What is the value of networking? An examination of trade show attendee outcomes

Business events have become a key sector of growth in the events industry. However, there is a paucity of empirical studies that examine the outcomes that participants derive from these events. This study aims to address this by specifically focusing on one objective of business events—networking. A case study approach was used to explore how organizers design events for networking and the outcomes that participants gain from events. Findings revealed that objectives differed based on the type of attendee and attendees typically followed up with 20–30% of contacts after the event, indicating that the use of networking technologies could enable more valuable connections to be made.