Investigating Residents and DMO’s Co-Creation Relationship: The Case of Co-Organizing a Medieval Summer Festival

Abstract

The value of co-creation among destination stakeholders is becoming an increasingly popular tool for creating unique tourism products and preserving local cultural values and identity. The main purpose of this study was to investigate what factors determine residents’ satisfaction with the process of co-creating a traditional cultural event with a local destination management organization (DMO). To conduct a survey of residents, a questionnaire was developed that included four main concepts: satisfaction with the co-creation, the role of the DMO in the co-creation process, the importance of the event to local food and wine and personal attachment to the event. An explanatory Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with Oblimin rotation was performed. The findings suggest that the DMO’s central role in the co-creation process and the importance of the event to a local food and wine are significant predictors of the residents’ satisfaction with co-creation. However, a personal attachment to the event did not prove to be a significant predictor of overall satisfaction with the co-creation process. By exploring, in detail, the inner thoughts of a destination’s key stakeholders, it is possible to improve the co-creation process and ultimately create greater value for all involved.

1. Introduction

The expectations of today’s tourists from their journeys and the destinations they visit are constantly growing and becoming more complex than ever before. For this reason, tourists are in constant search for new places to visit, new activities to participate in and new experiences to share with other people.

Instead of being passive and letting visitors design their own experiences, tourism destinations are increasingly looking to innovative and creative concepts that actively create experiences for their visitors. Kádár and Klaniczay [1] pointed out that tourism is more sustainable in all aspects when locals can co-create visitors’ experiences and develop a sense of place. Hence, the concept of co-creation is particularly relevant for destinations rich in authentic cultural heritage and social infrastructure, as it fosters a sense of local pride by representing and promoting local cultural values and identity.

Prahalad and Ramaswamy [2] stated the paradox of the 21st-century economy in which today’s consumers have more choices than ever, but at the same time, they are less satisfied. To meet these growing expectations and increase visitors’ satisfaction, many destinations are focusing on introducing various collaborative models involving different stakeholders (e.g., visitors, residents, different providers).

As Binkhorst and Dekker [3] argue, as tourists’ demands are becoming more distinctive, the supply needs to be distinguished. Since the communication is essential, dialogue between equal partners replaces the top–down approach. Customers have more power and control in this experience economy, as they are equals in the dialogue, but they also use their experiences in their private lives during the process of co-creation. Slivar et al. [4] highlight that tourists today have an increasing appetite for an experience that is not only new but also customized to them. Although innovations are much needed, the risk of plagiarism in tourism experiences is also very high. For this reason, involving tourists in the creation of a tourism product tailored to them is a win–win situation. By involving them in the process of co-creation, the role of the tourists changes from receivers of the value to value producers, giving them greater and stronger responsibility for their experience [5].

Many studies have confirmed the usefulness of the co-creation concept [6,7], demonstrating that such collaboration could lead to greater economic benefits for the local community, preserve local values and increase market visibility. The end results of co-creation processes in tourism are still being explored by many authors [8] as knowledge about the value of co-creation in a tourism context is still limited [9].

A closer look at the tourism literature on co-creation shows that, while much research has been done in this area, there are still a few gaps in the academic discourse when it comes to examining the engagement of local people in the process of co-creating value [10,11,12]. This study is about to fill this gap and improve the general understanding of local residents’ attitudes on co-creation ventures with local DMOs and their level of satisfaction with different aspects of such collaboration. Moreover, the intention of the authors is to shed more light on the factors that determine residents’ satisfaction with their participation in co-creation projects with a local DMO. The case study used in this research is based on a traditional cultural event, in the form of a medieval summer festival, which takes place every summer on the island of Rab in Croatia. The festival is already well known in Croatia and in tourist markets that generate the majority of Rab’s temporary visitors. According to data, the Rab Fair festival tends to be one of the main reasons for tourists to visit the island of Rab during the summer. In this context, the following hypotheses are defined:

H1. 

The residents’ perceived role of the DMO in the co-creation process is a significant predictor of their overall satisfaction with the co-creation.

H2. 

