Residents’ Motivation and Place Meanings in a Hallmark Event: How to Develop a Sustainable Event in the Hosting Destination

Abstract

The main challenge for sustainable events is to attract residents to participate and to continue participating. Motivation can be used to explain a place and the intention to revisit a place. The main purpose of this study was to explore residents’ place meanings at Peony Culture Festival Luoyang China (PCFLC) and the impact of residents’ motivation on place meaning and place satisfaction with respect to PCFLC. A sequential mixed-methods approach was adopted. In-depth interviews and questionnaires were used to collect data. The thematic analysis yielded four themes of residents’ place meanings in PCFLC. Structural equation modeling via the bootstrap approach was used to examine the role of residents’ motivation in place making in PCLFC. The results indicated that residents’ place meanings in PCFLC consisted of self-identification, self-development, economic dependence, and leisure, which enriched the types of place meanings. In addition, place meaning had a mediating role in the relationship between autonomous motivation and place satisfaction and a masking role in the relationship between controlled motivation and place satisfaction from the perspective of the self-determination theory. The paper provides a theoretical perspective to explain the effects of motivation on place making and puts forward a practical proposal for the products and marketing of events.

1. Introduction

The place can be a supplementary perspective on the sustainable development of events [1]. Events create unique places through rituals, cultural performances, etc. [2], that make experiences differ from those in daily life. From the perspective of place theory, only when places made in events are meaningful, positive [3], and without conflicts [1] can events be sustainable at the hosting destination. That is, only in this way can residents be satisfied with a place, repeatedly participate [4], internalize the place as a part of themselves, and eventually render the event sustainable. If unwilling to participate in the event or not appreciative of the importance of the event after participating, individuals cannot construct a place and repeatedly participate in the event. Therefore, it is important to explore the relationships between motivation, place meaning, and place satisfaction for the sustainable development of events in the hosting destination.

A hallmark event is a type of festival and special event [5], residents’ participation is key to its sustainable development [1]. However, the relationships among residents’ motivation, place meaning, and place satisfaction in hallmark events have not been fully assessed. First, most motivation scales used in events are unsuitable for residents [6]. The scales drawn from tourist motivation scales emphasize the mobility of tourism, and the attractiveness of tourism resources and neglect the characteristics of residents’ motivation. Second, residents’ place meanings in hallmark events have not been fully investigated. Relph points out that risky outcomes damage authentic places and produce inauthentic spaces [7]. Boyko admits that the place meanings at hallmark events must differ from those in everyday life [3]. Campelo et al. suppose that the place meanings in an event should be consistent with those of the hosting destination [8]. However, residents’ place meanings in hallmark events have not been fully investigated. In addition, though the effect of motivation on place meaning has been reported, the effects of particular motives on place meanings have not been noticed.

The self-determination theory (SDT) provides a theoretical perspective on the relationship between motivation and place. Both the SDT and place theory emphasize the leading role of subjectivity in integrating the perceived context and individual values [4]. The SDT states that the perceived context influences motivation [9]. Motivation is divided into autonomous motivation and controlled motivation depending on the integration of the perceived context and individuals’ values [10]. When the perceived context can be incorporated into the self, the result is autonomous motivation; when it is not well incorporated into the self, the result is controlled motivation [11]. Individuals attribute meaning and wellness to the perceived context and internalize it in terms of their psychological satisfaction [10,12]. Place making is implicit in the SDT. When fully integrated into an individual’s values, the perceived context can be used to construct festival place and be a carrier of place meaning. When it is not fully integrated into an individual’s values, the perceived context cannot be used to construct festival place.

The Peony Culture Festival of Luoyang China (PCFLC) is a hallmark event in Luoyang. Taking PCFLC as an example, our study explores residents’ place meanings in the hallmark event and verifies the role of motivation in place making from an SDT perspective, especially on place meaning and place satisfaction. Therefore, this study is divided into two parts: the first part examines residents’ place meanings in PCFLC via in-depth interviews and thematic analyses. The second part generates the formal scale of residents’ place meaning and verifies the impacts of residents’ motivation on place meaning and place satisfaction using structural equation model (SEM). Practical suggestions are proposed for event managers based on the analysis results.

2. Literature Review and Hypotheses

2.1. Place Meaning in an Event

A place is socially constructed [13] and is synonymous with “behavior setting” [14]. It is constructed via the interactions among individuals by considering setting facets (e.g., people, behavior, and personal cognition) [15]. Gieryn outlines three components of a place: geographic location (spatial context, such as landscapes), material form (natural and cultural facets at a particular location, such as economic operations, societal conditions, and cultural traditions), and investment with meaning (public and shared meaning) [16]. Lau argues that the place at a festival is related to environmental (tangible aspects, such as institutions and localization of the festival), social (material settings for social interactions in the festival), and ideological elements (subjective and objective feelings and ideas about it) [17].

Place meaning is the core concept of a place [18], and the cognitive and/or evaluative beliefs concerning a setting reflect the value and significance of the setting to the individual [19]. Place meaning exists on four layers, namely, inherent, instrumental, socio-cultural, and identity expression [20]. Therefore, some of the place meanings that are tangible and related to the physical settings of the destination are shared by all residents, while others that are more personal and intangible are closely related to individuals.

To date, the research on place meaning in events has mainly focused on comparing place meanings held by different groups. For instance, Hinch points out that conflicts of place meaning held by runners and residents are threats to the sustainability of an event [1]. Boyko concludes that negative place meanings constructed at a hallmark event and place meanings different from those in daily life affect residents’ participation in hallmark events [3]. However, there is no comprehensive research on residents’ place meaning in hallmark events.

As to the antecedents of place meaning at events, little attention has been paid to the subjectivity of individuals and how to display initiatives. To date, there has been little research on factors influencing residents’ place meanings at events. The social construction view predominates place meaning [19], which holds that place making is mainly affected by social and cultural settings, such as religious [21,22,23] and food cultures [24]. In addition, Stedman believes that the physical environment plays a key role in place meaning [19]. Although scholars have pointed out the importance of individuals on place meaning, especially activities [25], experience, emotion [15], motivation [26], and the influence of individuals in place making has been neglected.

