AN INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RESIDENT PLACE IMAGE AND ATTITUDES DURING HOSTING A SPORTING EVENT: A REFLECTIVE-FORMATIVE APPROACH

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between place image and attitudes toward cities with the moderating effect of sporting event awareness. Exploratory research was conducted using a mall-intercept sampling technique with a sample of 299 local residents. PLS-SEM using SmartPLS 3.3.2 was performed to test the hypothesized relationships. The findings demonstrated a significant relationship between place image and resident attitudes. In addition, a reflective-formative construct of place image showed that municipal facilities, leisure, and public services were significant factors in influencing perceptions of place image. The moderating effect of awareness was not found to be significant. The results of this study recommend that city authorities and tourism managers recognize and address the various dimensions of place image to increase community support. This would benefit event managers through developing favorable attitudes of residents towards their cities, thus having a social impact on the host city’s residents.