The Effect of Esports Content Attributes on Viewing Flow and Well-Being: A Focus on the Moderating Effect of Esports Involvement

Abstract

Despite being recognized as a global entertainment phenomenon, the nature of esports has been a subject of ongoing debate due to its content attributes and the controversial impact it has on individuals’ physical and mental well-being. We contend that the fundamental source of contention lies within the inherent content attributes of esports. Drawing on uses and gratification theory (UG) and cognitive appraisal theory, the purpose of the current study was to explore how esports content attributes and viewers’ individual characteristics (esports involvement) influence the viewer’s experience (flow experience) and well-being (happiness and vitality). The results of a latent moderated structural equations (LMS) modeling analysis using a total of 539 viewers revealed that entertainment, reliability, and diversity significantly influenced flow experience, which in turn influenced viewers’ happiness and vitality. Esports involvement was found to have moderating effects on the relationship between reliability and usefulness attributes and flow experience. The findings of this research provide important contributions to the literature and have implications for sport marketing managers.

1. Introduction

In recent years, the popularity of electronic sports (esports) has skyrocketed, accompanied by a corresponding interest in esports livestreaming [1]. Video games are a type of entertainment product, while esports refers to the competitive activities or events surrounding video games, making it commonly regarded as a form of sports service [2]. There is a growing acceptance, supported even by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), that esports may be classified as a legitimate form of sport [3]. In fact, the IOC designated esports as a demonstration event for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and plans to hold a global virtual and simulated sports competition series for Olympic esports in 2023, with the intention of including it again in the 2024 Paris Olympics [4]. Reflecting this growing popularity, esports revenue had reached almost USD 1.38 billion by the end of 2022, and the number of livestreaming viewers for games is projected to increase to 1.41 billion by 2025 [5]. Twitch was the most popular gaming livestreaming platform in the West in 2021, with nearly 20 billion live gaming hours watched [5].

Scholars (e.g., Kim and Kim [6]; Bowman et al. [7]) argue in favor of esports viewing as a leisure or entertainment activity that contributes to well-being, providing individuals with an opportunity to detach from work-related stress and engage in a pleasurable experience. Nevertheless, esports has also been criticized by some negative perceptions and critical voices, who consider it to be contrary to the promotion of well-being [8]. The World Health Organization (WHO) officially classified “gaming disorder” as a disease under the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) on 25 May 2019 (disease code “6C51”). In addition, extant research often addresses the pathological side of esports in academic research, relating it to game addiction [9] and aggression [10], physical health problems, and mental issues [11]. Despite the widespread stereotypes and negative perceptions of esports, as a primary form of entertainment and socialization globally, evidence has shown it can be a highly social activity that contributes to well-being, thus raising important questions about the potential impact of esports on well-being as a whole [7]. For sport managers and management researchers, understanding and promoting sport consumer well-being can advance sport services and build enduring and sustainable consumer relationships in sports marketing, which serves as marketing’s ultimate goal [6].

The mixed evaluations of esports can be attributed primarily to the inherent attributes and characteristics of esports content itself [12]. In this sense, it is crucial to delve into the psychological experiences of sports consumers and their impact on mental health by focusing on the content attributes of esports [13]. Therefore, understanding how esports content can enhance or harm individuals’ well-being through improved consumer benefits (i.e., the viewers’ content preference for esports and viewing experiences in the current research) should be the primary task of all sport marketers. Unfortunately, studies on the potential link between esports and negative outcomes (including aggression, addiction, physical health, and cognitive function) have not provided us with any relevant policy measures or insights into how to promote viewers’ well-being (e.g., happiness and vitality). In sum, there is little information on the specific mechanisms underlying viewing experience (i.e., flow experience) and viewers’ psychological response toward esports livestreaming content.

