Investigating residents’ attitudes of 2016 Olympic Games

Purpose: Olympic Games provide an arguably unparalleled amount of opportunities for the host city and country in relation to economic and socio-cultural growth and development. However, the achievement of such long-term success measures lies with the holistic involvement of community groups, specifically residents, in the planning of the mega event. The purpose of this paper is to examine the residents’ attitudes of the 2016 Olympic Games and to verify moderating effects of place of residence in support of the Games. Design/methodology/approach: The data were collected in Brazil in the months leading to the Rio Olympic Games using non-probabilistic convenience sampling. A total of 501 responses were collected prior to the opening ceremony of the event. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were applied. Findings: The socio-cultural and economic dimensions had a positive and significant effect in support for the Olympic Games; however, the environmental dimension did not have such strong effect. Furthermore, differences between host and non-host city residents tested positive in support of the Olympic Games. Practical implications: This study aims to contribute to the developing application of country branding by examining attitudes of internal stakeholder groups in the form of residents. Originality/value: This research presents a conceptual model to further establish the importance of such attitudes for organizers and government authorities involved with the bidding, planning and management of mega events from a country branding perspective, particularly in developing countries such as Brazil.