Cultural festival attendees: a path from motivation to loyalty

Scholars have long undervalued the role of knowledge in the formation of festival loyalty. The purpose of this study is to define a knowledge-based model of attendee loyalty at a cultural festival. It evaluates the influence of cultural motivation - descending from knowledge needs - and acquired knowledge in the formation of festival loyalty and assesses the role of festival attachment and satisfaction in explaining the nexus between acquired knowledge and loyalty. A questionnaire survey was administered to 456 attendees at the 'Sponz Fest', a festival organized annually in South Italy. Data were analysed by applying a covariance-based structural equation model in two stages. The results highlight that loyalty depends on knowledge acquisition, which, in turn, is influenced by cultural motivation. Satisfaction and festival attachment act as mediators in the relationship between acquired knowledge and loyalty. These findings offer a new perspective on the explanation of the formation of loyalty to cultural festivals in light of knowledge-based constructs. Moreover, it allows to understand how specific constructs of affective and cognitive nature intervene in explaining why acquired knowledge leads attendants to be more loyal to this type of festival. The managerial implications of these findings are provided for festival organizers.