At present, the research field of convention and exhibition theory in China is in a state of "ready to go", and a system of "scientific theory of convention and exhibition with China characteristics" will be formed in the near future. Therefore, we must look forward to the future based on the present situation, and scientifically plan the strategic development direction of China's exhibition research according to the different needs of the exhibition industry in different periods and stages.
First, the research field of exhibition theory in China at this stage.
Since the beginning of 2 1 century, China's convention and exhibition economy has begun to take shape. However, without exception, the theoretical research of China's convention and exhibition industry is bound to be influenced by the current international and domestic political, economic, environmental and other objective conditions. At the same time, it is also restricted by the self-development of theoretical research field. The construction of scientific research system and scientific research team of China Convention and Exhibition still needs a relatively long cultivation period. Therefore, we can say that the theoretical research of China convention and exhibition industry is in its infancy.
According to the statistical analysis of various exhibition research projects in recent years, the project entrustment mainly involves venue planning and management, exhibition organization and management, upstream and downstream industry research, regional exhibition economy, urban exhibition economy, exhibition planning, brand exhibition, capital operation, international market competition, industry policy research and so on. It is directly related to the constituent elements of convention and exhibition industry. Therefore, it belongs to the typical industry "factor research", which has become the characteristic of the field of exhibition theory research in China at this stage, which is determined by the demand for exhibition research in China's exhibition industry in the primary stage of socialist market economy.
Second, four major problems in the theoretical research field of China's convention and exhibition industry at this stage.
1, the national investment in scientific research funds for convention and exhibition industry.
The country's investment in exhibition research is very small, and the total amount of scientific research funds is seriously insufficient, which greatly restricts the theoretical research innovation and research level of China's exhibition industry.
The types of exhibition scientific research projects invested by the state can be divided into three categories: ministries, local governments and various academic projects. For example, in September 2003, SASAC entrusted China Exhibition Hall Association to make a long-term plan for China's convention and exhibition industry, and in June 2004, the Ministry of Commerce entrusted the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation to study the present situation and policies of China's convention and exhibition industry. In addition, vertical units such as Beijing Convention and Exhibition Industry Development Plan, Changchun Key Exhibition Regulations and Changchun Key Exhibition Evaluation have established scientific research projects in universities. Since 2000, the country's total investment in exhibition research is roughly estimated to be about 3 million RMB. According to international practice, investment in scientific research should generally account for about 5- 15% of total income. If we compare China's scientific research investment in recent years with the output value of 8 billion RMB in China's exhibition economy, it accounts for about 0.0038%, which is simply a drop in the bucket.
2. Contradiction between supply and demand of scientific research projects On the whole, the total number of scientific research projects in exhibitions is very small. On the one hand, due to the small investment in scientific research, on the other hand, the industry has a great demand for exhibition scientific research projects, and they are more eager to obtain research results with guiding value for market operation and enterprise management. At present, there is a gap between industry and theory, practice and academia that needs to be bridged urgently, and the contradiction between supply and demand of exhibition scientific research projects is becoming increasingly acute.
The contradiction between supply and demand is not only manifested in the difficulty of meeting each other, but also in the "poor channels" of supply and demand and the lack of corresponding "market mechanism" to ensure effective communication between the two sides. For example, one of the hot spots in the industry at present is the service ability of the convention and exhibition industry. From the end of last year to today, we have been doing corresponding research. Due to insufficient investment, the progress is very slow. Although it has achieved initial results, it faces the problem of how to turn it into commodities. If there are corresponding research funds, similar forward-looking, academic, innovative and practical research will be guaranteed, and the contradiction between supply and demand of some scientific research projects can be solved in a planned way.
3. A large number of problems existing in exhibition research institutions According to the author's incomplete statistics, there are 16 professional exhibition research institutions in China so far. From the time of its establishment, following the establishment of Chongqing Haina Exhibition Research Institute, the first professional research institution in China in 2000, there was only 1 438+0 in 2006, and it rose to February in 2002, September in 2003 and March in 2004. It is not difficult to find that in 2003, at the peak of the establishment of exhibition research institutions in China, 56% were professional. In terms of the nature of research institutions, among 16 exhibition research institutions, nearly 12 is an institution of higher learning, accounting for 75%, 3 has a certain government background, accounting for 18%, and only 1 is a purely market-oriented research institution.
Compared with foreign exhibition research institutions, there are not many professional research institutions and independent professional research institutions. For example, the University of Cologne has only one institute of exhibition economy, while German universities have only one independent research institution. Therefore, the author believes that the emergence of more than 10 research institutions in just four years is a unique phenomenon only in China. This phenomenon is very consistent with the transformation stage of China convention and exhibition industry from "magnitude" to "quality". It is not only one of the manifestations of the prosperity of the exhibition industry in China, but also shows that the resources in the field of exhibition research in China have accumulated enough and are in a state of "ready to go". The next few years will be a crucial period from "quantitative change" to "qualitative change". It is imperative to optimize the allocation of resources and integrate the theoretical research fields.
4. The problem of scientific research team Faced with such a brand-new field as convention and exhibition industry, 70% of these institutions are affiliated to researchers in institutions of higher learning except the newly established Beijing Union University. Their main task is to cultivate convention and exhibition professionals, and they lack the time and conditions to intervene in the practice of convention and exhibition industry. Even if they can conduct empirical research through horizontal projects, there is still a long way to go. Of course, researchers from the exhibition industry have rich practical experience, but because their business focuses on exhibition practice and lacks corresponding research environment and conditions, it is generally difficult to continue to engage in research.
