Satisfaction and attendance at UK exhibitions

Abstract: Various attributes are known to influence delegates’ decisions to attend professional exhibitions. This paper uses data drawn from a self-administered internet-based questionnaire to identify which attributes enhance the probability of repeat, future attendance by delegates who are and who are not very satisfied with the current exhibition.

Application of bivariate probit regression with full observability suggests that networking opportunities and the chance to find out about products enhance the probability of repeat attendance. However, the marginal effects of these attributes on repeat attendance are 29 per cent stronger for those who were not very satisfied with the exhibition relative to those who were very satisfied, suggesting that exhibition policy makers wishing to maintain high levels or increase the probability of delegate’ repeat visitation should devote resources to enhance networking experiences and to develop opportunities for delegates to find out about products.

Biography: Don is Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. He is an approved researcher at the Office for National Statistics (UK), affiliated scientist at the Internationales Institüt für Management, University of Flensburg (Germany), research associate at the Countryside and Community Research Institute (UK), member of the New Zealand Work and Labour Market Institute (NZ), visiting research fellow at the Policy Research Institute (UK) and the New Zealand country representative for the Regional Studies Association. Don has been contracted to work for, amongst others, the UK government’s department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, the Welsh Assembly Government and the England’s South West Regional Development Agency.