Additionally, little attention has been given to identifying conditional factors that either enhance or decrease the effect of esports content attributes on one’s viewing experience. The current literature on esports well-being tends to regard viewers as a homogenous group, which limits our understanding of how different types of viewers react to esports content in the context of esports livestreaming services. This lack of understanding regarding how diverse viewers react differently to esports content attributes in the context of esports livestreaming content has resulted in theoretical gaps in the knowledge of how to develop viewers’ well-being relating to livestreaming media via positive viewing experiences. This knowledge gap subsequently impedes the improvement of the quality of esports services through effective segmentation and positioning strategies in the context of esports livestreaming services.

The current study focuses on examining the effectiveness of esports content attributes in constructing viewers’ well-being. Drawing on the psychological theory of cognitive appraisal theory [14], the uses and gratification (UG) theory [15,16], and the flow theory [17], this study aims to examine the effect of the attributes of esports content (entertainment, reliability, diversity, usefulness) on viewer well-being (i.e., happiness and vitality) via viewing experiences (i.e., flow experiences) depending on one’s level of involvement in esports. Our study is guided by the following three questions: (1) Does esports content lead to well-being? (2) Through what psychological mechanism does this occur? (3) And which theoretical perspective helps understand esports viewers’ well-being? The findings of the current study are expected to provide theoretical insights into the psychological mechanisms of facilitating happiness among esports viewers, as well as meaningful and practical guidance for developing optimal esports livestreaming content and maintaining the sustainability of an online group based on viewers’ characteristics.

2. Theoretical Background and Hypotheses Development

2.1. Uses and Gratification Theory (UG) in Esports Livestreaming Service

In the field of marketing, consumers’ recognition and evaluation of products or services will become the basis for enterprises to establish marketing strategies [18]. Furthermore, the development of enterprises is closely related to meeting the needs of consumers, and it is crucial for their survival and growth that they gain a better understanding of their service users [19]. Similarly, in the fiercely competitive market for esports content, understanding viewers’ needs and wants is closely related to the success or failure of esports content development enterprises [20]—that is, how to conceptualize the attributes of esports content depends on meeting the needs and preferences of individual users. Relatedly, satisfying consumers is a decisive factor in improving their experience (e.g., flow experience [21] and increasing their positive psychological state, e.g., happiness [22] and vitality [23]). Therefore, it is necessary to develop an esports content attribute model for esports content companies or corresponding platforms that can aid in providing a better understanding of consumers’ needs and preferences and enhancing their experience.

The UG theory provides scholars with valuable insights into why and how users actively seek out the content in specific media to fulfill their needs [24]. Initially conceived as an extension of needs and motivation theory, UG theory has been extensively employed to explore users’ motivations and gratifications in selecting particular types of media [24]. Over time, it has expanded its scope to encompass diverse applications and their respective contents, such as understanding viewers’ intentions to watch specific television programs and their perceptions of mass media [25]. Furthermore, the UG theory is also now being applied to investigate and address individuals’ social and psychological needs, enabling an understanding of how the gratifications derived from media use can impact users’ psychological needs, such as happiness [26]. Consequently, the UG theory has evolved into a widely recognized theoretical framework that enables scholars to comprehensively examine the underlying motivations and gratifications driving user behavior and psychological responses across various forms of media [27,28].

According to Katz et al.’s (1974) research, individuals’ needs fulfilled through media use can be classified into cognitive needs, affective needs, personal integration needs, social integration needs, and tension release needs [24]. Cognitive needs refers to the desire for knowledge acquisition, information gathering, and understanding, such as learning game skills and acquiring information. Affective needs encompass emotional, pleasurable, and aesthetic experiences, including the enjoyment of tasks, entertainment, shared interests and hobbies, and seeking challenges. Personal integration needs involve enhancing personal confidence, credibility, and status, encompassing aspects of self-presentation, self-realization, and a sense of accomplishment. Social integration needs address the need to strengthen relationships with relatives, friends, and family. Tension release needs represent the desire for escape and diversion of attention, serving as a means to alleviate stress and temporarily escape from reality.

