A Critical Success Factor Framework for Corporate Event Project Management in the UK.

Abstract

The event industry is UK’s 16th largest employer with over 700,000 employees, worth £70 billion from event attendees and organisers of UK meetings, conferences, festivals, and any other event-related functions. From this understanding, corporate event sector shows the most significant growth within the event industry within the UK. This research aims “to investigate critical success factors from a project management perspective that can be used to improve the delivery of event projects within corporate event management organisations in the United Kingdom”. However, very few research has been conducted in this research area especially from a project management perspective. Also, corporate event organisers face the challenge of how critical success factors are identified, measured and when to consider an event a success.

This research is based on a pragmatist dimension as it gave this research the opportunity for data to be gathered from several angles whilst revealing the nature of this research. A multi-method qualitative approach was adopted for this research. This research consists of four objectives with specific method tailored to data type. However, in order to commence structuring objectives for this research or gather data it was imperative to set out the research philosophy.

A systematic-type literature review was adopted to Review critical success factors from a project management perspective that can be applied to events within event management organisations in the UK. Then, a qualitative semi-structured interview and qualitative questionnaire was carried out to Determine factors influencing the implementation and management of successful event projects within corporate event management organisations in the UK.

A Purposive sampling technique was deployed to select participants for the primary stage of this research. Thematic analysis was then employed to identify common themes from interview transcript and questionnaire data.

Several critical success factors were identified for the smooth running of corporate event projects in the UK. However, were all categorised under six main success factor areas namely: Strategic Factors, Leadership Impact Factors, Management Factors, Clarity of Project Definition Factors, Planning Factors, and Practice Factors. These findings were underpinned with project management perspective and applied for the sole purpose of connecting with the research gaps, research questions, interview questions and questionnaire. Hence, the outcome of this thesis was hinged on critical success factors identified from project management, event management and corporate event management.

The framework covers key phases in entirety of corporate event. It linked all critical success factors with prior, during and post-event even with examples like communication, health and safety policy, strategy, incorporation of project management to event projects and event essentials. Hence, the developed framework contributed to knowledge on two main levels: on-going event-related research within academia and organisations running event and project-related work. It was also recommended that corporate event organisers need to clearly state out their event strategy for prior, during and post-event for successful delivery of event projects within corporate event management organisation.