2.2. Residents’ Motivation in an Event

As a part of event “attendees” or “goers”, residents have long been compared with tourists in motivation, satisfaction, and loyalty to better understand tourists. That is, research on residents’ motivation merely serves for an in-depth understanding of tourists’ motivation. Scholars have reported the differences between residents’ and tourists’ motivation. McDowall admits that residents’ motivation is to interact with family members, while tourists’ motivation is to experience the culture [27]. As to the relationship among motivation, satisfaction, and loyalty, motivation directly or indirectly impacts tourists’ satisfaction [28], behavior, or loyalty [29]. However, the relationships between motivation, satisfaction, and loyalty of residents and tourists in a film festival are different; tourists with professional motivation and film motivation have higher satisfaction and loyalty [30].

Motivation scales typically used are unsuitable for research specializing in residents’ motivation and place meaning in events. Firstly, the motivation scales used in the comparative study neglect the needs and characteristics of residents. The motivation scales previously used focused on tourists’ features, such as novelty [6] and excitement [31], and overlooked residents’ features, such as satisfaction with the previous visit [32]. Secondly, these scales fail to emphasize an individual’s subjectivity and the characteristics of motivation in different events. Event motivation used is related to the particular setting and theme of the event, such as music and enjoyment at music festivals [33] and profession and film at film festivals [30]. The escaping-seeking dichotomy of ISO Ahola and the push–pull factor analysis of Crompton and McKay [34], which are popularly used in event motivation, stress the escaping and pull factors that essentially concern the impact of the external environment on individuals [35].

2.3. Motivation in the SDT

White and Thompson point out that more general motivation methods, such as SDT, can solve these problems [36]. SDT is a theory on human motivation and personality development. From the perspective of SDT, individuals have a deep-rooted organismic tendency toward self-organization and psychological integration [37,38] and try to maintain self-congruity and internalize new experiences, values, and behaviors to experience great internal harmony and wholeness [39].

Motivation falls into a continuum in terms of the integration of perceived context and the values of individuals. The order from least to most autonomous is external, introjected, identified, integrated, and intrinsic motivation [40]. The former two are categorized as controlled motivation. Individuals with controlled motivation experience a sense of external reinforcement, pressure, and obligation [41]. Identified, integrated, and intrinsic motivations are classified as autonomous motivation. Those with autonomous motivation are eager to experience a feeling of personal choice, interest, personal endorsement, and volition [42]. Moreover, an autonomous context is easier to internalize than a controlled context.

Autonomous motivation and controlled motivation affect satisfaction and meaning respectively. Autonomous motivation, especially intrinsic motivation, is central to behavior prediction and outcome. SDT assumes that when identifying the value or regulation outside and participating in an activity with mastery and volition, individuals are more likely to feel the satisfaction of basic psychological needs and have positive outcomes, such as higher life satisfaction, meaning, and well-being [43]. In contrast, controlled motivation hinders the satisfaction of basic psychological needs and is associated with negative outcomes, such as burnout, hassle, and exhaustion [44].

SDT has rarely been applied to events. Dodds points out that the internal and external motivation of event managers play different roles in the sustainable development management of events [45] and recognizes the important role of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in strategies for sustainable development [41]. In addition, Sjanett et al. confirm that individuals with autonomous motivation experience higher levels of positive emotion and satisfaction during the Dutch Queen’s Day Event [46].

2.4. Research Hypotheses

The effect of motivation on place meaning has been previously illustrated. Young proposes that place can be interpreted in the context of the motivational orientation of tourists [26]. However, instead of measuring the detailed characteristics of motivation and their relationships with detailed place meanings, we followed Weinstein’s view that meaning was implicit in SDT, and psychological need satisfaction is the basis for meaning-seeking [38]. SDT states that individuals with autonomous motivation are prone to having their psychological needs satisfied and creating meaning in the experience (self-consistency and sense of control) by internalizing perceived context into their own [38]. As place meaning reflects the importance of setting to an individual [3], we propose the integration of settings into oneself depends on place meaning. A setting that is consistent with one’s values may lead to autonomous motivation. People who act with autonomous motivation can be satisfied through basic psychological needs, such as gaining self-consistency and promoting competence (place meaning) [38]. The higher the autonomous motivation, the more easily the perceived context integrates into oneself. That is, autonomous motivation has a positive impact on place meaning. On the other hand, the settings that trigger controlled motivation represent the internal and external pressure that conflicts with an individual’s values; thus, it cannot result in the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, especially autonomy. The perceived context triggering controlled motivation cannot be integrated into place well, especially the one conflicting with self-consistency [47]. Thus, controlled motivation may negatively impact place meaning. We propose that:

Hypothesis 1 (H1).

Motivation can have a significant impact on place meaning.

Hypothesis 1a (H1a).

Autonomous motivation has a positive impact on place meaning.

Hypothesis 1b (H1b).

Controlled motivation has a negative impact on place meaning.

Compared with place meaning, place satisfaction is a complementary concept in place [19] and more closely related to repeated participation [48]. Place satisfaction is referred to as “a multidimensional summary judgment of the perceived quality of a setting” [19]. Zhu proposes that place attachment stresses emotion, whereas place satisfaction stresses attitude [49]. Place satisfaction is a predictor of individual behavior [50] and behavior intention [32], which is important for sustainability.

The relationship between motivation and place satisfaction has not been paid much attention. Although researchers have noticed the impact of motivation on place satisfaction, such as Lemmetyinen et al. show that cruise motivation impacts destination satisfaction [51], Küükergin believes that motivation (natural reflection, last opportunity experience, and charm) of travelling somewhere for the last time also positively impacts place satisfaction [52], they have not given the rationale behind the phenomenon.

