Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-1-2021

Publication Source

Sport in Society

Abstract

The spectacular rise of esports and its live events have drawn increasing interests from sport and leisure studies. Little information, however, is known on motives behind spectators’ attendance of esports events. Based on a mixed-method design consisting of data collected in cross-cultural settings, we developed and validated an eight-factor measurement scale related to the motives of attending live esports events. In this study, we contend that esports event creates a space where virtual and physical experience are mutually constituted. While motives found in traditional sports and event research are present in the current study, motives unique to esports events are also highlighted, particularly related to its embodied physicality. The study further reveals that male attendees are more likely to be driven by the opportunities of knowledge acquisition, game drama, and social interaction than their female counterparts. This study, therefore, makes novel contributions to empirical knowledge on consumers of competitive gaming events.

ISBN/ISSN

Print: 1743-0437 Electronic: 1743-0445

Comments

The document available for download is the author's accepted manuscript, provided following the required embargo in compliance with the publisher's policy on self-archiving. Permission documentation is on file.

View the version of record at https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2021.1890037

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Peer Reviewed

yes

Keywords

esports, spectator motivation, involvement, events, gender

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