Residents’ perceived importance of the Rab Fair for local food and wine is a significant predictor of their overall satisfaction with co-creation.

H3. 

Residents’ personal attachment to the Rab Fair is a significant predictor of their overall satisfaction with co-creation.

This research will provide a theoretical background for the co-creation phenomenon and, through case-study, identify the main predictors of residents’ satisfaction with the co-creation process.

2. Co-Creation Theoretical Background

During the past two decades, the concept of co-creation has been widely used as a powerful tool for establishing cooperation practices between tourism destination stakeholders and/or temporary visitors (referred to as tourists, excursionists, consumers, customers) aiming at creating unique experiences for visitors, as well as residents, in an interactive environment [3,4,5,13,14]. The theory and practice of co-creation thus falls within the broader concept of the experience economy, which is based on the value generated from economic activities and in which the experience is considered a type of economic output as well as a commodity with added value [15]. Given that modern visitors seek unique experiences that go far beyond mere consumption of tangible products and services, tourism destinations tend to develop distinct tourism products that involve various collaboration schemes, targeted at a particular niche market (e.g., cultural events). From that standpoint, the co-creation scheme in tourism may vary depending on who participates in the process, such as [1,16,17,18,19]:

(1)

Co-creation among visitors (V&V);

(2)

Co-creation between visitors and residents (V&R);

(3)

Co-creation between visitors and destination stakeholders (V&S);

(4)

Co-creation among destination stakeholders (S&S), etc.

The interactive nature of online social media has transformed modern travellers from passive observers to active participants in the co-creation process [16]. Probably the most widespread example of co-creation among visitors (V&V) can be recognized in sharing personal experiences, perception and opinions on social media networks (e.g., Instagram or TikTok) resulting from travel activities. In that way, digital content shared by people who visited particular destinations may become very influential media for creating a pre-experienced image and a perception of the place or event [16]. Related to that, ref. [16] observed specific visitor-to-visitor co-creation practices, such as the possibility of online contact via Twitter in Melia hotels, where customers can interact with each other, or festivals in the UK, for which pre-festival events are organized where people can meet before the event and get to know each other in this way.

The results of the study conducted by Chen et al. [18] confirmed that residents’ participation in value co-creation with visitors (V&R) has a positive effect on their subjective wellbeing. Based on the cost–benefit analysis of tourism development perceived by residents, the results show that benefits positively influence their value co-creation with visitors, whereas perceived costs have the opposite effect. The findings also revealed that residents’ support for tourism development is positively related to participation in value co-creation with visitors. The research provided by Huber and Gross [17] demonstrates how local residents perceive their role in the creation of visitors’ experiences, using the German winter tourism destination Garmisch-Partenkirchen as a case study. A model was developed that suggests a distinction between active and passive contributions to visitors’ experiences. This study also identified underlying conditions that affect residents’ motivations to engage with visitors and contribute to their experiences. Lin et al. [20] also examined the value co-creation by tourists and residents and found that residents’ perceived benefits from tourism have positive effects on value co-creation, while perceived costs have negative effects. In their study, Rachão et al. [21] found that tourists are more likely to participate in food and wine activities when they involve destination residents, confirming the results of previous research suggesting that food tourists are very interested in engaging with local chefs and food producers [22]. Chen et al. [14] concluded in their study that value co-creation between residents and visitors indicates that residents’ participation in value co-creation with tourists has a positive impact on their subjective wellbeing.

Another aspect of co-creation is that between visitors and destination stakeholders (V&S), e.g., tourist–tourism service providers which is in the focus of extant value co-creation studies [23,24,25]. Arıca and Çorbacı [26] stated that tourism companies strive to improve the quality of the services they provide by co-creating value, while tourists expect high-quality and satisfying services that meet their requests and needs through this process. The more tourists’ expectations are fulfilled in the value co-creation process, the more their affiliation with this process increases [27]. Many authors have underlined that the co-creation with customers improves their satisfaction [21,26,27,28,29]. The results of the study conducted by Lončarić et al. [28] show that the participation in the co-creation process with travel professionals has a positive impact on the visitors’ satisfaction and their loyalty to travel professionals. Zhu et al. [30] point out that tourists develop their own expectations of the experience in the given area through interaction with other stakeholders, thereby forming specific attitudes and perceived values that ultimately lead to their intention to value co-creation. Tracing the development of creative tourism, Richards [31] points out that the concept of co-creation between producers and visitors involves using the visitors’ knowledge of the product in order to improve it and to provide a closer fit with visitors’ needs. In this way, the shared creativity of locals and visitors can be used to maximise the distinctiveness of places.