SDT has been used to investigate the impacts of motivations on satisfaction and give a much deeper understanding of the relationship between them. Autonomous motivation often leads to positive outcomes, such as life satisfaction and well-being [53], quality of life, vitality, and physical health [54]. Furthermore, Wu proposes that autonomous motivation is a positive predictor of life satisfaction involuntary service at an event [44]. Kwok et al. indicate that need satisfaction is a mediator between autonomous motivation and life satisfaction [12]. Amérigo et al. propose that place satisfaction is a part of life satisfaction [55]; thus, we presumed that autonomous motivation has a positive effect on place satisfaction. However, controlled motivation is maladaptive and results in negative consequences, such as burnout and dropout [53], depression, and anxiety [54]. Wu proposes that controlled motivation negatively predicted life satisfaction [44]. Sheldon et al. support that only attaining goals that express a person’s deeper interests and values may enable individuals to obtain life satisfaction [56]. Chen et al. think that individuals tend to feel controlled and unfulfilled in the absence of three basic psychological needs; thus, if they are lacking, an individuals’ life satisfaction naturally cannot be improved [57]. Hence, we presume that controlled motivation has a negative impact on place satisfaction.

Therefore, we propose that:

Hypothesis 2 (H2).

Motivation has significant impact on place satisfaction.

Hypothesis 2a (H2a).

Autonomous motivation has a positive impact on place satisfaction.

Hypothesis 2b (H2b).

Controlled motivation has a negative impact on place satisfaction.

The relationship between place meaning and place satisfaction has been studied from different perspectives. Stedman demonstrates that place meaning underpins and significantly affects place satisfaction [19]. This view was corroborated by Hesari and colleagues’ inference of residents in a new city in Iran [50]. Place meaning is the cognition and/or evaluation of a place, whereas place satisfaction is the attitude toward a place [48]. From the perspective of SDT, meaning and satisfaction are closely related [58]. People may be satisfied with a setting for its physical features, service, values, etc. Among these factors, place meaning is critical to place satisfaction [48].

Therefore, we assume that:

Hypothesis 3 (H3).

Place meaning can positively affect place satisfaction.

In reality, residents’ participation in events is driven by multiple factors. Individuals’ participation is often influenced by a mixture of internal and external factors. Li reported that tourists’ autonomous motivation was related to their controlled motivation in forest parks [59]. Therefore, we assume that:

Hypothesis 4 (H4).

Autonomous motivation correlates with controlled motivation.

As mentioned earlier, whether residents’ motivation impacts place satisfaction depends on the degree to which the perceived context that triggers residents’ motivation can be used at the festival place [60]. A supportive setting of autonomous motivation can change into place to improve residents’ competence, autonomy, and relatedness [61]. That is, individuals can meet their functional needs, fulfill self-identity, and arouse positive emotion via action. Place meaning is mainly about the importance of setting to one’s cognition. Among these, self-identity and function are the most commonplace meanings [62]. Thus, place meaning can be a mediator of autonomous motivation and place satisfaction. Similarly, the perceived setting of controlled motivation is not for the satisfaction of basic psychological needs and even conflicts with it. Thus, it may hinder self-identity [63] and have a negative effect on place satisfaction. That is, the perceived setting of controlled motivation may not be used for place making or have a negative impact on place meaning. However, place meaning is a positive predictor of place satisfaction; thus, place meaning plays a masking role in controlled motivation and place satisfaction. Therefore, we propose that:

Hypothesis 5 (H5).

Place meaning mediates the relationship between motivation and place satisfaction.

Hypothesis 5a (H5a).

Place meaning mediates the relationship between autonomous motivation and place satisfaction.

Hypothesis 5b (H5b).

Place meaning masks the relationship between controlled motivation and place satisfaction.

In sum, the hypothesized relationships are illustrated in Figure 1. From the perspective of the SDT, autonomous motivation and the controlled motivation of residents have different effects on place meaning and place satisfaction. Place meaning plays a mediating role in the relationship between motivation and place satisfaction in a hallmark event. All these hypotheses will be assessed in the model.

3. Methodology and Data

3.1. Research Design

The purpose of the study is to explore the impact of residents’ motivation on place making, especially on place meaning and place satisfaction from the perspective of the SDT. While there is no mature scale for residents’ place meaning at hallmark events, we first explore residents’ place meaning at a hallmark event qualitatively and then develop a scale of residents’ place meaning at hallmark events and quantitatively verify the relationship between motivation, place meaning, and place satisfaction.

A sequential mixed method was used for the implementation of Study 2, which is based on Study 1. Study 1 is exploratory research aimed at residents’ place meanings in PCFLC. It is a qualitative study that has a significant advantage in gaining a thorough and profound understanding of the phenomenon. Thus, interviews were administered among residents at the PCFLC, and data about residents’ place meaning were collected. The themes of place meaning were included using thematic analysis. Study 2 is a confirmatory study aimed at verifying the applicability of residents’ place meaning at the PCFLC and the relationships between motivation, place meaning, and place satisfaction. Thus, a quantitative study was adapted, a questionnaire was used to collect data, and SPSS and AMOS were used to process the data.

3.2. Case

Luoyang is a historic city. Peony growing and enjoying has long been a tradition in Luoyang, and literary works and stories related to peonies have passed from one generation to another. The PCFLC was developed in 1983 to attract tourists and boost the tourist economy. These days, the PCFLC has become one of the three most important tourist magnets in Luoyang, attracting over 30 million tourists and generating a revenue of almost USD 4 billion per year [64]. Both the number of tourists and tourism income in PCFLC account for more than 20% of those of the whole year. According to the concept of hallmark events [5], the PCFLC is a successful hallmark event in Luoyang.

However, due to COVID-19 restrictions and a reduction in demand, local governments and managers of the PCFLC are planning to change the market from a single external market to both external and local markets. However, there are problems in residents’ participation. Most residents are not interested in the PCFLC and their cognition of the PCFLC is not positive. Higher living costs, less leisure space, faster living pace, and tighter traffic restrictions hinder the participation of residents in the PCFLC. Understanding residents’ place meanings and the relationship between motivation and place making at the PCFLC can promote the participation of residents and eventually benefit the sustainability of the PCFLC.

