Purpose

The current study applied the concept of country image to a context of bilateral relations for two post-Soviet states to examine the impact of a mega sport event on the image of the host country Russia.

Design/methodology/approach

Surveys were collected before and after the World Cup to assess any changes among Georgians with regard to their views on Russia and intentions to visit.

Findings

The results showed a significant change in Russia’s pre-perceived cognitive image related to reputation, respect and development, as well as the emotional aspect and overall country image after the mega sport event. Interestingly, the affective image of Russia carried more weight in shaping the overall country image compared to the cognitive aspects, suggesting the increasing importance of emotional perceptions over beliefs. However, despite these changes, the study found that mega sport events did not significantly moderate the association between country image and behavior intentions in the context of Russo-Georgian hostile bilateral relations.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first examinations of the impact of hosting mega sport events in countries with hostile bilateral ties. The findings support that mega sport events can be an effective mechanism to gain soft power in that such events can arouse changes in people’s emotions and feelings towards the host country, even for those living in a country with a hostile relationship with the host country. The scope of applicability of these findings can be extended to other contexts, including future hosts of mega sport events in their geo-political contexts.

中文翻译：

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双边关系紧张的大型活动主办国居民目的地形象事前考察

 目的

当前的研究将国家形象的概念应用于两个后苏联国家的双边关系背景，以研究大型体育赛事对主办国俄罗斯形象的影响。

设计/方法论/途径

在世界杯前后收集了调查，以评估格鲁吉亚人对俄罗斯的看法和访问意图的变化。

 发现

结果显示，大型体育赛事后，俄罗斯与声誉、尊重和发展相关的预先认知认知形象以及情感方面和整体国家形象发生了显着变化。有趣的是，与认知方面相比，俄罗斯的情感形象在塑造整体国家形象方面具有更大的分量，这表明情感认知比信仰越来越重要。然而，尽管发生了这些变化，研究发现，在俄罗斯与格鲁吉亚敌对双边关系的背景下，大型体育赛事并没有显着调节国家形象与行为意图之间的关联。

 原创性/价值

这项研究是对在双边关系敌对的国家举办大型体育赛事的影响进行的首次研究之一。研究结果表明，大型体育赛事可以成为获得软实力的有效机制，因为此类赛事可以引起人们对主办国的情绪和感受的变化，即使对于那些生活在与主办国存在敌对关系的国家的人来说也是如此。这些发现的适用范围可以扩展到其他环境，包括未来在其地缘政治背景下举办大型体育赛事。