The concept of value co-creation in tourism may involve different destination stakeholders (S&S), such as local producers, service providers, DMOs, local authority, cultural associations and clubs, etc. The application of various schemes of collaboration between public and private stakeholders towards value co-creation for temporary visitors and residents has been studied in many specific destination contexts. Ciasullo and Carrubbo [32] found out that the capacity for collaborative and synergistic interaction is closely related to a converging perception of personal belonging to the system and to the network of value co-creation. In her study on voluntary-based co-creation of the Copenhagen Carnival program, Holst Kjær [33], citing Mossberg [34], observes co-creation between destination stakeholders as “a collaborative way of two or more businesses and/or entrepreneurs to fuse their (tangible and intangible) experience products in order to create a marketing opportunity and bring about unexpected experiences to their customers”. Discussing the experience management in the hospitality industry, Lugosi [19] synthesized S&S co-creation as the active engagement of multiple, interdependent stakeholders in creating value based on ongoing exchanges of information at multiple points in the organisation–customer relationship concerning how stakeholders can develop and improve the experience through active collaboration.

Considering the framework of our study, it is valuable to mention the research undertaken by Trunfio and Della Lucia [35] who investigated value co-creation in destination management by focusing on how Italian regional DMOs create their destinations’ strategic approaches by leveraging stakeholder engagement. The authors concluded that destination managers may use the potential for stakeholder engagement type of value co-creation in their destination’s strategy effectively by promoting bottom–up, multi-stakeholder governance and e-governance models. Another valuable study, provided by Mijnheer and Gamble [36], examined how organisers, performers, government officials, local shopkeepers and tourists play their roles in co-creating value for the festival. The study confirms that engaging local stakeholders and involving them in the process of co-creation with management brings significant benefits to the co-creation process. The same conclusion is also reached by de Jager [37], who acknowledges the contributions of various stakeholders in the context of cultural festivals.

To the best of our knowledge, there has not been much empirical work on analysing resident–DMO interaction in co-creating tourism values. The current body of literature lacks studies addressing co-creation attempts between DMOs and residents [10,11,12]. In such a relationship, local DMOs take an active role as network managers [38], bringing together local stakeholders and providing a coordination framework for collaboration and joint activities. Such a collaboration scheme should enable local producers and service providers to expand their market by working on value co-creation [18] and providing advanced experiences for visitors [11]. Using that approach, the focus of this study was to investigate determinants of the relationship between a local DMO and residents, gathered around local cultural associations and clubs, in the context of co-organizing a large cultural event based on value co-creation. Lin et al. [20] emphasise that the involvement of residents in tourism value co-creation is essential, as they are crucial for meaningful and memorable experiences for tourists, and their participation is essential for the sustainable development of tourism in general [39,40]. Therefore, in this case study, residents are the key stakeholders as event organisers and “hold the most power as they provide the resources and support to execute the event” [18,41]. Because residents’ hospitality and willingness to participate are prerequisites for value co-creation to occur [39,42], it is necessary to examine their level of satisfaction with the co-creation process and the factors that determine it.

3. Case Study: Medieval Festival ‘Rabska Fjera’—Rab Fair, Island of Rab, Croatia

The island of Rab belongs to the group of “Kvarner Islands” in the Croatian part of the northern Adriatic. In 2021, the island totalled over 8200 permanent residents [43] whose main economic activities revolved around tourism. Referring to the last pre-COVID year, in 2019, the island of Rab recorded nearly 300,000 tourist arrivals (without day trippers) and 2 million overnight stays [44].