3.3. Study 1

3.3.1. Research Design

Qualitative research has been the mainstream approach used to explore place meaning in various contexts. This approach was operationalized by a case study methodology [65] focusing on residents in Luoyang. The purpose of the qualitative study was to gain insight into the place meaning that residents have for Luoyang during the PCFLC. The main technique for obtaining qualitative data is in-depth interviews with open-ended questions. Data on place meaning were collected. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the text [66]. The themes of place meaning in PCFLC were induced.

The first six interviewees were determined through recommendations beginning with acquaintances of the first author to ensure the interviewees’ willingness to participate and the representativeness of different groups of residents. Then the following participants were identified using the “snowball” sampling method whereby participants would introduce other potential respondents to the interviewers. Initially, participants were interviewed over the phone and upon being determined to be suitable for the interview, a face-to-face interview was conducted. The eligibility criteria for selection were (i) being over 18 years of age, (ii) having lived in Luoyang for more than one year, and (iii) being able to express themselves clearly and fluently.

3.3.2. Data Collection

The interviews were conducted between 5–23 April 2021. The first author and two research assistants conducted interviews with a total of 21 participants (

Table 1. Demographic profile of the interviewees.

Participant Number	Age	Sex	Educational Level	Length of Residence in Luoyang	Number of Participation Times in PCFLC
P1	23	Female	3	4	2
P2	23	Male	3	>15	1
P3	62	Female	1	>15	5
P4	45	Female	1	>15	>10
P5	21	Male	3	4	3
P6	21	Male	3	3	3
P7	46	Male	2	>15	>5
P8	24	Female	3	4	2
P9	44	Female	4	>15	>10
P10	48	Male	2	>15	>5
P11	37	Female	4	10	>5
P12	36	Female	4	>15	1
P13	65	Male	4	>15	>5
P14	32	Male	2	>15	3
P15	39	Male	4	13	2
P16	36	Male	4	>15	4
P17	38	Female	4	>15	>5
P18	42	Male	4	>15	>10
P19	36	Male	4	14	3
P20	28	Female	2	>15	>5
P21	27	Female	4	>15	3

Note: In the column of “educational level”, 1 represents “junior school and lower”, 2 represents “Senior high or vocational school”, 3 represents “bachelor’s degree”, and 4 represents “master’s degree and above”.

) who were purposefully selected based on their age, sex, educational levels, occupations, and other details. The first section of the interview was an open-ended interview intending to gain insight into the participants’ experiences related to the place meanings in the context of PCFLC. Questions were based on Wynveen’s research design [14], including (i) “Please describe the space and characteristic that stood out in your mind as important, memorable, meaningful, or special in PCFLC” and (ii) “Please describe the thoughts, feelings, memories, and associations that come to mind when you think about this place during PCFLC”. The other part was a questionnaire about interviewees’ personal information. Each interview was digitally recorded and lasted approximately 30 to 120 min.

3.3.3. Data Analysis

An inductively-based thematic analysis was conducted of the responses to the questions about the interviewees’ understandings of Luoyang during the PCFLC [66]. All audio files were transcribed, and each transcript was reviewed by the authors to obtain an initial understanding of the data. An inductive process was used to articulate codes based on the prevalence of common semantic elements found throughout the data set [1]. Data items were identified and grouped into 16 separate codes in the first phase of analysis. During the second phase, these coded items were inductively grouped into four distinctive thematic nodes based on shared semantic foci.

3.4. Study 2

3.4.1. Research Design and Procedure

A quantitative method was employed in Study 2 to further test the dimensions of residents’ place meaning and explore the relationships among motivation, place meaning, and place satisfaction of residents in PCFLC. A structured questionnaire was adopted since it allows for a large amount of data to be collected over a shorter period.

First, the scale of residents’ place meaning in PCFLC was identified based on the results of Study 1 and the place meaning questionnaire. The questionnaire was pre-assessed to ascertain the validity and reliability of the items. SPSS software was used to run exploratory factor analysis (EFA); then, based on the modification of the questionnaire, a formal survey was carried out. AMOS software was used to run confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation model (SEM) to explore the relationships between residents’ motivation, place meaning, and place satisfaction.

3.4.2. Data Collection

The questionnaire used in this study included four parts. Based on the results of the qualitative research, the Smith scale [67] of place meaning was modified to fit the result of the PCFLC. The variable of place meaning was measured based on the constructs of leisure, self-identification, economic dependency, and self-development using 18 items. The scale of resident motivations to participate in PCFLC primarily referred to the Weinstein scale [37], which includes two dimensions, namely autonomous and controlled motivations, and has nine items. The scale of residents’ place satisfaction referred to the Ramkissoon scale [68] and has three items. The last part concerns the demographic features and the basic information of the participants, including sex, age, education level, times of participation, and ways of participation. The variables in the first three parts used the five-point Likert scale, where 1 stands for “strongly disagree” and 5 stands for “strongly agree”.

Prior to the final field study, the questionnaire was pre-assessed to ascertain the validity and reliability of the items. A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed. Of which, 168 copies were filled out and submitted, 144 were valid. In accordance with the principle of all the items loaded to each other with eigenvalues greater than 1 and absolute values above approximately 0.5, some items were excluded from the final questionnaire. The final questionnaire consisted of fifteen items on place meaning, eight on residents’ motivation, and three on place satisfaction.

The survey was conducted by two trained team members during 2–15 May 2021. A total of 650 copies of the questionnaire were distributed by random sampling in some of the large squares of Luoyang. A random sampling method was adopted to include all residents in the study. A total of 555 copies were submitted, of which 486 copies were determined to be valid. The return rate was 85.38%, and the validity rate was 87.57%.

3.4.3. Data Analysis

Data collected were sorted, arranged, and serially-numbered. The raw data from the field were captured into SPSS. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed via SPSS 17 to ensure the convergent validity among all the items under each variable. Then, AMOS26.0 software was adopted to run confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation model for both the measurement and structural models. CFA measurement model is important before constructing the final SEM model using bootstrap to establish the existence of mediation [69]. Three to four fit indices are suitable for adequate evidence of model fit [70]. Hence, the CMIN/DF, NFI, IFI, TLI, CFI, and RMSEA were used to show that the measurement model and the structural model fit well with the observed data. The SEM bootstrap method was adopted to evaluate the mediation of place meaning in the relationship between residents’ motivation and place satisfaction.

