Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

Dr Clifford Lewis is a Lecturer in Marketing at Charles Sturt University. Before this, he was the Head of State for a Market Research company in Australia. In that role, he has worked on projects related to tourism products, experience and campaign development as well as destination planning. Clifford completed a PhD in Marketing from the University of Wollongong focusing on destination branding.

Abstract (150 Words)

Pride events create general acceptance of alternative sexualities; contribute to the socio-economic systems of host communities; and help members of the LGBTIQ+ community develop a healthy sexual identity. However, research on pride events has largely focused on urban events, taking a geographic or sociological perspective. Given the heteronormative discourse within rural locations and the value of tourism, pride events could shift attitudes. Successful development of such events within rural communities necessitates that alternative voices are understood and considered. This paper accordingly takes a business perspective and puts forward a stakeholder framework, considering timeframes and varying decision factors, to understand pride events within rural locations. Based on the nuances of rural communities, it is proposed individuals may be members of multiple stakeholder groups over the timeframe of the event, and therefore may have multiple and conflicting decision criteria. The framework proposed provides a systematic approach to understanding and researching such events.

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Together we will go our way: The development of a stakeholder framework for rural gay pride events.

Pride events create general acceptance of alternative sexualities; contribute to the socio-economic systems of host communities; and help members of the LGBTIQ+ community develop a healthy sexual identity. However, research on pride events has largely focused on urban events, taking a geographic or sociological perspective. Given the heteronormative discourse within rural locations and the value of tourism, pride events could shift attitudes. Successful development of such events within rural communities necessitates that alternative voices are understood and considered. This paper accordingly takes a business perspective and puts forward a stakeholder framework, considering timeframes and varying decision factors, to understand pride events within rural locations. Based on the nuances of rural communities, it is proposed individuals may be members of multiple stakeholder groups over the timeframe of the event, and therefore may have multiple and conflicting decision criteria. The framework proposed provides a systematic approach to understanding and researching such events.