<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>As an emerging field of study, scholars have constantly compared esports and traditional sports to find similarities and differences between the two sports fields. As various studies have called for more studies regarding the fan communities of esports, the present study analyzed the mediating effect of the sense of the esports fan community between team identification and consumer behaviors. This study employed a path analysis technique, utilizing online survey responses from 182 participants who identified as fans of the esports team. The findings revealed that a sense of fan community did not have mediating effects by showing statistically non-significant (in)direct effects on consumer behaviors. In contrast, team identification showed a significant positive effect on the sense of fan community and some consumer behaviors. The implications of the study suggest that esports organizations should focus their marketing strategies on individual fan bases and strive to maintain the competitiveness of their leagues to attract more fans to esports.</p>
</abstract>

As an emerging field of study, scholars have constantly compared esports and traditional sports to find similarities and differences between the two sports fields. As various studies have called for more studies regarding the fan communities of esports, the present study analyzed the mediating effect of the sense of the esports fan community between team identification and consumer behaviors. This study employed a path analysis technique, utilizing online survey responses from 182 participants who identified as fans of the esports team. The findings revealed that a sense of fan community did not have mediating effects by showing statistically non-significant (in)direct effects on consumer behaviors. In contrast, team identification showed a significant positive effect on the sense of fan community and some consumer behaviors. The implications of the study suggest that esports organizations should focus their marketing strategies on individual fan bases and strive to maintain the competitiveness of their leagues to attract more fans to esports.

Does “We” Matter for Esports Fans? Analyzing the Mediating Effects of the Sense of Fan Community on Team Identification and Fandom Behaviors

Physical Culture and Sport. Studies and Research

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

As an emerging field of study, scholars have constantly compared esports and traditional sports to find similarities and differences between the two sports...

Does “We” Matter for Esports Fans? Analyzing the Mediating Effects of the Sense of Fan Community on Team Identification and Fandom Behaviors

Published Online: Dec 30, 2022

Page range: 65 - 76

Received: Sep 24, 2022

Accepted: Dec 14, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pcssr-2022-0024

Keywords
Esports fandom, team identification, sense of fan community, fandom behaviors, consumer behaviors

© 2022 Kibaek Kim, et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Does “We” Matter for Esports Fans? Analyzing the Mediating Effects of the Sense of Fan Community on Team Identification and Fandom Behaviors

Published Online: Dec 30, 2022

Page range: 65 - 76

Received: Sep 24, 2022

Accepted: Dec 14, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pcssr-2022-0024

KeywordsEsports fandom, team identification, sense of fan community, fandom behaviors, consumer behaviors

© 2022 Kibaek Kim, et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Esports fandom, team identification, sense of fan community, fandom behaviors, consumer behaviors