4. Results

4.1. Study 1

Sixteen clustering subcategories and four main categories were obtained through thematic analysis. The conclusion indicated that four major themes emerged through the analysis, ranging from leisure, self-identification, and economic dependence to self-development. The results for each category are listed in

Table 2. Summary of the thematic analysis.

Thematic Nodes	Semantic Codes	Frequency	Total	Percentage (%)
Economic dependency	Increase economic income	43	82	24.26
	Provide job opportunities	24
	Promote the development of related industries	15
Leisure	Enrich hallmark event life	28	125	36.98
	Strengthen the family ties	35
	Strengthen social relations	38
	Aesthetic	10
	entertainment	14
Self-development	Perfect or optimize the world outlook	18	36	10.65
	Make a personal breakthrough	11
	Improve one’s ability	7
Self-identification	Represent part of me	8	95	28.11
	Have a sense of pride	36
	Be important in PCFLC	12
	Be attached to the place	25
	Be attached to the community	14

.

Leisure refers to the entertainment, aesthetics, social connections, family togetherness, and hallmark event enjoyment provided by the PCFLC, implying that residents are more likely to be consumers in the PCFLC with the purpose of contacting others. Multiple activities, such as peony viewing, drama performance, dance competition, calligraphy display, and concerts, were organized to provide opportunities for residents to participate in the hallmark event with their friends and co-workers.

Self-identification refers to the identification and/or acceptance residents gain from participating in the PCFLC, such as belonging to a place, community, or profession and/or pride related to the PCFLC. The identity of residents during the PCFLC was very significant; a sense of pride and place attachment were commonly mentioned in regard to the PCFLC. Interviewees indicated that they felt proud of being Luoyang residents whenever they saw tourists from other cities and abroad rushing into Luoyang for the PCFLC. In addition, as the PCFLC has been held for almost 40 years, there are numerous memories with family and friends associated with PCFLC, and some activities passed down the generations.

Economic dependence implies that Luoyang is a place that increases income, creates employment, and promotes industrial development in PCFLC. That is, regardless of working for the PCFLC or not, the interviewees thought that they were the beneficiaries of the PCFLC. The influx of tourists generates enormous tourism revenue via events, such as ticket purchases, accommodation, restaurants, and transportation. In addition, residents realized that the PCFLC created many temporary jobs, especially those that did not have a high technical threshold, such as cleaners in scenic spots, toll collectors at parking lots, hotel attendants, and vendors. In addition, residents indicated that PCFLC promoted the development of tourism-related industries, such as hospitality, transportation, performing arts, commerce, and entertainment industries.

Self-development is related to individual growth, such as perfecting and optimizing a world outlook, making a personal breakthrough, and promoting one’s abilities. It encompasses personal spiritual gain and cognition obtained from participating in PCFLC. For instance, an interviewee stated that her experience at the PCFLC made her realize that only through persistence and hard work could she create a bright future. However, comparatively speaking, it was the least mentioned factor affecting place meanings in PCFLC.

4.2. Study 2

4.2.1. Demographic Characteristics

Approximately 29% of the survey participants were males and 71% were females, partly because females are more willing to participate in the hallmark event in different forms than males. Nearly two-fifths of the participants (38.1%) have worked for the PCFLC, implying that residents have multiple identities, not only as consumers but also as contributors and workers at the PCFLC. Although four-fifths of the participants had lived in Luoyang for more than 2 years (77.2%), three-fifths of them had participated in PCFLC once or twice (62.8%), suggesting that the rate of reparticipation in the event is not high. Moreover, most held at least a bachelor’s degree (79.1%).

4.2.2. Reliability and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA)

The Cronbach’s alpha values of motivation, place meaning, place satisfaction, and the entire questionnaire were 0.856, 0.839, 0.827, and 0.877, respectively. The KMO values of motivation, place meaning, place satisfaction, and the entire questionnaire were 0.842, 0.820, 0.829, and 0.846, respectively. Bartlett’s test of sphericity resulted in p < 0.001. All the items loaded to each other with eigenvalues greater than 1 and absolute values above 0.5.

4.2.3. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)

The CFA model is constructed to illustrate the relationships between the latent and manifest variables. The results of the CFA were discussed below. The observed data fit was acceptable for the measurement model combining the latent and manifest variables under place meaning with CMIN/DF = 3.377, NFI = 0.931, IFI = 0.95, TLI = 0.937, CFI = 0.95, and RMSEA = 0.07. The composite reliability (CR) of all dimensions exceeded 0.7 and the average variances extracted (AVE) exceeded 0.5, indicating good convergent validity [71].

The result from the study revealed the existence of a relationship between the latent and manifest variables of residents’ motivation. The model validation was achieved and was tenable for SEM. The following model fit indices were achieved: CMIN/DF = 2.857, NFI = 0.977, IFI = 0.985, TLI = 0.977, CFI = 0.985, and RMSEA = 0.062.

Table 3. Results of factor loading, factor mean value, composite reliability, and average variance extracted.

Item	Item Description	Factor Loading	Factor Mean Value	AVE	CR
	Autonomous motivation		4.009	0.670	0.909
MA1	This is part of my life.	0.962
MA2	I want to get a sense of accomplishment by doing this.	0.772
MA3	I am interested in the festival.	0.819
MA4	I want to achieve specific goals.	0.668
MA5	I want to have fun by doing this	0.844
	Controlled motivation.		3.724	0.609	0.820
MC1	I will be upset if I don’t do that.	0.805
MC2	I am influenced by external factors.	0.611
MC3	I am mainly for economic necessities.	0.898
	Leisure		3.151	0.628	0.892
LI1	It’s relaxing for me.	0.772
LI2	It enriches my hallmark event life.	0.681
LI3	It provides a chance to socialize with friends and other contacts.	0.907
LI4	It’s an aesthetic activity.	0.651
LI5	It ties the generations of my family together.	0.912
	Economic dependence		4.117	0.684	0.869
ED1	The festival increases the incomes of residents.	0.714
ED2	The festival supplies more jobs for us.	0.781
ED3	The festival promotes the development of related industries.	0.966
	Self-identity		3.675	0.571	0.863
SI1	I am proud of holding the festival in Luoyang.	0.957
SI2	Attending the festival reflects a part of me.	0.682
SI3	I feel like part of my community.	0.896
SI4	I make a very positive contribution to the success of the event.	0.456
SI5	I feel like part of the place.	0.683
	Self-development		3.222	0.596	0.741
SD1	The festival promotes my abilities.	0.633
SD2	The festival optimizes my worldview.	0.889
	Place satisfaction		3.567	0.629	0.835
PS1	I believe I did the right thing in PCFLC.	0.728
PS2	I am satisfied with my experience in PCFLC.	0.751
PS3	I am happy about my decision to PCFLC.	0.891