We might as well boldly assume that in the existing 16 exhibition research institutions, the number of existing research talents is 80, and the number of research talents in the entire exhibition industry is less than 100, based on an average of 5 staff members in each research institution. It can be seen that there is a serious shortage of research-oriented talents in exhibition major in China. In addition, the structure of researchers is unreasonable. Only a few researchers in charge of 16 research institutions have received systematic professional training in exhibition, and most of them lack practical experience in exhibition. Therefore, there is a serious shortage of exhibition discipline leaders and scientific research backbones, and the research ability and technical level need to be improved urgently.
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Three. Suggestions on the development of China's exhibition theory research Faced with the above four problems, it is imperative to proceed from the overall situation, optimize the allocation of resources, build a scientific research system, and concentrate on solving the contradiction between supply and demand of scientific research. The author suggests that the Master Plan for Scientific Research of China Convention and Exhibition Industry should be formulated with the help of the whole industry.
The planning can mainly involve three aspects: 1, and make joint efforts to publish the "Master Plan for Scientific Research of China Convention and Exhibition Industry".
2. Construct the implementation system of scientific research on exhibitions in China. Constructing the discipline system and scientific theory of exhibition management with China characteristics.
Among them, it is suggested that the following aspects can be considered when formulating the Master Plan for Scientific Research of China Convention and Exhibition Industry:
(1) Establish effective communication channels, four-way cooperative relations among government, enterprises, education and academia, and two-way communication channels at home and abroad to achieve mutual benefit and common development, and carry out all-round, multi-level and flexible international cooperation research.
(2) Stratified research; Stratified research; Coordinate the research at three levels of "macro, meso and micro" to form a research system; Set up a special government exhibition research fund; Strive to make exhibition research one of the vertical research projects of provincial and municipal science and technology commissions, education commissions and economic and trade bureaus. For example, "macro" policy research is an empirical study of "middle view", such as the planning of various exhibition cities, the planning of exhibition projects, the strategic management of enterprises, the comparative study of famous international and domestic exhibitions, the comparative study of similar exhibitions and similar large-scale conferences, and various comprehensive studies. "Micro" research includes economic, efficiency, functionality, timeliness, emergency and practical research. In particular, the latter is most welcomed by the industry and has the most economic and social benefits.
(3) The combination of academics and science In the current research, we should pay attention to the actual needs of the international and domestic markets, engage in cutting-edge academic research, engage in comparative research, be good at learning from advanced discipline theories and research tools, advocate innovative research thinking, and encourage innovative theoretical research methods.
(4) Promote market-oriented scientific research, encourage enterprises to carry out project research by project entrustment, and effectively carry out universal scientific research activities in combination with practical applications. The proposed research topic will be put into the market as a research project, which will be approved and tested by the market. Authoritative reports formed through theoretical research obtain and promote the corresponding input with detailed, true and accurate research reports, and directly transform the research results into economic benefits.
(5) Publicize and popularize scientific research achievements in time, effectively apply the main media related to the exhibition industry, and closely combine with it, so as to make it an effective platform for the research and discussion of exhibition theory and the publication of research achievements in China, and continuously promote the development of exhibition scientific research in China.
Fourthly, the prospect of China's characteristic exhibition theory construction. Although the stages cannot cross, the process can be shortened. How many stages and periods does it take to establish a scientific exhibition theory with China characteristics? It can be divided into initial stage, development stage and mature stage, and combined with factor research stage and system research stage, the blueprint for scientific research and development of China convention and exhibition industry is formed.
At present and in the next five to 10 years or even longer, the theoretical research of China's convention and exhibition industry is in the primary stage of "factor research", with the goal of solving the contradiction between supply and demand of "factor research" of convention and exhibition industry. Entering the next stage, that is, "system theory" research, the goal is to solve the contradiction between the system theory research of industrial economic value and efficiency and benefit in the primary stage of China's exhibition market, which needs at least 5 to 10 years of development.
It is a long-term process to form a more systematic and advanced research mechanism of exhibition science, and to form a scientific theory of exhibition with China characteristics through innovative theoretical system and characteristic research, so that it can stand proudly in the field of global exhibition theory research. This must be consistent with the needs of the staged development of China's exhibition economy. The accumulation and precipitation of scientific research investment and research results need a long period and is a long-term goal that needs unremitting efforts.
According to the recent statistics of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, in 2003, 2 12 exhibition venues were built in 3/kloc-0 provinces and cities nationwide. By the end of 2005, the total exhibition area in China will exceed 3 million square meters, and there will be 3,298 exhibition projects in 2003, which shows that China is a developing exhibition economy country and is expected to become a world exhibition power in the near future. As one of the important supporting systems of economic industry, theoretical research is a solid foundation for China's convention and exhibition industry to achieve the goal of "a world convention and exhibition power". The exhibition scientific research field in China is poised for development, with more than 10 research institutions constantly emerging and the research team growing day by day. There are many scientific research topics, and the national convention and exhibition research institution "China Convention and Exhibition Economic Research Association" will be established soon, which provides a good soil for establishing the theoretical system of convention and exhibition science with China characteristics in the future.
In a word, it is an urgent need for China's exhibition industry to face the challenge of international exhibition market to advocate exhibition science and formulate the overall development plan of China's exhibition science research. It is the common aspiration of the government, enterprises, educational circles and academic circles to cooperate in building the discipline system and theoretical system of exhibition research in China. As one of the important supporting systems of convention and exhibition industry, theoretical research is a solid foundation for China's convention and exhibition industry to achieve the goal of being a world-class convention and exhibition country. It is the only way for the future development of China convention and exhibition industry to strengthen the theoretical discussion of convention and exhibition science and reflect the academic viewpoints of cutting-edge theories. In a few years, China will certainly form "exhibition theory with China characteristics".