Reputational capital and olympic events: a case study of whistler live!

Mega events such as the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games present unique opportunities to increase the economic and social capital required by destinations to be competitive on the global tourism stage. Engaging Games and community stakeholders in the networks needed to organize and deliver such events is central to creating sustained and positive legacies. Network building and maintenance can occur at a variety of levels and scales. Effective and sustained networks depend on and are shaped by the social and reputational capital created through the process of managing various dimensions of the event. One of the more recent Games’ dimensions used as a vehicle for creating social capital is the Cultural Olympiad. This dissertation creates and tests the utility of a conceptual model in identifying how event organizers strategically select stakeholders and nurture network relations to build the reputational capital needed for sustained competitiveness. It builds this model based on premises and principles emerging from literature related to corporate social responsibility, social capital development, reputational capital creation, Olympic mega-event legacies, tourism destination branding and community based sustainability planning. The study tests the model’s usefulness through a case study of the stakeholders, networks, and outcomes created in the development and delivery of Whistler’s portion of the 2010 Winter Games Cultural Olympiad – ‘Whistler Live!’. It explores the ways in which Whistler engaged its stakeholders and partners so as not only to meet its immediate Olympic goals, but also to contribute the longer term reputation and sustainability of the resort community.