Managing event tourism through different leadership styles in business improvement districts

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to address the need to understand the different types of leadership styles that are present when using either top-down, bottom-up or a hybrid for event tourism development by UK-based business improvement districts (BIDs). Design/methodology/approach Face-to-face, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 managers from BIDs in the UK to understand their leadership approach to event tourism management within their district. Findings The findings show that top-down event strategies are associated with transactional leadership, prioritising control and efficiency. Bottom-up approaches align with servant, transformational and shared leadership, supporting collaboration and community ownership. Hybrid models blend these styles, requiring adaptive leadership to balance strategic oversight with local engagement. Originality/value This study aims to critically examine how leadership is enacted within BIDs in event tourism development in the UK. It investigates the range of leadership styles employed and how these are adapted in response to local community engagement, economic development aims and institutional structures. These relationships have not been explored in the literature. This paper closes the gap between leadership modelled theoretically and in practice, by mapping theoretical leadership style to their approach to event tourism development. The findings also provide the first empirical insights into the way that collaborative and adaptive leadership is enacted within the context of place-based event management, an area which requires further future research focus.