Edinburgh Napier University

  Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to explore events venues management's attitudes and practices toward new product development and innovation within the event industry.
Design/methodology/approach
– The approach is a multiple case study of different types of events venues in Scotland. A sample of seven events venues was selected.
Findings
– The paper shows that most managers consider “market penetration” and “market development” as the most important growth strategies and directions for their venues. The level of risk becomes a major factor influencing the decision making process in NPD and maybe unsurprisingly, finance acts as the key driver. Also, differences amongst the venues are apparent in whether NPD is driven “top down” or “bottom up”.
Research limitations/implications
– While the findings may be applicable to events venues located in other parts of the world, further research would be required to confirm this.
Practical implications
– The paper will be useful to events venues, or those advising such clients who are considering NPD for their businesses.
Originality/value
– Results are discussed in the context of theoretical and empirical work on innovation, and product development