Does esports spectating influence game consumption?

Figures & data

Table 1. Motivational factors for sports consumption (Trail and James 2001).

Factor	Explanation
Achievement (Ach)	Empathising and co-living with the achievements of the teams and players
Acquisition of knowledge (Kno)	Degree of consumption enabling an acquisition of knowledge
Aesthetics (Aes)	Elements of beauty or gracefulness which are inherent in the sport
Drama/eustress (Dra)	The enjoyment of uncertainty and dramatic turns of events
Escape (Esc)	Escape from day-to-day routines and distraction from daily activities.
Family (FaF)	Degree of family being involved in.
Physical attractiveness of participants (Phy)	How attractive the esports players are seen by the spectators.
The quality of the physical skill of the participants (PS)	Degree of appreciating the skills of the players.
Social interaction (Soc)	Socialising with other spectators.

Figure 1. Research model.

Legend: Ach = Achievement, Kno = Acquisition of Knowledge, Aes = Aesthetic Appreciation, Dra = Drama, Esc = Escape, FaF = Friends and Family, Phy = Physical Attraction, PS = Players' Skills, Soc = Social Interaction, WI = Watching Intention, GI = Gaming Intention, PI = Purchase Intention.Legend: Ach = Achievement, Kno = Acquisition of Knowledge, Aes = Aesthetic Appreciation, Dra = Drama, Esc = Escape, FaF = Friends and Family, Phy = Physical Attraction, PS = Players' Skills, Soc = Social Interaction, WI = Watching Intention, GI = Gaming Intention, PI = Purchase Intention.

Table 2. Sample characteristics.

Variable	Category	Frequency
Gender	Female	14 (7%)
	Male	177 (91%)
	Prefer not to say	2 (1%)
	Other	1 (1%)
Age	15–19	16 (8%)
	20–24	69 (36%)
	25–29	66 (34%)
	30–34	30 (15%)
	35–39	11 (6%)
	40+	2 (1%)
Employment	Full time	80 (41%)
	Part time	15 (8%)
	Student	92 (47%)
	Unemployed	3 (2%)
	Other	4 (2%)
Education	No education	3 (2%)
	Basic education	6 (3%)
	Secondary education	72 (37%)
	Higher education	113 (58%)
Income	< 9 999 €	62 (32%)
	10 000 €–19 999 €	35 (18%)
	20 000 €–29 999 €	14 (7%)
	30 000 €–39 999 €	24 (12%)
	40 000 €–49 999 €	23 (12%)
	50 000 € -	36 (19%)

Figure 2. Research model with results.

Note: † For Indirect and Total Effects, see Table 6. Legend: Ach = Achievement, Kno = Acquisition of Knowledge, Aes = Aesthetic Appreciation, Dra = Drama, Esc = Escape, FaF = Friends and Family, Phy = Physical Attraction, PS = Players' Skills, Soc = Social Interaction, WI = Watching Intention, GI = Gaming Intention, PI = Purchase Intention.

Table 3. Discriminant validity.

	Ach	Aes	Dra	Esc	FaF	GI	Kno	PI	PS	Phy	Soc	WI
Ach	0.913
Aes	0.216	0.900
Dra	0.141	0.295	0.807
Esc	0.333	0.353	0.357	0.708
FaF	0.336	0.316	0.278	0.406	0.781
GI	0.027	0.207	0.167	0.339	0.298	0.852
Kno	0.333	0.319	0.222	0.497	0.358	0.049	0.919
PI	0.095	0.215	0.221	0.281	0.276	0.503	0.072	0.851
PS	0.292	0.348	0.454	0.389	0.344	0.360	0.246	0.249	0.869
Phy	0.191	0.204	0.085	0.065	0.176	0.031	0.089	0.069	0.110	0.800
Soc	0.322	0.331	0.164	0.375	0.585	0.213	0.438	0.133	0.283	0.190	0.829
WI	0.202	0.318	0.303	0.510	0.457	0.406	0.520	0.279	0.350	0.129	0.426	0.876

Ach = Achievement, Kno = Acquisition of Knowledge, Aes = Aesthetic Appreciation, Dra = Drama, Esc = Escape, FaF = Friends and Family, Phy = Physical Attraction, PS = Players’ Skills, Soc = Social Interaction, WI = Watching Intention, GI = Gaming Intention, PI = Purchase Intention.

