ASSOCIATION INVOLVEMENT AND CONVENTION PARTICIPATION

The role of association involvement in convention participation has not been studied previously. This study applies the concept of involvement to the conference participation decision-making process in order to examine potential differences among association members who have a different degree of involvement with the association. An e-mail survey of a sample of the Association of American Geographers ’ member-ship yielded a 50 % response rate and the respondents were classified into three categories according to their involvement with the association. Highly involved mem-bers were much more likely to attend the annual convention than those with low or medium levels of involvement. The results from the study suggest that associations should create an "association culture " with ensuing high involvement of many of its members. This will ensure a higher convention participation rate among the member-ship and, therefore, increase the economic gains from such events. These results might be of particular importance for many of the new associations in the field of tourism that are essentially vying for the same people. Key words: association, involvement, convention participation decision, convention