Do the Olympic values influence the social capital and the in-game commitment? A case study of esports players

ABSTRACT

This study aims to explore and describe the structural relationships among player perceptions of (a) the Olympic values, (b) the social capital formation, and (c) the game commitment. A field study was conducted in Portugal, and data were collected from esports players (n = 408) through an online questionnaire to establish cross-sectional associations. Structural equation models (SEM) examined the relationships between the constructs and tested the existence of mediation effects. The results indicated that the perception of Olympic values can positively influence the social capital formation and the psychological attachment to the game. In addition, the findings also highlighted the predictive power of the in-game social capital on the gaming commitment, suggesting its inclusion in future models. Social implications focus on cultivating the Olympic values through esports as a way to strengthen the player community and to enhance a lasting psychological attachment to the game.

KEYWORDS:

• Esports Values
• Social Capital
• Game Commitment
• Olympic Values
• Esports

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This paper is financed by National Funds provided by FCT- Foundation for Science and Technology through project UIDB/04020/2020, by Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through Juan de la Cierva-formación 2021 (FJC2021-0477779-I) and ”Plan Propio de I + D + I de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha”, co-financed by the European Social Fund (European Union).

Notes on contributors

Tiago Ribeiro

Tiago Ribeiro is an Assistant Professor in sport management at the Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, Portugal. His research is in sport mega-events, social impacts, Olympic values and Esports. He is local coordinator of the GOvernance & Administration of Leisure and Sports International Master (GOALS, Erasmus Mundus) and project manager in 4 European consortia (Erasmus Plus).

Samuel López-Carril

Samuel López-Carril is an Assistant Professor at the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. His research and teaching interests lie in the areas involving the use of social media in sport management education to develop digital and professional skills in Higher Education students. He is researching at the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha in the development of the “Plan Propio de I+D+I de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha”, co-financed by the European Social Fund (European Union).

André Calapez

André Calapez is a PhD student in sport management at the Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, Portugal. His research focuses on consumer behaviours, esports game’s identity, toxicity and toxic behaviour in online communities. He is also a junior researcher in 2 European projects (Erasmus Plus).