Esports and Olympic Games: a cross-cultural exploration of the player support behaviour towards the Olympics

Abstract

PurposeDespite the advances in theory and practice about player behaviour in esports gaming literature, there is a lack of understanding as to whether esports are compatible with the values of Olympism and if they should be considered for future Games editions. The current study advances this line of research by examining esports player experiences, their effects on perceiving Olympic values, and the support towards the Olympics in order to verify if differences occur according to the cross-cultural environment.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of 671 esports amateur gamers from three countries (Portugal, Brazil and Japan), structural equation models and a multigroup analysis were performed to analyse the differences in the hypothesized paths existing between the groups.FindingsResults reveal that player in-game emotional experiences positively influence Olympic values perception across countries. The excellence and friendship values showed a positive effect on support intentions to the Games towards Portuguese and Brazilian players, while the respect value was the strongest predictor towards behavioural intentions in Japan. Cultural backgrounds and game genre in each country can explain player attitude towards the Olympic values shared on the online environment.Originality/valueThis study is able to provide a better understanding of how the Olympic values serve as a gratification in different cross-cultural environments according to the theory of uses and gratifications (U&G) and the theory of cultural dimensions. Complementarily, these findings can be used as valuable information for esports publishers and developers attempting to spread the Olympic values in the esports industry.

Electronic Sports (E-Sports): A Global Phenomenon Affecting Sports Culture

“…However, it is necessary to be open to the risks of previous research that underlines the possible imbalance between online interactions and real-world social relationships. These findings support the analysis (Ribeiro et al, 2023) "Esports and Olympic Games: a cross-cultural exploration of the player support behaviour towards the Olympics". which emphasizes the importance of understanding the cross-cultural implications of online communities.…”

“…However, the findings also reflect some risks of negative impacts, particularly in relation to mental health. This analysis can be linked to the study (Ribeiro et al, 2023;Zhong et al, 2022) which warns about the potential adverse effects of gaming addiction and high stress levels among eSports players. Therefore, these results contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the complexity of the psychological impact of eSports, emphasizing the need for a holistic approach in managing aspects of players' mental health.…”

Understanding the Role of Sport Values on Social Capital and Word-of-Mouth on the Internet: A Case Study of Esports Games

“…As a sport value, excellence is often associated with the pursuit of high standards and the achievement of outstanding results or performance. In the esports case, excellence can refer to the commitment to improving one’s skills and abilities, striving to achieve personal bests, and aiming for victory or success in competitions (Ribeiro et al, 2023). At this point, value creation through esports makes sense from a sports motivation perspective as enjoyment may derive from in-game achievement such as when a player wins a match or achieves the highest score.…”

“…Some factors such as game passion, commitment, or relatedness need are frequently used in the literature (Mandryk et al, 2020), so future studies could explore how these factors would enrich our model, e.g., moderating the link between shared values and social capital. Also, it is encouraged to study the way in which gaming environments can be created based on players’ Olympic values (Ribeiro et al, 2023).…”

Testing the relationships among involvement, sponsorship perceived fit and intention to purchase sponsors’ products: the case of esports tournament viewers

“…As more channels for watching esports emerge (e.g., mobile gaming) and technological means advance the overall esports landscape (Frevel et al, 2022), the attractiveness of esports to sponsors continues to grow (Newzoo, 2022a). Add to this that in 2017, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognized esports as a sporting activity (Ribeiro et al, 2023), with the inaugural Olympic Esports Week held in Singapore in June 2023.…”