Based on these principles, the reasons why esports livestream viewers watch esports content can be categorized into four major types. Firstly, esports viewers seek emotional, pleasurable, and enjoyable experiences through watching the matches (i.e., entertainment). Secondly, viewers require stable and reliable esports content during the viewing process (i.e., reliability). Thirdly, viewers have a demand to acquire various information and knowledge through esports content (i.e., diversity). Fourthly, viewers have a need to enhance their gaming abilities through watching esports content (i.e., usefulness). Overall, because there is little empirical research that identifies esports content attributes, this study conceptually proposes these four dimensions of esports content attributes—namely entertainment, reliability, diversity, and usefulness—emphasizing its livestreaming content rather than pure game content, based on the UG theory [24].

Entertainment typically refers to the positive emotions, such as pleasure or enjoyment, experienced by individuals through the fulfillment of desires related to text, sound, music, images, and video content provided in games [29]. Hall (2015) noted that suspense, hedonic enjoyment, and appreciation constitute important components of entertainment [30]. Specifically, according to Hall (2015), suspense refers to the feeling of uncertainty and anticipation generated by the unpredictable outcomes or plot developments in a given context (e.g., an esports game), which is characterized by a sense of unease and tension experienced by the viewer [30]. Meanwhile, hedonic enjoyment refers to the positive emotional experience derived from engaging in the esports livestreams, which is associated with feelings of pleasure, enjoyment, and satisfaction. Appreciation refers to the cognitive and emotional response to esports livestreaming, involving a deep understanding of the significance of the experience, a sense of being moved or touched, and the inspiration of thoughts and feelings through the engagement with the content. The entertainment value of esports livestreaming content stems from its suspenseful games, enjoyable engagement, and profound appreciation, designed to entertain and engage viewers, which thus marks it as characteristically entertaining [29]. Therefore, the entertainment aspect in this study refers to the emotions of suspense, joy, being moved, and deep impression that viewers experienced while watching esports content.

Due to being virtual, anonymous, and spatial–temporal, the reliability of online content is crucial for the success of livestreaming [31]. Reliability indicates the degree to which the recipient feels the information source is true, sincere, or honest [32]. With similar implications, reliability is not only highly regarded in the field of consumer psychology but also in various other disciplines, such as sociology, marketing, and management [33]. Furthermore, through an extensive literature review, we noticed that, regarding online information content, similar terms to describe reliability include credibility and trustworthiness [31,33]. According to Morgan and Hunt (1994), reliability is defined as the overall trust or belief in the products or services offered by the exchange partner [34]. In Chayomchai and Chanarpas’s (2021) research, reliability, as a service quality factor in sports-center services, is defined as the provider’s ability to deliver the promised service effectively [35]. Furthermore, analyzing the relevant research on the reliability of media or platforms reveals that reliability encompasses the level of trust viewers place in the information presented to them during their consumption of social media content [36]. Furthermore, Kim (2021) elucidated from the perspective of game communicators (including broadcasters and commentators) that reliability refers to the level of trust and belief viewers have in the information provided by game communicators [37]. Similarly, reliability was conceptually defined as the psychological trust users have in the information conveyed through media, which is perceived to possess expertise and trustworthiness [38,39]. In summary, this study defines the reliability of esports content as the viewers’ trust and reliance on the content, along with the professionalism and accuracy of the livestreaming content.

Diversity refers to the range of variations, differences, or options within a product or service, encompassing various features, functionalities, styles, or specifications in order to cater to consumers’ diverse needs and preferences [40,41]. Diversity in the physical environment not only increases customers’ desire and intention to stay longer and to revisit, but also promotes the inclusion of customers with diverse backgrounds and motivations [42]. Furthermore, diversity is regarded as one of the fundamental elements in media policies and is widely recognized as a key concept for media to create value [43]. In an online environment, diversity refers to the various types and contents of menus and functions that social media presents [43]. In online game contexts, diversity refers to the extent to which users perceive games as varying in condition, and it nurtures individuals’ desire for stimulation [44]. According to desensitization theory, repetitive stimulation or the amount of exposure (to such stimuli) should reduce individuals’ emotional responses [45], as individuals tend to adapt easily to monotonous experiences. When viewers engage in game watching, they become increasingly familiar with the stimulating elements within the game. In time, this decreases their stimulation level. In other words, without varied content, viewers gradually lose interest in the game. To avoid such a scenario, esports should offer diverse gaming content, such as variable tasks, characters, settings, themes, and other audio-visual features like animations. Therefore, the current research considers diversity as an essential factor in the viewership of esports content, defining it as the extent of diversification and richness in esports content livestreaming.

