and
vice versa, experiential nature is of paramount importance in the event industry.
Events play a significant role in the development of tourism [3] and globalization [4]. They are
one of the drivers in an economy’s performance and a medium to exchange social as well as
economic values [5]. Getz & Page studied how events satisfy the anthropological need and want
to come together [6]. The term “communitas”, or “the sense of community” by Turner [7]
surfaces the early literature of event studies. Jahn, Cornwell, Drengner, & Gaus point out the
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Ton, H. N. N., & Do, Q. H. X. (2022). The Effectiveness of Virtual Events During Covid-19 Pandemics. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal,
9(7). 278-295.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.97.12655
correlation between the degree of communitas in events and psychological affiliation
satisfaction of event-goers, which impacts their willingness to return [8].
The nature of events, within the context of the event─ industry, is location-based and includes
interactions between people [3]. For that reason, events are severely hit by ceaseless waves of
COVID-19 pandemics since prevention measures restrain mass gatherings [9]. To adapt to the
current situation, the industry shifts onto digital platforms. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented
reality (AR) technologies are not widely accessible due to high costs of specialized appliances
[10]. So far, technology applied in e-conferencing applications includes slideshow and audio.
Conventionally, event experiences are formed through the process of the attendee taking in the
surroundings through multisensory channels. The two-dimensional environment of virtual
events challenges the authenticity of attendee experience.
Within the scope of this paper, there are two studies on the application of virtual platform in
hosting events amidst pandemics and these studies highlighted a few limitations as regards the
lack of direct interaction via the digital world [11,12]. Such studies recognize the rising
popularity of virtual events in Vietnam and the need to evaluate attendees’ interpretation on
social connection, interaction, and overall experience.
This paper aims to answer the question “Are virtual events as effective as in-person events in
delivering an authentic interactive experience?”, as well as exploring some best practices for
practitioners in the event industry. To derive such outcomes, research is conducted by
reviewing relevant theories in the literature and examining data collected from interviews with
event attendees based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In the following paragraphs, the body of
literature relating to the event industry in the context of COVID-19 pandemics will be examined
and the theoretical framework on event experience is provided. Then, justification is given for
the methodology used in data collection. In the last parts, based on the yielded results, a few
possible solutions are made for the event industry to thrive in the epidemic situation.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Organized events
Events, as referred to within the event industry, are planned occurrences, staged to achieve
specific objectives. Events happen at a particular location (usually called “event venue”), within
limited time, to fulfill a purpose [3]. As defined in Shone & Parry [13], occasions that rise above
daily routines, with a dash of unusualness, which bare “leisure, cultural, personal or
organizational objectives” are called planned or organized events. Getz & Page [6] categorized
planned events according to their themes and purposes. The classification includes cultural
commemoration, political meetings, business or educational conferences, then arts, sports, and
recreational events under eight specific categories. By fulfilling their purposes, events are
expected to create values and benefits for stakeholders [14].
Getz studies the relation between events and tourism, in which events are a frequent and crucial
stimulator of tourism and are usually included in the marketing strategy of many destinations
[3]. Formica & Uysal confirmed that events were not even recognized as an academic topic in
the early literature of tourism in the 1960s and 1970s [15]. However, since events and tourism
convolutedly intertwine, the term “event tourism” was coined, rather late, in the 1980s. By mid-
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 9, Issue 7, July-2022
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
decade, the North America had validated the power of events. The Tourism System of USA and
The Travel and Tourism Research Association and Canada Chapter, respectively, planned
conferences to produce the inceptive materials for the discussion on the general subject of mega
events [16]. From the early to mid-1990s, several foundational publications surfaced to
highlight the benefits of events in cultural and social contexts as well as how events should be
implemented in education [17–19]. Throughout the period of mid-1990s to the 2000s decade,
applying the disciplinary theories in hospitality and tourism, event management was promoted
to a scholarly program implemented in official curriculum.
Ever since being established as a profession, event management are much embraced. Several
associations were established to manage festivals and mega events held at local, national, and
global scales. Event management refers to the control over planning, logistic, operation, finance,
risk management, marketing, and legal protocols of an event [20]. Studies in the literature
explore the relationship as well as impacts of various key drivers, in both micro and macro
environments, of event management. Tum, Norton, & Wright defines three key objectives of
event management as regarded to strategies, stakeholders’ demand, and the exploitation of
resources [21]; while Silvers, Bowdin, O’Toole, & Nelson examines the hierarchical system
between different roles of event organizers [22]. The late focus on sustainability has held events
accountable for their impacts on the environment through operation, consumption, and
transportation, all of which release an enormous amount of carbon footprint. Terrorism has
derived from globalization, and how security issues should be considered by event managers.
Up until mid-2000s, academia of the event industry had been dominated by the management
paradigm. A paradigm is a framework of ideas illustrating how data of experiment and
observation are organized. From time to time, the paradigm of the event industry has
experienced a shift from event management-dominant to event design-dominant [23].
The notion of event design focuses on enhancing audience experience which largely based on
the well-known “experience economy” theory of Pine & Gilmore [24]. The event industry
operates in the context of the experience economy, where experiences are a core product that
customers possess in exchange for time and money they spend with the service providers.
Audience experience determines satisfaction and return intention; it is perceived differently by
different people [25] and thus, should rather be designed than managed. Richards, Marques, &
Mein suggest that events should be designed based on the basis of socio-cultural context [26];
whereas Antchak & Ramsbottom focus on bringing theories of “anthropology, social
psychology, management, marketing, graphic design and interactivity” into practices [27].
Recent literature marks a dynamic period when both event design and management are
constantly affected by changes in the macro environment, for instance in the fields of
technology, sustainability policy, and socio-politics [28–31].
COVID-19 IMPACTS ON THE EVENT INDUSTRY
COVID-19, the infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and its toll on the economy
has been examined by academics. COVID-19 was first detected as Coronavirus, a zoonotic
disease in Wuhan, China. The highly transmissible disease, then, proceeded on outbreaking into
a global epidemic affecting the lives of billions of people. Official guideline from World Health
Organization (WHO), one can be infected in case of contact with small droplets from the mouth
or nose of people with COVID-19 when they speak, sneeze, or cough.