Although the island of Rab is known for its natural beauty and tangible cultural heritage, by far the most attractive and valuable cultural event is the Rab Fair, locally called “Rabska fjera”, which is considered the oldest and largest medieval summer festival in Croatia. During the last several pre-COVID years, approximately 30,000 visitors in total have toured this three-day festival, enjoying medieval life style, traditional crafts, delicious local food and wines, historical folklore, dances and local art. Visitors can watch the preparation of local and traditional dishes and taste them on site, along with local wines and spirits. As it was in its very beginnings in the 14th century, the Rab Fair is organised by local cultural clubs and associations, which has helped the local community preserve its cultural values and identity.

Nowadays, the Rab Tourist Board, which acts as the local DMO, cooperates with the Town of Rab and the Public University of Rab in the Rab Fair. Although the main task of the DMO in Croatia is to promote the destination and deal mainly with marketing and PR, the local DMOs in Croatia are often the accelerators of new ideas and projects for the destination and the institution that provides the necessary infrastructure for the elaboration of a new idea.

The same is true for the Rab Tourist Board, which finances many associations, civil organisations, etc., which are also reflected in the annual plans and programmes. Since the very beginning of the Rab Fair, the Rab Tourist Board has been and still is one of the main pillars of the event, which is a part of the local cultural identity. All participants feel honoured to take part in the project and co-create the content of one of the most famous events in Croatia.

It was deemed appropriate to conduct the research in Croatia, as one of the most popular Mediterranean countries, and on the island of Rab, since the Rab Fair is an internationally recognized event with a very long history and is considered one of the best examples of co-creation projects in Croatia. It was also noted that the event continues to grow due to its foundation of co-creation that it has continued over the years (even during the pandemic to a lesser extent and in light of the epidemic regulation) and that the co-creators feel honoured to continue the tradition inherited from their ancestors. Involving local stakeholders ensures that the tradition is passed on to younger generations and preserved for future generations. On the other hand, visitors value authenticity and enjoy the process of co-creating experiences in which they themselves participate and, therefore, value more greatly.

4. Materials and Methods

Since previous studies in this field of research have reached different conclusions, it is still unclear what exactly, and to what extent, influences residents’ satisfaction with their active participation in co-creation projects, particularly when it comes to collaborating with the local DMO to co-organise a traditional cultural event. The survey instrument used was a structured, closed-ended questionnaire that collected sociodemographic data as well as information on the following aspects (with some items adopted from previous studies): satisfaction with the co-creation (eleven items), role of the DMO in the co-creation process (six items) [36], importance of the event to the local food and wine placement (seven items) [21] and personal attachment to the traditional event (six items).

The target population of this study included individuals living on the island of Rab who have participated at least once in the co-creation of the Rab Fair with a local DMO. On average, nearly 700 individual participants are involved in the entire process, including 600 local stakeholders. To capture respondents’ attitudes and perceptions regarding the co-creation process, an online survey among residents of the town of Rab was conducted during January and February 2022. G*power 3.1.9.7 for Windows software was used to determine the minimum sample size required to achieve sufficient power to detect an effect [45]. By convention, power is often set at 80% and alpha at 0.8 [46]. A power analysis for linear multiple regression indicated that the minimum sample size that would yield a statistical power of at least 0.8 with an alpha of 0.05 and a medium effect size (d = 0.5) is 77. A survey was distributed online by local DMOs through their local networks. A total of 97 valid questionnaires were included in the data analysis (approximately 16.2% of the population).

Data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics 23. Descriptive analysis was used to create the sample profile. A dimensionality reduction method, explanatory principal component analysis (PCA), was used to convert a large set of variables into a few dimensions that contained most of the information in the large set. Finally, a linear regression analysis was conducted to identify the determinants of residents’ satisfaction with a co-creation process. Attitudes were measured on a Likert scale from 1 = strongly disagree/extremely dissatisfied to 5 = strongly agree/extremely satisfied.

The data presented in

Table 1. Research participants’ characteristics.

