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It is acknowledged that the economic benefits of hosting a sporting mega event are overestimated and/or short lived. However, many studies neglect the impact of the industrial sector, preferring to focus on service sector activity. It is further claimed that hosting a sporting mega event funnels a nation's resources into one specific region at the expense of others. Therefore, this article empirically investigates whether industrial firms in Beijing disproportionately (a) increased their invested capital ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games and (b) became more profitable after the Games relative to similar firms from comparable Chinese nonhost cities. Using a difference-in-difference estimation strategy, the authors find no disproportionate impact of the Olympic Games on Beijing firms' invested capital or profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many countries compete for the opportunity to host the Olympics because of the resulting positive impacts. However, there are also high costs associated with hosting this event. The participants of this study provided insight on how the 2008 Olympics influenced Beijing's tourism industry. This study explores the impacts of hosting the renowned Olympic Games on the transformation of the host city from the supplier perspective. Beijing tourism industry professionals and Beijing residents were considered suppliers and interviewed for the purpose of this study. Collected data reveal that the city of Beijing rapidly developed because of the mega event. Suppliers including Beijing's tourism department, government organizations, hotels, and restaurants have changed their marketing strategies over time because of the impacts of the Olympics. Additionally, Beijing has shifted to promoting a new destination image: fashion and vitality. The present findings will help future host destinations better understand the impacts of hosting the Olympics. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]