displayed the factor loading, factor mean value, composite reliability (CR), and AVE to assess the construct reliability.

4.2.4. Testing for Mediation Using SEM Bootstrap Approach

Baron and Kenny propose that four conditions should be satisfied before carrying out the mediation test, namely, the independent variable must affect the mediator variable; the independent variable must be shown to affect the dependent variable; the mediator variable must affect the dependent variable; and the independent, mediator and dependent variables must be related [72].

Hair et al. recommend that when SEM is adopted to test for a mediating effect, two models must be constructed to show the direct and indirect effects of motivation on place satisfaction [73]. The first represents the direct path from motivation to place satisfaction, while the other shows an indirect path from motivation through place meaning to place satisfaction [71]. Motivation indirectly affects place satisfaction through place meaning in the second model.

Furthermore, Hair et al. proposed that the model with both direct and indirect effects should be constructed to compete with the model only with direct effect [70]. The authors argue that the mediated model was more optimized with better model fit indices when compared to the non-mediated model [70]. The results shown in

Table 4. SEM Competing models for mediation by place meaning.

	Non-Mediated Model	Mediated Model
Controlled motivation → Place meaning	Not estimated	−0.322 ***
Autonomous motivation → Place meaning	Not estimated	0.334 ***
Place meaning → Place satisfaction	0.404 ***	0.445 ***
Controlled motivation → Place satisfaction	0.033	−0.056 ***
Autonomous motivation → Place satisfaction	0.242 ***	0.329 ***
χ2	412.932	316.036
DF	86	84
CMIN/DF	4.802	3.762
Probability	0	0
IFI	0.904	0.932
TLI	0.882	0.914
NFI	0.882	0.909
CFI	0.903	0.931
RMSEA	0.089	0.075

Notes: n = 486. *** means p < 0.001.

attest to their view. The constructed SEM indicates that the fit indices of Model 1 (the non-mediated model in Figure 2) are not as good as Model 2 (the mediated model in Figure 3). This implies that Model 2 is more optimized than Model 1 because the model fit indices improved when the mediator variable was added to the model.

The SEM results in Model 2 indicate that residents’ autonomous motivation was correlated to controlled motivations (r = −0.344; p < 0.001) during the PCFLC. This proves hypothesis H4 of the present study.

The results also revealed that autonomous motivations significantly affected residents’ place meaning (β = 0.334; p < 0.001), and controlled motivations also significantly affected residents’ place meaning (β = −0.322; p < 0.001), as shown in Table 4, confirming hypothesis H1.

The results revealed that autonomous motivations affected residents’ place satisfaction (β = 0.18; p < 0.01), whereas controlled motivations did not have a significant effect (β = 0.088; p > 0.05) on residents’ place satisfaction as indicated in

Table 5. Structural equation modeling for total, direct, and indirect effects.

Standard Total Effects	Controlled Motivation	Autonomous Motivation	Place Meaning
Place meaning	−0.322 ***	0.334 ***	0
Place Satisfaction	−0.056 ***	0.329 ***	0.445 ***
Standard direct effects	Controlled motivation	Autonomous motivation	Place meaning
Place meaning	−0.322 ***	0.334 ***	0
Place satisfaction	0.088	0.18 **	0.445 ***
Standard indirect effects	Controlled motivation	Autonomous motivation	Place meaning
Place meaning	0.000	0.000	0
Place satisfaction	−0.143 ***	0.148 ***	0
Bootstrap mediation results	Point estimates	Standard error	Lower bound	Upper bound	p
Controlled motivation → Place satisfaction	−0.143	0.051	−0.266	−0.064	0
Autonomous motivation → Place satisfaction	0.148	0.045	0.078	0.259	0

Notes: n = 486. ** means p < 0.01, *** means p < 0.001.

, which confirmed hypothesis H2.

The results also indicated that place meaning has a significant effect on place satisfaction (β = 0.445; p < 0.001), demonstrating that place meanings are significantly related to residents’ place satisfaction. This result supports hypothesis H3.

Most importantly, the results also indicated that place meaning was a mediator in the relationship between motivation and place satisfaction. The direct, indirect, and total effects of place meaning are listed in Table 5. From these, it can be seen that place meaning closely mediated the relationship between autonomous motivation and place satisfaction with bootstrap results (β = 0.148; p < 0.001), suppressing the relationship between controlled motivation and place satisfaction with bootstrap results (β = −0.143; p < 0.001). This indicates that the inclusion of place meaning in the relationship enhances the impact of autonomous motivation on place satisfaction by 14.8%, masking the impact of controlled motivation on place satisfaction by 14.3%. Hair argues that partial mediation occurs when the direct effect is reduced but remains significant [70] in the presence of an indirect effect, confirming hypothesis H5a; place meaning mediates the relationship between autonomous motivation and place satisfaction. The masking effect is a special mediating effect that suggests indirect (ab) and direct (c’) effects are of different signs, and the absolute value of the total effect is smaller than those of the direct effect [74]. In this study, the indirect effect of place meaning in the relationship between controlled motivation and place satisfaction was −0.143, whereas the direct effect was 0.088, which confirms hypothesis H5b that place meaning masks the relationship between controlled motivation and place satisfaction.