Characteristics	f	%	Characteristics	f	%
Gender			Role in the event
Female	42	43.3	Preparation and sale of authentic dishes	32	33.0
Male	55	56.7
Age			Demonstration of old crafts	21	21.6
18–24	6	6.2	Entertainment of visitors (folklore clubs, street performers, …)	16	16.5
25–29	1	1.0
30–39	12	12.4	Production and sale of souvenirs	7	7.2
40–49	34	35.1	Rab Fair Organizing Team	7	7.2
50–59	25	25.8	Sale of authentic drinks and wines	4	7.2
60+	19	19.6	Production and sale of portable items	3	4.1
Level of education
High school or lower	67	69.1	Other roles	7	3.1
Undergraduate	14	14.4	Participation frequency
Graduate	15	15.5	Once	4	4.1
Master or higher	1	1.0	Twice	2	2.1
Connection to tourism			Three times or more	91	93.8
Tourism is the main source of income	81	83.5
No revenue from tourism	16	16.5

Note: f—Frequency.

show that the majority of participants were male (56.7%), aged between 40 and 59 years (60.9%). The majority of respondents reported that tourism activities are their main source of income (83.5%).

The vast majority of respondents (93.8%) have participated in the event three or more times. When asked about their active role in organization of the event, 33% of respondents participated in the event by preparing and offering authentic dishes, 21.6% by demonstrating ancient crafts, and 16.5% by entertaining visitors. The sample also included eight (7.2%) members of the core organizing team (Table 1).

5. Results

Respondents rated their satisfaction with 11 different co-creation experiences on a five-point rating scale. As shown in

Table 2. PCA result: satisfaction with the co-creation process.

Variables	Eigenvalue	Variance Explained	MS	SD	α	h2
Satisfaction with the co-creation process	8.184	74.40%	3.87	0.933	0.964
The overall quality of the performance of the event.			4.00	0.854		0.688
The overall organization of the event.			4.01	0.835		0.642
The overall commitment of the DMO to the organization.			3.82	1.090		0.846
The cooperation you have with the DMO.			3.85	1.228		0.797
The timely communication you have achieved with the DMO.			3.80	1.187		0.879
The quality of communication you achieved with the DMO.			3.82	1.190		0.898
The guidelines and instructions I received from the DMO.			3.78	1.218		0.868
Incentives by the DMO to work together to create local experiences for tourists (co-creation).			3.70	1.226		0.721
Collaboration with other stakeholders.			3.80	1.027		0.688
I have time to prepare my offer at the event.			4.01	0.995		0.640
The conditions under which I could participate in the event as a participant.			3.98	1.010		0.517

Note: Rotation method: Oblimin with Kaiser normalisation; MS—Mean Score; SD—Standard Deviation; α—Cronbach Alpha; h²—Communality; mean values range from 1 (extremely dissatisfied) to 5 (extremely satisfied).

, the results indicate that respondents were most satisfied with the overall organisation of the event and the time they had for developing their offer at the event (MS = 4.01 each). Respondents were least satisfied with the DMO’s incentives to collaborate on creating local experiences for tourists (3.70).

To reduce the dimensionality of satisfaction, an explanatory principal component analysis (PCA) with Oblimin rotation was performed. It yielded a single-factor solution that explained 74.40% of the variance in overall satisfaction with co-creation and was used in the subsequent analysis (Table 2). The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) value of 0.932 is in the meritorious range according to Kaiser [43]. Bartlett’s test for sphericity was significant (χ² = 1318.475, df = 55, Sig. < 0.001), indicating that the data were suitable for factor analysis [47]. The Cronbach’s alpha for this group of items was acceptable (α = 0.964). In general, respondents expressed an average level of overall satisfaction with co-creation (MS = 3.8).

The next part of the questionnaire measured the perception of the DMO’s role in the co-creation process with six items (

Table 3. PCA result: the perception of the role of the DMO in the co-creation process.

