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The organization of events is shaped by relationships among key stakeholders including organizing entities, supporting public sector bodies, businesses, voluntary groups, and community alliances, which are intertwined within a complex inter-organizational network ([11] Getz et al. , 2007; [16] Jones, 2005; [34] Stokes, 2007). Collaboration is critical among stakeholders for mobilizing community resources ([7] Dredge, 2006; [15] Jamal and Getz, 1995; [29] Provan et al. , 2005) and creating synergies among different organizations to host events successfully ([10] Getz, 2005; [41] Yaghmour and Scott, 2009). Therefore, host communities seeking to capitalize on events for attaining beneficial outcomes need to understand and leverage the patterns of relationships that facilitate collaboration.
Network analysis provides a useful tool for quantifying and explicating patterns of relationships ([4] Burt and Minor, 1983; [18] Knoke and Kuklinski, 1982). Accordingly, we can examine the complexity of networks of collaborating organizations that plan and implement events. Despite the increasing interest in event networks research, there has been little effort to use network analysis as a tool for measuring the patterns of inter-organizational relationships that shape event implementations. Network analysis has been successfully used in the fields of organization studies and health policy ([27] Provan and Milward, 1995; [28] Provan et al. , 2003; [36] Uzzi, 1997) demonstrating that networks foster learning, facilitate the management of resource dependencies, and enhance social capital ([24] Podolny and Page, 1998; [25] Powell, 1990). Within this context, the establishment of trust and moral obligation is identified as a critical component in the development of business inter-organizational networks ([23] Perrow, 1993; [36] Uzzi, 1997; [42] Zaheer et al. , 1998). The emphasis on trust and reciprocity underscores the function of exchange networks as a means to generate and foster social capital ([24] Podolny and Page, 1998).
The purpose of this study was to examine the inter-organizational patterns of an events network that shape a host community's capacity to capitalize on its event portfolio. To that intent, a network analysis was conducted in a small community identifying the actors, measuring their relationships, and investigating the structure of the network of collaborating organizations involved in event implementations. This study, ultimately, hopes to demonstrate the usefulness of network analysis as a tool for host communities to help build their capacity in...