Usefulness is a key variable in technology acceptance model (TAM) theory, which explains the acceptance of information systems and has been subject to extensive research in the field of information systems [46]. According to Davis (1989), perceived usefulness is characterized by the extent to which an individual strongly believes that utilizing a specific system or technology will improve their job performance [46]. Prior studies have reported that users become engaged with a specific technology due to its usefulness, and, when consumers perceive a certain experience as useful, they tend to think positively about it [47]. Therefore, it is also recognized as a fundamental construct in users’ adaptation to a new technology [48,49]. Furthermore, perceived usefulness, when not limited to specific technological aspects, has recently been regarded as an external motivation for consumers and can serve as an attribute for evaluating users’ experience advantages [50]—for example, the usefulness of VR technology in sports media consumption experiences [47], the usefulness of VR technology in personal training experiences [47], and the usefulness of artificial intelligence (AI) in sport fitness service experiences [51]. Therefore, the present study defines usefulness as whether esports content contributes to enhancing esports game skills, facilitating the acquisition of esports-related information and knowledge, and improving the individual capabilities of esports players or viewers during the livestream viewing experience of esports.

2.2. The Attributes of Esports Content and Flow Experience

Traditionally, consumer preferences and choices have been attributed to utilitarian value [52]. However, over time, scholars have come to recognize the limitations of relying solely on utilitarian value (e.g., quality, price, or performance) to evaluate consumer experiences, especially for online services. As a result, the hedonic value, such as one’s mental state (e.g., flow state), for consumers has become crucial in ensuring positive experiences during the viewing of esports livestreams and ultimately in determining the success of online livestreaming services.

Csikszentmihalyi (1975) coined the term “flow” to describe the holistic sensations individuals experience when fully engaged in an activity [17]. Flow experience can be characterized as an optimal mental state wherein individuals can wholeheartedly focus on a limited stimulus field without distractions, enabling them to filter out unrelated perceptions. The concept of flow has been widely recognized as a significant factor in assessing consumer or viewer experiences across various domains, including website quality [53], online shopping [54], virtual reality [55], and online gaming [21]. Furthermore, recent academic research has provided evidence that the flow experience can be regarded as a fundamental representative factor in assessing the quality of experiential consumption, such as sport spectatorship [6,56]. In particular, within the realm of sports media consumption research, the flow experience is regarded as a peak psychological experience and a shared pursuit among sports media viewers [55].

Hence, in the current research, we argue that the flow experience can represent a diagnostic cue for viewers of sports media to evaluate their livestreaming service experience. In the existing literature, the flow experience has been conceptualized into various subfactors in different contexts, including a combination of self-control, enjoyment, time and place distortion, loss of self-consciousness, focused concentration, interest, engagement, and immersion [57,58,59]. In the current study, the elements of flow experience are categorized as cognitive absorption, time distortion, and enjoyment as a psychological state in livestreaming services. First, cognitive absorption refers to the state of total engagement and deep concentration that individuals experience during the livestreaming of esports, which is one of the most commonly used components to explain the flow experience [55,60]. According to Csikszentmihalyi (1990), optimal experiences occur through concentration on a limited stimulus field (i.e., cognitive absorption) [61]. Second, time distortion refers to viewers of esports livestreaming experiencing a subjective perception of time passing more quickly than its actual duration, as they become fully engrossed in the content. During the viewing of a sporting event, sports viewers often experience a sense of time distortion [6], and time distortion while watching a sporting game leads sports viewers to experience a flow state [62]. This is not only due to their desire to sustain their levels of enjoyment, interest, and amusement, but also because they need to maintain a high level of attentiveness [63]. Third, enjoyment represents the positive emotions and satisfaction that viewers derive from the immersive and engaging content. Through these various effects, sports media consumption emerges as a hedonic experience driven by intrinsic rewards such as pleasure and enjoyment, with enjoyment being a key component of flow experience [56].