Table 4. Construct validity and reliability.

	Cronbach’s α	rho_A	CR	AVE
Ach	0.901	0.916	0.938	0.834
Aes	0.884	0.893	0.928	0.811
Dra	0.729	0.744	0.848	0.651
Esc	0.66	1.235	0.737	0.502
FaF	0.67	0.717	0.821	0.61
GI	0.808	0.829	0.888	0.726
Kno	0.908	0.909	0.942	0.845
PI	0.807	0.841	0.886	0.724
PS	0.839	0.877	0.902	0.756
Phy	0.784	0.874	0.841	0.64
Soc	0.773	0.814	0.868	0.688
WI	0.848	0.849	0.908	0.767

Ach = Achievement, Kno = Acquisition of Knowledge, Aes = Aesthetic Appreciation, Dra = Drama, Esc = Escape, FaF = Friends and Family, Phy = Physical Attraction, PS = Players’ Skills, Soc = Social Interaction, WI = Watching Intention, GI = Gaming Intention, PI = Purchase Intention.

Table 5. Item loadings.

Item ← Construct	Loading
ACH1 ← Ach	0.914
ACH2 ← Ach	0.932
ACH3 ← Ach	0.894
AES1 ← Aes	0.879
AES2 ← Aes	0.917
AES3 ← Aes	0.904
DRA1 ← Dra	0.887
DRA2 ← Dra	0.768
DRA3 ← Dra	0.760
ESC1 ← Esc	0.599
ESC2 ← Esc	0.505
ESC3 ← Esc	0.944
FAF1 ← FaF	0.831
FAF2 ← FaF	0.876
FAF3 ← FaF	0.609
GI1 ← GI	0.888
GI2 ← GI	0.913
GI3 ← GI	0.746
KNO1 ← Kno	0.904
KNO2 ← Kno	0.902
KNO3 ← Kno	0.950
PHY1 ← Phy	0.896
PHY2 ← Phy	0.796
PHY3 ← Phy	0.696
PI1 ← PI	0.902
PI2 ← PI	0.908
PI3 ← PI	0.729
PS1 ← PS	0.780
PS2 ← PS	0.915
PS3 ← PS	0.907
SOC1 ← Soc	0.740
SOC2 ← Soc	0.839
SOC3 ← Soc	0.901
WI1 ← WI	0.866
WI2 ← WI	0.903
WI3 ← WI	0.859

Legend: Ach = Achievement, Kno = Acquisition of Knowledge, Aes = Aesthetic Appreciation, Dra = Drama, Esc = Escape, FaF = Friends and Family, Phy = Physical At-traction, PS = Players’ Skills, Soc = Social Interaction, WI = Watching Intention, GI = Gaming Intention, PI = Purchase Intention.

Table 6. Indirect and Direct Effects.

