ABSTRACT

Since 2011, Sport Business School (SBS) Finland has conducted more than 30 different research projects during the WRC Neste Rally Finland event in Jyväskylä. The WRC (World Rally Championship) is said to be the most challenging motorsport championship in the world (WRC.com). The races take place in approximately 15 different countries and Finland has hosted the event since 1973. Originally, the aim of the studies in this chapter was to collect in-depth information about the customer satisfaction of different types of spectators and participating teams. During the past five years, the studies have also included the economic impact of the event for the host city, brand perceptions and personal value structures of the spectators, team members, volunteers and staff members, the expectations and satisfaction of event partners and sponsors and the views of non-spectators and the local citizens. In fact, the data collected from more than 10,000 interviews have been organized into a set of databases that can be considered an application of an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system, and can be applied as a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system for the event organizer.