ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

As part of the larger research project that investigates the evolution of regional festivals in Korea, the paper examines the diffusion and institutionalization of commercialized form of regional festivals from 1991 to 2009. When such form of festivals emerged in the early 1990s, it was seen as a doubtful and illegitimate practice due to its weak institutional status relative to the conventional model of festivals. However, the commercialized form of festivals took off in the mid 1990s, rapidly grew afterwards, and now are embraced, even enthusiastically welcomed as an important policy tool for regional development. Drawing on the theory of adoption and diffusion of innovations, the paper examines intra- and inter-regional influence on the formation of commercialized regional festivals. It appears that a financially weak region is more susceptible to mimetic pressures from other regions, and that a region with high tax growth rate is more influential to the subsequent festival formation in other regions. Consistent with social comparison theory and network theory, the findings show that influence is stronger between financially similar regions than between financially different regions, indicating that decision-makers in a region often look to other similar regions (or ‘diffuse’ competitors) to find cues to possible legitimate solutions to local problems. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

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