Furthermore, according to Lazarus’s (1982) cognitive appraisal theory (CAT), individual emotions are believed to originate from cognitive evaluations of phenomena and/or event appraisals [14]. This theory postulates that an individual’s positive or negative emotions toward a stimulus are the outcomes of a cognitive assessment of the stimulus [64]. Appraisal dimensions of a stimulus are categorized as goal congruence and goal relevance by cognitive appraisal theorists [65]. Goal congruence pertains to the match between a situation and an individual’s desires, while goal relevance refers to the significance of a situation to an individual [66]. Drawing on CAT, this study incorporates the four attributes (entertainment, reliability, diversity, and usefulness) that are important and needed by esports viewers in their livestreaming content viewing experience while also aligning with the fundamental notion that consumers elicit positive or negative emotional states (i.e., flow experience in this study) through cognitive evaluations of all aspects of the esports content attributes on online livestreaming services. In other words, the cognitive appraisal of the esports livestreaming content results in viewers’ emotional states (i.e., flow experience) during esports livestreaming. All in all, following the fundamental notion of the CAT, this study expands the theory by considering the attributes of esports content as evaluation criteria for evaluating the viewing experience among online livestreaming viewers.

First, entertainment is a kind of activity that causes the viewers to maintain concentration and interest [29]. Esports livestreaming, by its very nature, represents a highly interactive and entertaining experience [67]. Livestreaming of esports content not only allows the viewer to experience the intense and thrilling atmosphere of competitive games but also facilitates real-time interaction, thus enabling users to concentrate on and enjoy the experience. Meanwhile, it also offers the opportunity to appreciate exceptional gaming skills and achievements. These factors collectively captivate the audience, bringing them enjoyment and entertainment while immersing them in an outstanding livestreaming experience. Furthermore, related studies on motivation theory have noted that viewers hope to seek happiness, a temporary escape from reality, and stress relief through watching esports content [68]. When the livestreaming offers sufficient playfulness, it can lead to the occurrence of a flow experience [29]. This flow experience is characterized by a profound sense of pleasure and enjoyment [61]. In addition, the existing literature on esports and flow experience has shown that esports content attributes significantly influence media viewers’ flow experience [69,70]. For example, Lee and Sung (2018) revealed that entertainment is conceptualized as the enjoyment, innovation, and interest derived from the content, which positively influences the viewers’ flow experience [71].

Reliability of the video contents is a crucial factor in reducing uncertainty in online environments, guaranteeing the quality of products and services, and ensuring a stable consumer environment [72]. Furthermore, Chen and Lin (2018) observed that, because concentration is a delicate state of mind, it is not easy to maintain; therefore, users’ flow state can be easily broken by the surrounding environment [29]. In the context of online livestreaming, environmental disturbances (e.g., insecure payment interfaces, inaccurate content information, and unreliable broadcaster images) may disrupt viewers’ sense of control over their behaviors [73]. Conversely, if the content experienced by esports viewers is deemed reliable and trustworthy, demonstrating professionalism and accuracy, viewers may reduce their effort spent on monitoring content providers and concentrate their attention and experience a state of flow [74]. While there is currently no research that directly establishes the impact of reliability on flow, existing studies have highlighted that reliability is a key factor in website content quality [32], which in turn has a positive influence on flow experiences [54].