Variables	Eigenvalue	Variance Explained	MS	SD	α	h2
Perception of the role of the DMO in the co-creation process	4.225	70.40%	4.15	0.868	0.914
The DMO enables local producers to expand the market through the Rab Fair.			3.91	1.191		0.769
Through the Rab Fair, the DMO promotes work on the co-creation of local value.			4.01	1.132		0.892
Through Rab Fair, the DMO promotes work on the co-creation of experiences for tourists.			4.25	1.041		0.830
Through the Rab Fair, the DMO promotes the expansion of the offer during the event.			4.01	1.094		0.861
Cooperation with the organisers of the Rab Fair is extremely important for the implementation of the event.			4.58	0.762		0.465
By cooperating with other participants of the Rab Fair, I contribute to the design of the event.			4.18	0.958		0.407

Note: Rotation method: Oblimin with Kaiser normalisation; MS—Mean Score; SD—Standard Deviation; α—Cronbach Alpha; h²—Communality; mean values range from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

). The results reveal that respondents agree with most of the statements. The majority agreed that the cooperation with the event organisers is extremely important for the implementation of the event (MS = 4.58) and that the DMO, through the event, promotes the work on co-creation of experiences for tourists (MS = 4.25). Moreover, in this case, PCA resulted in a single factorial solution explaining 70.40% of the variance in the perception of the DMO’s role in the co-creation process. The KMO value (0.890) was in the meritorious range, and Bartlett’s test was significant (χ² = 467.655, df = 15, Sig. < 0.001). Respondents believe that the overall role of the DMO is very important to the co-creation process in organising and executing the event (MS = 4.15).

As shown in

Table 4. PCA result: the perception of the importance of the fair for local food and wine.

Variables	Eigenvalue	Variance Explained	MS	SD	α	h2
Perception of the importance of the fair for local food and wine	4.222	70.37%	4.10	0.847	0.915
The Rab Fair offers its visitors an insight into local gastronomy.			4.04	0.989		0.637
The offer of food, wine and beverages during the event is sufficiently based on local producers.			3.85	1.064		0.668
Local food, wine and other beverages are easily combined with other elements of the event offer.			4.15	1.014		0.695
Local food, wines and other beverages complement each other during the event.			4.03	1.025		0.783
Local food, wines and other beverages are recognizable to visitors.			4.07	1.073		0.818
Local food, wines and other beverages are known to the local population.			4.43	0.889		0.620

Note: Rotation method: Oblimin with Kaiser normalisation; MS—Mean Score; SD—Standard Deviation; α—Cronbach Alpha; h²—Communality; mean values range from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

, the perception of the importance of the event for local food and wine was measured by six items. PCA also revealed a single factor explaining 70.36% of the variance in the perception of authentic food and wine offerings at the event. The KMO value was 0.863, within the Kaiser [48] power range, and Bartlett’s test was significant (χ² = 393.269, df = 15, Sig. < 0.001).

Respondents indicated that the event provides its visitors with a good insight into the local gastronomy and that visitors recognise local food, wines and other beverages. Respondents agree that local food, wine and other beverages go well with other elements of the event’s offer (e.g., entertainment elements such as street artists, folklore groups). However, they indicate that the food, wine and beverage offerings during the event should be even more focused on local producers (MS = 3.85). Nevertheless, on average, respondents believe that the event is an important opportunity for local food and beverage producers and their products (MS = 4.10) (Table 4).

Apart from the economic value, the traditional events, such as the Rab Fair, also allow local residents to appreciate their own culture and develop local pride [18]. The results presented in

Table 5. PCA result: the personal attachment to the Rab Fair.

Variables	Eigenvalue	Variance Explained	MS	SD	α	h2
Personal attachment to the Rab Fair	4.048	67.46%	4.58	0.685	0.893
Participating in the Rab Fair gives me a sense of belonging to the local community.			4.72	0.625		0.646
As an individual, I am fulfilled by the fact that I am helping others to shape the content of the event.			4.57	0.762		0.745
As an individual, the fact that I help others organize the event fills me with joy.			4.49	0.868		0.639
I consider the Rab Fair as a local pride.			4.74	0.740		0.722
I consider the Rab Fair as an irreplaceable traditional value.			4.60	0.943		0.710
The Rab Fair has a positive impact on the quality of my life on the island.			4.37	1.074		0.587

Note: Rotation method: Oblimin with Kaiser normalisation; MS—Mean Score; SD—Standard Deviation; α—Cronbach Alpha; h²—Communality; mean values range from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

show that PCA yielded a component that explained 67.46% of the variance in personal attachment to the event. The KMO value was 0.794, and Bartlett’s test was significant (χ² = 414.534, df = 15, Sig. < 0.001). The Cronbach’s alpha for this group of items was also acceptable (α = 0.893). Respondents indicated a high level of personal attachment to the event (MS = 4.58), underlining that the event inspires joy and pride in participants, making it an important event for the community.

