Structure and Gaps of Esport Governance and Path for its Pursuit of Legitimacy Among Traditional Sports
Suarez, Derek (2022)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2022110822237
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2022110822237
Tiivistelmä
This thesis identifies the gaps that exist within esport governance and its structure, and proposes a path for esport governance to take to increase its legitimacy among traditional sports. Currently the structure of esport governance is heavily segmented and does not fall under any model that unifies various important stakeholders together. The research question evaluated is “What are the structure and gaps of esport governance and paths for its pursuit of legitimacy among traditional sports?”
As practical research, qualitative methods were used with semi structured interviews being conducted with six participants who have background in esport federation and association work as well as backgrounds as professional coaches and players in esport organizations. The interviews were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach and separated into four themes found from the qualitative data. The analysis demonstrated a strong need for unification in the governance of esports through a combination of legitimization strategies and the creation of new models that are not already existing in the governance of traditional sports.
This thesis concludes with the proposal of a new esport governance model that maintains game publishers as the higher government of esports but unifies them with regional and national federations as representatives of their respective esport titles. This will work to create a connection between the game publishers and the local governments and ensure the growth in legitimacy of esport governance and for their needs to be addressed through a proper chain of communication. The thesis was commissioned by the National Finnish Esport Federation to help understand the structure of esport governance.
As practical research, qualitative methods were used with semi structured interviews being conducted with six participants who have background in esport federation and association work as well as backgrounds as professional coaches and players in esport organizations. The interviews were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach and separated into four themes found from the qualitative data. The analysis demonstrated a strong need for unification in the governance of esports through a combination of legitimization strategies and the creation of new models that are not already existing in the governance of traditional sports.
This thesis concludes with the proposal of a new esport governance model that maintains game publishers as the higher government of esports but unifies them with regional and national federations as representatives of their respective esport titles. This will work to create a connection between the game publishers and the local governments and ensure the growth in legitimacy of esport governance and for their needs to be addressed through a proper chain of communication. The thesis was commissioned by the National Finnish Esport Federation to help understand the structure of esport governance.