	Indirect			Direct			Hypothesis
	β	T	sig.	β	T	sig.
WI → GI	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.406	4.503	0.000***	H1: Supported
WI → PI	0.189	3.635	0.000***	0.091	1.082	0.279	H2: Not Supported†
GI → PI	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.467	6.125	0.000***	H3: Supported
Ach → GI	−0.045	1.544	0.123	n/a	n/a	n/a	-
Ach → PI	−0.031	1.449	0.147	n/a	n/a	n/a	-
Ach → WI	n/a	n/a	n/a	−0.11	1.692	0.091	H4: Not Supported
Kno → GI	0.119	3.571	0.000***	n/a	n/a	n/a
Kno → PI	0.082	2.822	0.005**	n/a	n/a	n/a
Kno → WI	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.293	4.84	0.000***	H5: Supported
Aes → GI	0.01	0.334	0.739	n/a	n/a	n/a
Aes → PI	0.007	0.322	0.748	n/a	n/a	n/a
Aes → WI	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.023	0.34	0.734	H6: Not supported
Dra → GI	0.022	0.798	0.425	n/a	n/a	n/a
Dra → PI	0.015	0.767	0.443	n/a	n/a	n/a
Dra → WI	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.054	0.825	0.409	H7: Not Supported
Esc → GI	0.091	2.342	0.019*	n/a	n/a	n/a
Esc → PI	0.063	1.873	0.061	n/a	n/a	n/a
Esc → WI	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.225	2.926	0.003**	H8: Supported
FaF → GI	0.074	2.03	0.042*	n/a	n/a	n/a
FaF → PI	0.051	1.97	0.049*	n/a	n/a	n/a
FaF → WI	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.182	2.263	0.024*	H9: Supported
Phy → GI	0.016	0.597	0.55	n/a	n/a	n/a
Phy → PI	0.011	0.578	0.564	n/a	n/a	n/a
Phy → WI	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.04	0.596	0.551	H10: Not Supported
PS → GI	0.039	1.13	0.259	n/a	n/a	n/a
PS → PI	0.027	1.052	0.293	n/a	n/a	n/a
PS → WI	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.097	1.278	0.201	H11: Not Supported
Soc → GI	0.037	1.105	0.269	n/a	n/a	n/a
Soc → PI	0.025	1.087	0.277	n/a	n/a	n/a
Soc → WI	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.09	1.163	0.245	H12: Not Supported
Construct	R2	adj R2
WI	0.43	0.402
PI	0.26	0.253
GI	0.165	0.161

Legend: * p = .05, ** p = .01, *** p = < .001; bold text shows supported hypotheses. † H2 hypothesised a direct effect between WI and PI, which was not observed, however, a statistically significant indirect effect was present between WI and PI.

Table

Achievement (ACH)

ACH1. I feel like I have won, when the team wins

ACH2. I feel personal sense of achievement when the team does well

ACH3. I feel proud when the team plays well

Knowledge (KNO)

KNO1. I regularly check the statistics of specific players or teams

KNO2. I usually know the team's match history

KNO3. I read the scores and team statistics regularly

Aesthetics (AES)

AES1. I appreciate the beauty inherent in the game

AES2. There is certain natural beauty to the game

AES3. I enjoy the gracefulness associated with the game

Drama (DRA)

DRA1. I prefer a ‘close’ game rather than a ‘one-sided’ game

DRA2. A game is more enjoyable to me when the outcome is not decided until the very end

DRA3. I enjoy the drama of the final round or team fight in the game

Escape (ESC)

ESC1. Video games represent an escape for me from my day-to-day activities

ESC2. Video games are a great change of pace from what I regularly do

ESC3. I look forward to upcoming leagues and tournaments because they are something different to do

Family and Friends (FaF)

FAF1. I like watching games with my friends

FAF2. I like watching games with others interested in eSports

FAF3. I like watching games with my family

Physical attraction (PHY)

PHY1. I enjoy watching players who are physically attractive

PHY2. The main reason I watch is that the players are attractive

PHY3. Individual player’s ‘sex appeal’ is a big reason I watch

Player skills (PS)

PS1. The personal skills of the players are something I appreciate

PS2. Watching a well-executed play performance is something I enjoy

PS3. I enjoy a skillful performance by the team

Social interaction (SOC)

SOC1. Interacting with other fans is an important part of watching eSports

SOC2. I like to talk to other people when watching the games

SOC3. eSports broadcasts are great way to socialise with other people

Watching intention (WI)

WI1. I predict that I will keep watching esports streams in the future at least as much as I have watched lately

WI2. I intend to watch esports streams at least as often within the next month as I have previously watched

WI3. I plan to watch esports streams during the next month

Gaming intention (GI)

GI1. I predict that I will keep playing video game(s) in the future at least as much as I have played lately

GI2. I intend to play video game(s) at least as often within the next month as I have previously played

GI3. I plan to play video game(s) during the next month

Purchase intention (PI)

PI1. I predict that I will use money on video game(s) in the future at least as much as I have used lately

PI2. I intend to use money on video game(s) at least as much within the next month as I have previously used

PI3. I plan to use money on video game(s) during the next month

Trail, G. T., and J. D. James. 2001. “The Motivation Scale for Sport Consumption: Assessment of the Scale’s Psychometric Properties.” Journal of Sport Behavior 24 (1): 108–127.

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