In the retail industry, some scholars believe that the higher the diversity of the goods, the more autonomy customers feel, which will satisfy consumers’ diversified needs [75,76] and lead to an enjoyable shopping experience. Indeed, the positive emotions of enjoyment and pleasure happen to be a crucial factor in triggering consumers’ flow experiences [61]. Furthermore, Wu et al. (2015) indicated that flow in online environments is most likely to occur during information-seeking activities [77]. Diversity in physical environments was found to positively impact customers’ intention to prolong their stay time [42]. This is likely to be because consumers are attracted to diverse information content during the information-seeking process, during which they may also lose their sense of time. Whether in a physical or online environment, the essence of diverse content lies in the process of consumers actively engaging with and processing diverse information. Therefore, although there is currently no direct evidence in online studies to support the notion that content diversity directly influences consumers’ immersive experiences, we believe that the effects of diversity observed in offline environments will also be applicable to the online realm.

Regarding usefulness, research on the motivations behind watching video games has indicated that cognitive motivation (i.e., acquiring information, knowledge, comprehension) is one of the driving factors for watching online games [78]. From a definitional perspective, usefulness can be conceptualized as a factor that contributes to improving gaming skills, which implies that it may lead to viewers’ complete concentration on the game and an inability to perceive their external environment, leading to a state of flow. Furthermore, flow experience may be sensitive to one’s surroundings and not simple to maintain [29]. In this regard, the usefulness of mobile online stores is predicated upon security quality and technical quality in the context of mobile shopping applications [79], implying that mitigating external distractions enables users to concentrate their attention. In addition, Ahmad and Abdulkarim (2019) noted that perceived usefulness affects flow experience in virtual worlds [80].

Based on the above information, we propose the following hypotheses:

H1. 

Entertainment positively influences viewer’s flow experience.

H2. 

Reliability positively influences viewer’s flow experience.

H3. 

Diversity positively influences viewer’s flow experience.

H4. 

Usefulness positively influences viewer’s flow experience.

2.3. The Role of Esports Involvement in Viewer Experience

The phenomenon of customer involvement provides a powerful explanation of social behavior [81]. Specifically in the context of sports, involvement would describe the level at which a consumer values or believes that sports are relevant and important to their lives and lifestyles [82]. Involvement is defined as an individual’s level of interest or the perceived significance of a target object to their ego structure [83]. It is also conceptualized as an individual’s motivational state with regard to a target object [84]. This definition of involvement has been extended to sports media consumer contexts in previous studies [55,85]. Building from this definition of involvement, we frame esports involvement as the personal relevance and significance of esports given it captures distinct desired ends and reflects the level of time, energy, and emotion one commits to esports.

In the online media context, consumers’ responses to products and services, such as their flow experience, tend to vary depending on their involvement with the services that the media or a platform provides [86]. The cognitive effort exerted by consumers in evaluating environmental cues differs between highly involved and less-involved consumers [87]. As an illustration, within the realm of sports media, Kim and Ko (2019) found that individuals with a high level of involvement in sports tend to assess their sports media experience based on central cues, such as the quality of the sports game [55]. Conversely, individuals with lower levels of involvement tend to concentrate on peripheral cues, such as the vividness of the media and telepresence. Hence, the degree of involvement in esports can act as a moderator that influences the impact of esports livestreaming media’s attributes on viewer experiences, as consumers’ information processing, judgment, and decision-making are influenced by their level of involvement (c.f., elaboration likelihood model [ELM] by Petty and Cacioppo [87]).

According to the ELM, individuals follow a peripheral route or a central route depending on their motivation (i.e., who is involved) for processing the given information and their ability to evaluate the information, which ultimately affects the formation of individual attitudes and behaviors. Specifically, if the level of an individual’s involvement is high, information is always processed by the central route and evaluated based on information directly related to the target. On the contrary, when their involvement level is low, individuals follow the peripheral route and are generally led by the information indirectly related the target [87].

Based on the above elaboration, we propose that the level of esports involvement can be particularly important in determining the effect of esports content attributes (entertainment, reliability, diversity, usefulness) on viewer experiences (flow experience). More specifically, we expect that, for each esports attributes, esports viewers will focus on different components of their esports content viewing experience (esports-related cues versus non-esports-related cues) depending on their level of esports involvement.

