Exploring Gen Z’s Event Participation Intention through Social Identity and Event Attachment: A Conceptual Framework

Events are not only service encounters but also social settings in which participants express identity, experience belonging, and develop emotional bonds. These processes may be especially relevant to Generation Z (Gen Z), whose consumption often involves authenticity, value expression, and digitally connected communities. However, event participation research has largely emphasised motivation, quality, satisfaction, and perceived value, while the mechanism connecting group-based identification to continued attendance remains less developed. Drawing on Social Identity Theory, this conceptual paper proposes that identification with the community associated with a recurring event increases participation intention directly and indirectly through attachment to the event itself. Unlike studies that examine event identity, team identification, place attachment, or revisit intention as closely linked outcomes, the model separates a group-referent construct (social identity) from an event-referent construct (event attachment) and specifies the process connecting them. Four hypotheses are developed, including a partial mediation hypothesis. The framework contributes a more precise identity-to-attachment mechanism for explaining future participation among adult Gen Z attendees and offers organisers guidance for developing identity-congruent event communities and experiences.

event attachment; event participation intention; Generation Z; social identity; Social Identity Theory

1. Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Belk, R. W. (1988). Possessions and the extended self. Journal of Consumer Research, 15(2), 139–168. https://doi.org/10.1086/209154 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. Basic Books. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Dimock, M. (2019, January 17). Defining generations: Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Elgammal, I., Ghanem, M., & Al-Modaf, O. (2024). Sustainable purchasing behaviors in Generation Z: The role of social identity and behavioral intentions in the Saudi context. Sustainability, 16(11), 4478. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114478 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Escalas, J. E., & Bettman, J. R. (2005). Self-construal, reference groups, and brand meaning. Journal of Consumer Research, 32(3), 378–389. https://doi.org/10.1086/497549 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Gautam, V. (2025). Examining relationships among festival satisfaction, place attachment, emotional experience, and destination loyalty. Leisure Sciences, 47(2), 348–365. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2022.2099493 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Getz, D., & Page, S. J. (2019). Event studies: Theory, research and policy for planned events (4th ed.). Routledge. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Habachi, S., Palau-Saumell, R., & Matute, J. (2024). Transforming event experiences: The role of application technology in shaping behavioral intentions and attachment to places. International Journal of Tourism Research, 26(5), e2782. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.2782 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2022). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (3rd ed.). SAGE. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Jin, W., & Tang, J. (2026). The event attachment formation process of mega-event volunteers. Current Issues in Tourism, 29(4), 770–786. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2024.2435414 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Kitchen, E., Son, I. S., & Jones, J. J. (2023). Can events impact on social connectedness and loneliness? An analysis of face-to-face and virtual events attended in South Australia. Event Management, 27(7), 1011–1024. https://doi.org/10.3727/152599523X16896548396734 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Kyle, G., Graefe, A., Manning, R., & Bacon, J. (2004). Effects of place attachment on users’ perceptions of social and environmental conditions in a natural setting. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24(2), 213–225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2003.12.006 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Liu, X., Zakaria, J., & Mohd Said, O. F. (2024). How event quality affects satisfaction and revisit intention from the theory of planned behaviour. South African Journal of Business Management, 55(1), a4727. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajbm.v55i1.4727 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Mael, F., & Ashforth, B. E. (1992). Alumni and their alma mater: A partial test of the reformulated model of organizational identification. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 13(2), 103–123. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030130202 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Özgen, C., Köse, H., & Reyhan, S. (2023). Discovering the relationships between event identity, satisfaction, image, WoM, and re-participation intention: The case of a repeated small-scale dance event. Management, 28(2), 119–132. https://doi.org/10.30924/mjcmi.28.2.9 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Prayag, G., Mills, H., Lee, C., & Soscia, I. (2020). Team identification, discrete emotions, satisfaction, and event attachment: A social identity perspective. Journal of Business Research, 112, 373–384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.11.062 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Priporas, C.-V., Stylos, N., & Fotiadis, A. K. (2017). Generation Z consumers’ expectations of interactions in smart retailing: A future agenda. Computers in Human Behavior, 77, 374–381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.01.058 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. G. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33–47). Brooks/Cole. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Taheri, B., Lee, L. W., & Thompson, J. (2025). An investigation of affect transfer of social responsibility in ski events among tourists and employees. International Journal of Tourism Research, 27(3), e70048. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.70048 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Tirocchi, S. (2024). Generation Z, values, and media: From influencers to BeReal, between visibility and authenticity. Frontiers in Sociology, 8, 1304093. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2023.1304093 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Williams, D. R., & Vaske, J. J. (2003). The measurement of place attachment: Validity and generalizability of a psychometric approach. Forest Science, 49(6), 830–840. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Zhang, T. (2022). An expanded eventscape framework as the driver of attachment and loyalty to mass-participation sporting events. Journal of Convention & Event Tourism, 23(5), 385–411. https://doi.org/10.1080/15470148.2022.2085832 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• The Indirect Effect of Liquidity and Activity on Company Value with Profitability as an Intervening Variable
• Effect of Financial Skills, Knowledge, and Attitude on The Financial Behaviour of Clergy
• A Decade of Review: Trends in Budget Execution and Financial Performance of Development Projects in Tanzania (2014/15-2023/24)
• The Influence of Pre-Project Planning on the Budget Absorption Rate of Public Funded Infrastructure Projects in Kenya a Comparative Case Study of Narok, Migori, and Kisii County Government Projects
• Assessment of Factors Influencing Digital Transformation in Hotels’ Facility Management in Abuja Metropolis, Nigeria