Asia Pacific Journal of Information Systems (APJIS)

menu05_sub01_ov.gif

Share this page

Past Issue

Date	March 2023
Vol. No.	Vol. 33 No. 1
DOI	https://doi.org/10.14329/apjis.2022.33.1.227
Page	227~260
Title	How to Measure the Intention of Watching Offline eSports Games: From the eSports Fan-centric Perspective
Author	Jialing Zhang, Myung Ja Kim, Chulmo Koo
Keyword	eSports, Sports, Fan identification, Push-Pull Theory, Sports Mega Events, eSports Tourism, eSports Industry
Abstract	As an emerging competition, eSports is currently receiving a growing amount of attention, but relatively little research has been conducted on the likelihood of offline watching. Using the push-pull theory, we propose and test a research model of fans’ perception-centered offline game-watching of eSports matches. Half of the 399 eSports fans we surveyed were from Korea (n = 200) and the other half were from China (n = 199). The results indicate that the entertainment atmosphere has the greatest impact on the intention to watch a match offline, followed by the intention to consume beforehand. There is no direct relationship between offline escapism and offline match-watching. In addition, the diverse personalities of fans affected the entertainment atmosphere and the intention to consume beforehand. This research has theoretical and practical implications for the growth of the eSports offline viewing and eSports tourism industries.