Table 6. Test results of the model.

Hypothesis	Path	Path Coefficients	T-Value	p Value	Results
H1b	CM → PM	−0.322	−5.466	***	supported
H1a	AM → PM	0.334	5.708	***	supported
H3	PM →PS	0.445	5.107	***	supported
H2b	CM → PS	0.088	1.424	0.154	unsupported
H2a	AM →PS	0.18	3.162	0.002	supported
H4	AM ↔ CM	−0.344	−6.322	0	supported
H5b	CM → PM → PS	−0.143	1.856	***	supported
H5a	AM →PM → PS	0.148	6.736	***	supported

Notes: CA means “Controlled motivation”, PM means “Place meaning”, AM means “Autonomous motivation”, PS means “Place satisfaction”, *** means p < 0.001.

below presents the t-value, p value, and path coefficient as well as the results of each of the hypotheses. They were extracted through the bootstrapping procedure. All the hypotheses are confirmed in the hallmark event.

5. Discussion

This study explored the role of residents’ motivation in place making. This research enriched types of place meaning and extended it to hallmark events and verified the impact of residents’ motivation on place meaning and place satisfaction from the perspective of SDT.

5.1. Residents’ Place Meaning in PCFLC

Study 1 elaborated on residents’ place meanings in hallmark events that had not been previously fully evaluated. The study extracted four dimensions of place meaning, namely, economic dependence, leisure, self-identity, and self-development. Of which, economic dependence and leisure, mainly at inherent and instrumental layers of place meaning, reveal the functional dependency of residents on hallmark events. Economic dependency is the most frequently mentioned theme in the place meaning of the event. Boyko and Hinch all admit that residents appreciate the effect of events in promoting tourism revenue and the urban economy [1,3]. Comparatively, leisure, commonly mentioned in place meaning of other tourism resources [75], was not referred to in the place meaning of the event. This may be partly due to the characteristics of the event under study.

The research proposed that self-identity, rather than place identity, was the core of place meaning. Identity, the social-cultural layer of place meaning, is an important theme in place meaning. Place identity is a “substructure of self-identity, including cognition of physical world in which individuals live” [76]. The result of the thematic analysis shows that place meaning includes not only place identity but also community identity, family identity, group identity, etc. This finding supports the view that residents’ place meaning includes place identity and group identity [77]. A place is socially constructed [78], it transcends the materiality of spatial entities and becomes a social and cultural entity full of meaning [79]. Thus, place meaning includes the identity of both physical settings and social relations.

Moreover, self-development was often neglected in place meaning. Self-development corresponds to the layer of identity expressive meaning [15], which is highly individualized. Self-development has scarcely been referred to in the place meaning of an event. However, Twigger-Ross has proposed that relations with place provide opportunities for self-development [80], while Manzo suggests that individuals who have experienced milestone moments or transitions in a place report a personal turning point in their lives that promotes individual growth [5]. These findings are in line with our findings and confirm that self-development can be relevant to place meaning at an event.

In the end, by comparing the mean values of place meanings in Study 2 (Table 3) and the frequencies of thematic nodes mentioned in Study 1 (Table 2), we can see that each layer is important in residents’ place meaning and the value of the identity-expressive layer was comparatively lower than other layers. Moreover, there is a conflict in residents’ place meaning. Though the ranking of self-identification and self-development are almost the same, the ranking of leisure (4th in Study 2 and 1st in Study 1) and economic dependence (1st in Study 2 and 3rd in Study 1) conflicted with each other. That is, although leisure was frequently mentioned, it has not been widely accepted by residents. On the contrary, economic dependency, less mentioned than leisure, was widely accepted by residents. This is consistent with the practice in field work. We find that the PCFLC is widely accepted as an economic engine rather than a good opportunity for leisure.

5.2. Residents’ Motivation on Place Meaning and Place Satisfaction

Hypothesis 1 has been confirmed in Study 2. From Table 6, we can see that autonomous motivation has a positive effect, while controlled motivation has a negative impact on place meaning. The relationship between motivation and meaning has been evidenced using SDT. Weinstein points out that people with autonomous motivation may experience a greater sense of meaning than those with controlled motivation [38]. The place is a space imbued with meaning [81]; thus, it is a kind of meaning that correlates with the setting and activities in a particular space. Our research proved that autonomous motivation has a positive impact on place meaning, which coincided with the view of Weinstein that the setting stimulating autonomous motivation can be used for place making [38]. However, our conclusion that controlled motivation adversely impacts place meaning conflicts with the view of Weinstein that controlled motivation can also make meaning. It may be due to the particular emphasis on the setting in place meaning. Besides the interaction and conflict underlined in meaning [82], place meaning lays stress on the setting, which is related to the interaction and conflict [1]. As we have said above, settings stimulating controlled motivation imply that they are inconsistent with individuals’ values, and thus, cannot be used in place making or even harm place meaning. An experience that is almost irrelated to the setting may result in various meanings, except for place meaning, such as control of self and competence, which may bring benefit to residents. So, we can conclude that there is no conflict that residents’ controlled motivation negatively affects place meaning while positively affects meaning.

Similarly, Hypothesis 2a was confirmed in Study 2. From Table 6, we can see that autonomous motivation has a positive effect on place satisfaction. It is consistent with the tenet of SDT that autonomous motivation is positively related to positive outcomes. However, Hypothesis 2b was not supported in Study 2. Results showed that controlled motivation has no significant negative effect on place satisfaction. It was inconsistent with the tenet of SDT. This may also be due to the difference in place satisfaction and life satisfaction. Place satisfaction is related to the perceived quality of a setting, so it is related to context, no matter the physical setting, services, and social dimensions [48]. Life satisfaction is related to an individual’s own judgment of their life as a kind of experience [83]. The setting supported autonomous motivation is consistent with one’s value and can be partly internalized into place, bringing positive emotion, function, and value [84]. Controlled motivation mainly comes from external and internal pressures, which are inconsistent with one’s value. By action, individuals have difficulty in changing the setting into place. Even if the change has happened, it may be due to promoting an individual’s control of self or enhancing their willingness, rather than the setting. Thus, controlled motivation has no significant effect on place satisfaction.

