Audience response to endemic and non-endemic sponsors of esports events

Abstract

PurposeTo understand how esports viewers perceive endemic and non-endemic sponsors during an event.Design/methodology/approachThe researchers employed a four-condition experiment. Participants were randomly assigned to watch a clip with one of four possible sponsors. After participants watched the stimuli, they responded to a questionnaire assessing their opinions of the sponsor in the clip they watched.FindingsGenerally, the more endemic a sponsor was, the more positive audience members had. Perceptions of credibility were also important to attitudes toward sponsors.Originality/valueEsports is an emergent area where little empirical research has been published. This study is designed to expand upon research on sponsorships such that it explores audience perceptions of endemic versus non-endemic sponsors of esports events.