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eSports-organized video game competitions-are growing in popularity, with top tournaments drawing crowds of spectators rivaling traditional sporting events. Understanding the extent to which eSport operates similarly to traditional sport is vital to developing marketing strategies for the eSport industry and informing academic research on eSport. Prior research has examined eSports in isolation from traditional sports, overlooking direct comparisons to understand the degree to which eSport spectators are motivated similarly to traditional sport spectators. The current study measures widely-used sport consumption motives to examine their influence on eSport spectatorship and game attendance frequency. In South Korea, spectator motives across one traditional sport (soccer) and two eSport contexts (FIFA Online 3 and StarCraft II) were measured. MANOVA results identify similar patterns for 11 out of 15 motives across the three. Significant differences between contexts include vicarious achievement, excitement, physical attractiveness, and family bonding. Multiple regression analysis results show that spectators across contexts have distinct sets of motives influencing game attendance. The current study demonstrates that traditional sport and eSports are similarly consumed, suggesting that sport industry professionals can manage and market eSport events similarly to traditional sport events. Keywords: eSport, consumer behavior, spectator sport, marketing, spectator motives, eSports, organized video game competitions, are increasingly receiving mainstream media recognition as sport (Funk, Pizzo, & Baker, 2018). Yet, considering eSport as a form of sport is still perceived by [...]

International students represent a valuable stakeholder for U.S. institutions of higher learning, but universities often struggle to integrate this unique student group into the university community. Drawing upon social identity theory and the acculturation process, this study explored how college sport contributes to international students' university identification using narrative interviews with East Asian international students who attended college football events at a U.S. university. Findings revealed international students mainly interacted with their co-national peers during college football games while associating with the football spectator subgroup through the influence of American students, which contributed to their university identity. Theoretically, our research shows how college sport and acculturation interact to influence the various social identities of international students. Practically, our research offers guidance on how universities can use college sport to initiate organic social interactions between students from different cultures and empower international students to identify as essential members of universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging technologies not only pose challenges for how sport organizations are managed but also create opportunities for sport organizations to become more competitive by enhancing consumers' service experience. The integration of wearable fitness technology (WFT) by health and fitness clubs provides an opportunity to examine the influence of WFT on the service experience. Although existing research on technology innovations typically examines either the individual or the organizational perspective in isolation, we use the sport experience design framework to comprehensively examine the influence of WFT on the management and perceptions of service experiences. Participants (N = 37) who took part in the qualitative study included fitness club owners (n = 13), fitness club instructors (n = 7), and fitness club members (n = 17). Findings indicate that integrating WFT enhances the service experience via increased social interaction, gamification, and accountability. However, findings also suggest that technology innovations must be integrated carefully to avoid misalignment between providers' and users' perceptions. Despite the potential for misalignment, emerging technologies can enhance and expand the service experience beyond the physical environment, presenting sport organizations with technology-mediated opportunities to engage consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The athleisure phenomenon has initiated a fast-paced evolution in the activewear industry and challenged brands to design and market activewear that fulfills consumer needs. Existing sport consumer behavior research has neglected to understand the structural relationships that connect attributes of sport products with values of sport consumers to inform values-based product design and marketing strategies. The current research utilizes the means-end chain theory and its corresponding soft laddering method to investigate the activewear consumption experience of female consumers. Findings revealed means-end chain structural relationships connecting five product attributes to three end-state values through four consequences associated with activewear consumption. Findings extend the sport management literature by understanding how sport product attributes fit into abstract consumer values and drive practical implications to enlighten activewear design and marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]