ESSENCE AND FEATURES OF EVENT-INDUSTRY ENTERPRISES UNDER DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Abstract

The article develops the theoretical foundations for studying event-industry enterprises as specific service-sector entities under digital transformation. The purpose of the research is to clarify the concepts of “event” and “event product”, systematize their distinctive features, and determine the peculiarities of event-product formation in the context of the expanding use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence tools. The methodological basis combines analysis and synthesis, comparison, systematization, generalization, and structural-logical modelling. Existing approaches to defining an event are summarized, and it is established that traditional interpretations do not sufficiently reflect the digital mediation of contemporary events. An authorial definition of an event is proposed as a planned, specially organized, purposeful, time- and space-defined occurrence that may be implemented in offline, online, or hybrid formats using digital technologies and artificial intelligence tools. The study identifies a set of event features, including planning, organization, uniqueness, social and communicative orientation, cultural and ritual character, time-space certainty, a defined purpose and audience, emotional and value content, diversity of formats, and digital mediation. The essence of an event product is clarified as a comprehensive result of an event-industry enterprise that combines tangible, intangible, and digital components. The key properties of the event product are systematized, and a sequence of its formation is proposed, from idea initiation and planning to implementation, completion, follow-up, monitoring, and performance evaluation. The scientific novelty lies in the conceptual distinction between “event” and “event product” and in incorporating digital integration into the system of basic event-product characteristics. The practical significance of the results is their applicability to the design, organization, and evaluation of offline, online, and hybrid events by event-industry enterprises.