5.3. The Mediating Role of Place Meaning in the Relationship between Residents’ Motivation and Place Satisfaction

Hypothesis 5 has been confirmed in Study 2. From Table 6, we can see that place meaning played a mediating role in autonomous motivation and place satisfaction and a masking role in controlled motivation and place satisfaction. In SDT, psychological need satisfaction has been thought to mediate motivation and life satisfaction [12], and meaning is something higher than psychological need satisfaction [38]. We found that experience is key to place meaning and place satisfaction [85]. Place satisfaction is a relatively shallow satisfaction [19] and can be satisfied by many factors. Among various forms leading to place satisfaction, place meaning is key to place satisfaction. Thus, it can mediate the relationship between autonomous motivation and place satisfaction. However, individuals may be satisfied by sociability, services, physical characteristics, etc. [86].

6. Conclusions

The meanings that residents attribute to a place at hallmark events may affect their participation in the event and thus, the sustainability of the event. This study explored the dimension of residents’ place meaning at hallmark events and assessed the relationships between motivation, place meaning, and place satisfaction.

By comparing the results of Study 1 and that of other research, we can see that the conclusion of Study 1 was as follows: (1) Residents’ place meanings during hallmark events consist of economic dependence, self-development, self-identity, and leisure. (2) Both functional (economic dependence) and value (self-identification) aspects of place meaning are important. Ignoring any aspect of place meaning may threaten the sustainability of the hallmark event. (3) Place meanings in the hallmark event are closely related to individuals (e.g., experience in hallmark event and everyday life of an individual.), features of the hallmark event (e.g., physical environment), social relations (e.g., position in the social networking), and culture (e.g., values shared by residents) of the hallmark event, etc.

Furthermore, we tested the relationships between motivation, place meaning, and place satisfaction from an SDT perspective and confirmed that autonomous motivation has a positive effect, while controlled motivation has a negative effect on place meaning (H1), autonomous motivation has a positive effect, while controlled motivation has no significant effect on residents’ place satisfaction (H2), and place meaning played a mediating role between autonomous motivation and place meaning and a masking role between the controlled motivation and place satisfaction of residents at the PCFLC (H5). By comparing the hypotheses of Study 2 and hypotheses in motivation, meaning, and life satisfaction from SDT, we can conclude that (1) SDT is suitable for application in place theory as it emphasizes individuals’ initiative, perceived context, and the integration of perceived context with individuals; (2) the differences between meaning and place meaning and place satisfaction and life satisfaction resulted in the different relationships between motivation, meaning, life satisfaction and motivation, place meaning, and place satisfaction.

Moreover, the results also indicated that place meaning positively affects place satisfaction residents have at the PCFLC, which is in line with hypothesis H3. The results indicate that autonomous motivation was correlated with controlled motivation, supporting hypothesis H4.

In sum, the theoretical contribution of this study lies in two aspects. (1) We defined residents’ place meaning during hallmark events and developed a scale of residents’ place meaning at hallmark events containing fifteen items. (2) We applied SDT to place theory and confirmed the effects of autonomous and controlled motivation on place satisfaction and place meaning from a SDT perspective.

7. Recommendation

Of the four layers of place meaning, the inherent and identity expression layers of place meaning are relatively weaker than the other two layers; thus, they need to be taken seriously. The results of Study 1 and Study 2 on place meaning show that event managers must enrich these two layers of place meaning through physical environment design and activity development and partition. For example, event managers can intensify the link between events and individuals and produce a physical environment that is novel or memorable to residents. Typically, the setting of an event may be decorated with a combination of brand image, brand identity, standard color, brand advertising, event landscape, lighting, and acoustics to make a unique environment suitable for the intrinsic value of the event and in alignment with residents’ values and beliefs. Activities, such as parent–child activities, community performances, cultural activities, etc., should be developed to promote values to be shared communally and intensify self-consistency. Moreover, interactions during and after the event, such as photography and essay competition on experience in hallmark events, should be valued so that each link of the experience chain can be integrated and the experience can be deepened.

Event managers may pay attention to the context to strengthen autonomous motivation and depress controlled motivation. From the conclusion on the relationship between motivation, place meaning, and place satisfaction, event managers may consider how to construct a context conducive to strengthen residents’ autonomic motivation and reducing controlled motivation. The culture and value of hallmark events need to match the community and the characteristics of the destination, satisfying the psychological needs of residents. Moreover, event managers must distinguish the external pressure of residents and transform them into individual needs. For instance, event managers may organize volunteers by improving communication between them and providing them with an allowance, limit the travel of private cars by providing a discount to those using public transportation, and divert local visitors to non-famous spots through event activities that are suitable for leisure and outdoor activities for families. Hence, motivation management is important in the sustainability of events at the hosting destination.

8. Limitations and Future Research Directions

The study constructed a model to explore the relationships between motivation, place meaning, and place satisfaction. To be more practical for event managers, the model of the relationship between the place meaning and place satisfaction and the loyalty or reparticipation of residents needs to be expanded. Thus, future research may explore the possible effects of residents’ place meaning and place satisfaction during a hallmark event on residents’ loyalty and intention to reparticipate in the event.

Furthermore, the sample of this research included residents with different identities, such as staff of the hallmark event, individuals often involved, seldom involved, and the senior managers of the hallmark event. Future research could classify them into different groups to understand each group more accurately. Making a comparison of place meanings held by different groups may help event managers better understand residents and thus achieve harmony and sustainability at hallmark events.

Moreover, we should explore the effects of the different layers of place meaning on place satisfaction. The effects of different layers of place meanings on place satisfaction depend on the characteristics of place meaning. We may find the most important place meaning at an event by making comparisons between the effects of different kinds and/or layers of place meaning on place satisfaction.

Finally, place meaning and place satisfaction are not static. Residents’ place meaning at hallmark events may change with their life experience, and place satisfaction changes with place meaning. Future research may use a longitudinal approach to explore the changes in place meaning, place satisfaction, and verify the existence of the effect in the long run.