Comparing the Motives for Exhibition Participation: Visitors’ versus Exhibitors’ Perspectives

Comparing the Motives for Exhibition Participation: Visitors’ versus Exhibitors’ Perspectives

This exploratory study aims to identify and compare major motives for exhibition participation from the perspectives of exhibitors and visitors. Built on previous research, this study collects exhibition participation attributes and delineates the underlying dimensions of participation motives for both exhibitors and visitors using the empirical data collected from ten exhibitions held in Hong Kong. Five major motives for exhibition participation for both exhibitors and visitors were identified through exploratory factor analyses. The results of group comparison revealed that both exhibitors and visitors focused on non-selling/purchasing activities at exhibitions. The non-selling/purchasing activities and the importance order of motive factors between these two groups were found to be substantially different, which provides exhibition organizers with important managerial implications.