
Grasping the Social Dimensions of Event Experiences: Introducing the Event Social Interaction Scale (ESIS)
Author(s) -
Lénia Marques,
Carla Borba,
Janna Michael
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
event management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.46
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1943-4308
pISSN - 1525-9951
DOI - 10.3727/152599520x15894679115448
Subject(s) - event (particle physics) , social relation , psychology , socialization , social psychology , scale (ratio) , geography , physics , cartography , quantum mechanics
Experience has been widely recognized as an essential part of an event's success, but few studies have analyzed the processes underlying the event as social experience. This article contributes to a better understanding of the social processes that make an event a social interaction platform. The social interaction processes that shape the event's social experience is examined using a framework that brings together cocreation practices, group socialization, and interaction ritual chains. This exploratory study investigates the social interaction processes that shape the event's social experience by developing a quantitative tool, the Event Social Interaction Scale (ESIS), which measures different social dimensions of the event experience. The ESIS was applied at a popular culture event, the festivities of São João in Northeast Brazil, and 625 survey responses were collected in 2016 and 2017. Findings suggest that multiple interaction rituals occur. People who are more directly and actively engaged in the event are more likely to be open for contact with unknown others. The event becomes a multidimensional platform where different types of social interaction are not only possible but fostered. The ESIS contributes to charting the footprint of the event as social experience, revealing a similar experience footprint across different years of the study. The ESIS and the implications of its processes for the event can be useful for academics, practitioners, and policymakers interested in understanding and facilitating more engaging event social experiences.