Since this study aims to investigate the relationship between the participants’ satisfaction level and their perception of the DMO’s role in the co-creation process, the importance of the event for local food and wine offerings and their personal attachment to the Rab Fair, the regression analysis was performed. The multicollinearity indicators showed that there were no problems with high correlations between variables since the risk of multicollinearity exists when the variable tolerance is less than 0.1 or the variable inflation factor (VIF) value is greater than 10 [49]. The tolerance and VIF results for the multiple regression model in this study met these criteria, as the tolerance values ranged from 0.493 to 0.682 and the VIF values ranged from 1.591 to 2.028 (

Table 6. Determinants of overall satisfaction with co-creation.

	Coefficients B	Std. Error	t	Sig.	Collinearity Statistics
					Tolerance	VIF
(Constant)	−0.088	0.426	−0.206	0.837
The perceived role of the DMO in the co-creation process.	0.649	0.100	6.495	0.000	0.493	2.028
Importance of the Rab Fair for local food and wine.	0.196	0.095	2.059	0.042	0.570	1.756
Personal attachment to the Rab Fair.	0.100	0.112	0.894	0.374	0.628	1.591

Note: R² = 0.6024; F(3, 93) = 47.304, p < 0.001; dependent variable: Overall satisfaction with the co-creation; VIF—Variance Inflation Factors.

).

The regression model explained 60.2% of respondents’ satisfaction with co-creation (R² = 0.6024; F(3, 93) = 47.304, p < 0.001) (Table 6).

The regression results show that the first two hypotheses were confirmed and the third was not. Respondents who were more positive about the DMO’s role in the co-creation process and the importance of the event to local food and wine offerings were found to report higher overall satisfaction with the co-creation process with the DMO. Interestingly, personal association with the event did not prove to be a significant predictor of overall satisfaction with the co-creation process.

6. Discussion and Conclusions

6.1. The Success of Co-Creation as an Inspiration

This study showed that by exploring the inner thoughts of destination stakeholders in detail, it is possible to improve the co-creation process and ultimately create greater values for all parties involved. In that context, the rationale of conducting this research came from the urge to highlight residents’ attitudes and their level of satisfaction with participating in the co-creation project with the local DMO, as “each of them actively contributes to the successful execution of the event by contributing their knowledge, skills, and influence” [50].

The research is based on a successful value co-creation project in which local residents and the local DMO co-organize a large medieval summer festival, named the Rab Fair, which stands as a major cultural event that takes place at the end of July every year in the town of Rab, Croatia. The case is interesting because nearly 700 individual participants, organised in local cultural associations and clubs and coordinated by the local DMO, perform various historical, artistic and gastronomy activities for approx. 30,000 visitors during the three-day program. In such a co-creation process, the Rab Fair project proved that large cultural events can be successfully co-organized between residents and local DMO, which also involves activities of other destination stakeholders, including local government, food and wine producers, shopkeepers, craftsmen, accommodation and transport service providers, etc. [36].

6.2. Key Findings

The key findings of this research revolve around four main research concepts: (1) satisfaction with co-creation, (2) the role of DMO in the co-creation process, (3) importance of the event for local food and wine and (4) personal attachment to the event.

The study revealed that the residents who have participated in the co-creation process with the local DMO were satisfied with the key aspects of the overall organization of the event, which leads us to the conclusion that such a collaboration concept is deemed to be successful and will continue to be practised.

When asked about the role of the DMO in this co-creation process, most of the respondents perceived the DMO as a key stakeholder that enables networking, implementation and the promotion of the event. For that reason, the DMO’s involvement and participation in co-creating the destination’s major events seem to be a strategic decision since the DMOs “foster conditions that can help the event to occur and to facilitate value co-creation” [51].

