Influence of eSports events on consumer brand engagement
Lääkkölä, Eetu (2024-06-10)
E. Lääkkölä
10.06.2024
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202406104324
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202406104324
Tiivistelmä
The aim of this thesis is to understand the influence of consumer participation in eSports events towards the consumer brand engagement of the organizing video game brand. The thesis starts by emphasizing the importance of the research subject by demonstrating the existing research gap regarding the topic and by introducing the relevance of eSports as a research field. This is followed by stating the research questions and the most relevant concepts of this study which are used to support the purpose of this study.
The thesis discusses eSports as a concept and dives into the definition, historic overview, key characteristic and most importantly audience engagement of eSports. The context of eSports is then followed by the theoretical framework of this master’s thesis which is consumer brand engagement. Prior to moving to the most important part of the study, the analysis, this thesis explains the research methodology behind the study. This thesis was conducted as a qualitative integrative literature review. This chapter also explains the data collection methods and processes that were used in the thesis.
The analysis points out the key results of this study. In total, there are 7 propositions concluded from the literature review. These are: 1) Consumption and participation of eSports contributes positively towards the overall consumer brand engagement of the eSports video game brand, 2) Increased consumer brand engagement towards the video game brand caused by the participation in eSports results in increased participation in eSports, creating a loop of engagement towards the video game brand, 3) Importance of sustainability in eSports consumer brand engagement when it comes to creating positive outcomes of consumer brand engagement for the video game brand, 4) Elements of surprise can create unique experiences in eSports events which increase consumer brand engagement, 5) Importance of social media and online engagement for eSports consumer brand engagement, 6) Sporting events and eSports events share similar characteristics when it comes to value co-creation and consumer brand engagement, and finally 7) Consumer brand engagement towards the organizing video game brand in eSports events occurs similarly to branded marketing events and multi-branded events.
Based on these propositions this thesis proposes three models for eSports event consumer brand engagement. The first model (figure 2) describes the cyclical nature of eSports video game brand consumer brand engagement. The second model (figure 3) describes eSports events as multi-branded events. The third model (figure 4) is for the influence of eSports events on the consumer brand engagement of the organizing brand. The thesis also proposes a multitude of managerial implications and future research suggestions.
The thesis discusses eSports as a concept and dives into the definition, historic overview, key characteristic and most importantly audience engagement of eSports. The context of eSports is then followed by the theoretical framework of this master’s thesis which is consumer brand engagement. Prior to moving to the most important part of the study, the analysis, this thesis explains the research methodology behind the study. This thesis was conducted as a qualitative integrative literature review. This chapter also explains the data collection methods and processes that were used in the thesis.
The analysis points out the key results of this study. In total, there are 7 propositions concluded from the literature review. These are: 1) Consumption and participation of eSports contributes positively towards the overall consumer brand engagement of the eSports video game brand, 2) Increased consumer brand engagement towards the video game brand caused by the participation in eSports results in increased participation in eSports, creating a loop of engagement towards the video game brand, 3) Importance of sustainability in eSports consumer brand engagement when it comes to creating positive outcomes of consumer brand engagement for the video game brand, 4) Elements of surprise can create unique experiences in eSports events which increase consumer brand engagement, 5) Importance of social media and online engagement for eSports consumer brand engagement, 6) Sporting events and eSports events share similar characteristics when it comes to value co-creation and consumer brand engagement, and finally 7) Consumer brand engagement towards the organizing video game brand in eSports events occurs similarly to branded marketing events and multi-branded events.
Based on these propositions this thesis proposes three models for eSports event consumer brand engagement. The first model (figure 2) describes the cyclical nature of eSports video game brand consumer brand engagement. The second model (figure 3) describes eSports events as multi-branded events. The third model (figure 4) is for the influence of eSports events on the consumer brand engagement of the organizing brand. The thesis also proposes a multitude of managerial implications and future research suggestions.
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