Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

Hongxia Qi's research mainly focuses on business event volunteering. Her research interests include event management, volunteering, tourism education, and Chinese tourists.

Karen is a Professor in Tourism Management. Much of her research concerns volunteers and their management in the tourism and events sectors, and more broadly in non-profit organisations in areas as diverse as health, emergency management, and conservation.

Ian Yeoman is the professional crystal ball gazer or futurologist specializing in travel and tourism. Ian learned his trade as the scenario planner for VisitScotland where he established the process of futures thinking within the organisation using a variety of techniques including economic modelling, trends analysis and scenario construction.

Abstract (150 Words)

The purpose of this paper is to explore the motivations of volunteering at business events from the “insider” perspective. Auto-ethnographical data was collected through the first author’s volunteer experience at the TexQingdao, China. The personal narratives were recorded in the form of research daily journals. A reflective analysis was conducted upon finishing the volunteer activity. This current research identified four motivations for volunteers at business events: to be part of the exhibition, to learn, to practice, and utilitarian. It highlighted the attraction of business events for volunteers and utilitarian motives. The contributions of this research are the interpretations of an ‘insider’ account and the explorative investigation of volunteering in the business events field. The paper concludes with implications for practice and research.

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Motivations of volunteering at business events: An auto-ethnography perspective

The purpose of this paper is to explore the motivations of volunteering at business events from the “insider” perspective. Auto-ethnographical data was collected through the first author’s volunteer experience at the TexQingdao, China. The personal narratives were recorded in the form of research daily journals. A reflective analysis was conducted upon finishing the volunteer activity. This current research identified four motivations for volunteers at business events: to be part of the exhibition, to learn, to practice, and utilitarian. It highlighted the attraction of business events for volunteers and utilitarian motives. The contributions of this research are the interpretations of an ‘insider’ account and the explorative investigation of volunteering in the business events field. The paper concludes with implications for practice and research.