Regarding the local food and wine offered during the event, residents believe that the event authentically represents local gastronomy that goes well with other elements of the event’s offer. However, respondents suggested that the local food, wine and other beverage offerings during the event should be even more focused on local producers. The findings suggest that residents perceive the Rab Fair as a great chance for local producers to promote and increase the sale of their homemade products, while visitors have a great opportunity to taste, compare and buy authentic local products in one place.

When asked about their personal attachment to the event, respondents indicated a high level of personal attachment to the event, underlining that the event inspires joy and local pride, making the Rab Fair a hallmark event for the local community. Such findings are important for event planning and management since “hallmark events have a great impact on a host community, and local support for such events is vital” [52], which goes along with the findings of several other studies on this topic [18,20,39,41].

In conclusion, the perceived central role of the DMO in the co-creation process and the importance of the event to local food and wine offerings, are significant predictors of respondents’ satisfaction with co-creation. Respondents who were more positive about the DMO’s role in the co-creation process and the importance of the event to local food and wine offerings were found to report higher overall satisfaction with the co-creation process with the DMO. Surprisingly, personal association with the event did not prove to be a significant predictor of overall satisfaction with the co-creation process. The results of the empirical research also indicate that residents’ perception of the DMO’s role in the co-creation process has the strongest effect on satisfaction with the co-creation process, suggesting that residents are more satisfied with the co-creation when they perceive that the DMO plays an important and positive role in the process.

6.3. Research Implications

Identifying factors that determine the success of a co-creation project has considerable implications for both academics and practitioners. Depending on the type of project, destination stakeholders’ roles and their readiness to participate in the co-creation process, as well as the local destination setting, are determined by their peculiarities and limitations. In this context, this research spotlights factors that determine residents’ satisfaction with co-creating a traditional cultural event with a local DMO within the context of a small island destination setting.

The findings of this study also suggest that the DMO’s role in a co-creation process is important not only for designing tourist products but also for their strategic positioning in the promotional campaign, destination planning and development. On the other hand, the Rab Fair project proves that large co-creation projects, similar to hallmark cultural events, provide residents various opportunities to collaborate with DMOs, which are regarded as central destination stakeholders.

In a broader sense, this study serves to expand the horizons of collaboration schemes and mutual understanding between tourism destination stakeholders, which seems to be the key aspect of the initiation and success of the co-creation project. The success can be measured using different approaches and outcome indicators, but probably the most valuable among them are the quality of visitors’ experiences, the level of their satisfaction and their related consumption.

6.4. Research Limitations and Future Directions

As this study has limitations, the results should be interpreted with caution. The first limitation is related to the small sample size and the geographical scope of the sample, as the respondents were from one destination only. Given that the observed cultural event is actually a traditional medieval summer festival, the second limitation is that no other types of traditional cultural events were observed in this study. The third limitation is related to the regularity of this festival (every year in July), which means that the findings of this study are not applicable nor comparable to one-time or from-time-to-time cultural events, such as concerts, exhibitions or creative workshops. The research model was relatively simple and did not include other dimensions that might be associated with residents’ satisfaction with the co-creation process, such as perceived economic and sociocultural benefits of event co-creation.

Despite many research attempts to discuss different roles and opportunities for tourism destination stakeholders to participate in various co-creation projects, the existing literature on co-creation with DMOs shows some large gaps in the academic discourse. Therefore, the future research topics in this regard might be related to investigating the bi-directional readiness and engagement level between DMOs and other destination stakeholders participating in various co-creation projects and in different destination settings. Another approach might investigate and compare local stakeholders’ individual (personal) vs. collective (as clubs, associations, societies, etc.) engagement and readiness to participate in co-creation projects. Furthermore, there is a research gap on using creative and innovative design methods, modern technologies and various mechanisms of co-funding co-creation projects with DMOs. A particularly interesting aspect of implementing a co-creation concept at a destination level is the assessment and monitoring of its efficiency and sustainability. Based on longitudinal data collection, it would be very useful, also, to examine the evolution patterns of co-created projects (i.e., traditional cultural events) and visitors’ satisfaction with such designed tourist products.