Motivations for E-Sport Consumption in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The popularity of E-Sports competitions has grown significantly over the past ten years, with top-level tournaments drawing crowds that are comparable to those at traditional sporting events. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that motivate people to consume E-Sports in Sri Lanka and how the demographics and franchises influence the frequency of E-Sport consumption. Under quantitative research, an empirical analytical scientific approach has been used to conduct this study. By using the opportunity sampling technique 450 spectators from nie provinces in Sri Lanka who were familiar with the E-Sports participated in this study. All participants completed an online questionnaire which consisted of 45 questions based on Rockel’s (2020) League of Legends and modified according to the Sri Lankan context. Entertainment, knowledge, social interaction, arousal and skill were considered as E-Sport motives and E-Sports consumption was measured according to the time they have been engaged. SPSS software and MS Office package were used to evaluate data. The study has provided evidence of a positive relationship between E-Sport motive and E-sport consumption (r = 0.264, p < 0.05). Furthermore, the demographic factors such as, province, gender and level of education had a significant association with E-Sport consumption (p<0.05) and age was not significant with E-Sport consumption (p > 0.05). The most used franchises in Sri Lanka to consume E-Sports were Facebook gaming, YouTube, Twitch, and ESPN accordingly. This study expands our understanding of how motivation affects E-Sports, which can help the Sri Lankan community to better understand the value of E-Sports.