Understanding Participation in Hackathons Through Program Theory Analysis

It is frustrating when an abstract does not say what the major results were. What are the effects of participating in a hackathon? I am no wiser:

"Our main contribution is a program theory analysis of hackathon formats that provides an exploration and juxtaposition of 16 case studies in terms of causal relations between the input, process and the effects of hackathons. Our cataloguing of examples can serve as an inspirational planning resource for future organizers of hackathons."