Regarding entertainment, consumers who exhibit high levels of involvement with a specific product or service typically display consistent interests or needs revolving around that specific product or service. They perceive such products and services as more relevant and assign greater value to them across various situations [88]. The previous literature on UG theory and motivation theory has indicated that viewers hope to view livestreaming content for the purposes of entertainment and stress relief [68,89]. In the context of esports livestreaming, attaining entertainment is the primary purpose of consuming such content, which is closely tied to the viewers’ own needs and preferences. Therefore, compared to less-involved viewers, highly involved viewers of esports often experience greater satisfaction and experiential value due to the entertainment attribute of esports content, and they are more likely to immerse themselves in the livestreaming experience.

In terms of reliability, the ELM observed that the consumers’ cognitive effort in evaluating the cues presented in the environment is different between high/low levels of involvement [87]. Under this persuasive context, when conditions drive individuals’ motivation and ability to engage in relevant thinking, the elaboration likelihood is likely to be high. Thus, highly involved customers tend to rely on the quality of information content, while less-involved customers are likely to depend on peripheral cues such as the reliability of the information [90]. Meanwhile, highly involved customers will rely rarely on peripheral cues, because they are likely to be more aware of the possibility of inaccuracy, bias, and lack of realism in such cues [91]. In other words, compared to highly involved viewers, the reliability of livestream content is more crucial for viewers with lower levels of involvement, serving as a significant influencing factor in their attainment of an exceptional viewing experience.

As was mentioned, Shankar and Jebarajakirthy (2019) noted that, since highly involved consumers have more relevant product (or service) knowledge and are more deeply aware of complex issues relating to e-services, they are more likely to resolve their problems or needs on their own (e.g., seeking diverse and enriched information content) [92]. Customers with lower levels of involvement demonstrate a limited ability and motivation to actively search for information or engage in independent information processing, resulting in a greater reliance on the diversity of information provided by the platform [92]. Therefore, for less-involved viewers, the diversity of esports livestreaming content is more likely to be regarded as their criterion for judging whether they can achieve their optimal experience. In addition, one study on Reddit subcommunities found that the relationship between content diversity and users’ response may also differ according to viewers’ tenure (i.e., their level of involvement). Content diversity may seem beneficial for attracting new members (i.e., the less involved) and lead to these new members becoming more engaged in diverse content communities and enlivening discussions, which ultimately leads to a pleasurable experience. Based on such an outlook, we can speculate that, compared to highly involved viewers, those with lower levels of involvement are more likely to be attracted to the diverse livestreaming content in esports, leading to higher satisfaction and a higher likelihood of achieving flow experience.

Finally, in the context of esports, proficiency in gaming techniques is inevitable, as it is not only used to engage in esports gameplay [93] but also to watch esports livestreaming content and events [94]. Neus et al. (2019) showed that, in both online and offline esports-viewing motivations, the influence of the knowledge-and-skill-acquisition motivation is significantly greater than that of other motivations, highlighting the importance of the content’s usefulness as the primary factor driving continued viewership and a satisfying experience [95]. In addition, Jang et al. (2021) demonstrated that high-/low-frequency esports experiences can influence the relationship between esports motivation and gameplay intention [96]. In line with this research, we suggest that highly involved viewers, driven by a stronger motivation to enhance their gaming skills through esports livestreams, are more likely to concentrate their attention on the usefulness of esports content, resulting in a more enjoyable experience for them. Based on this, we speculate that, compared to less-involved viewers, highly involved viewers are more likely to achieve a flow experience during their livestreaming viewing, as the usefulness of esports content plays a more influential role in facilitating their flow experience.

Resultingly, we propose the following hypotheses:

H5. 

Viewer’s level of esports involvement will positively moderate the relationship between entertainment and flow experience.

H6. 

Viewer’s level of esports involvement will negatively moderate the relationship between reliability and flow experience.

H7. 

Viewer’s level of esports involvement will negatively moderate the relationship between diversity and flow experience.

H8. 

Viewer’s level of esports involvement will positively moderate the relationship between usefulness and flow experience.

2.4. Flow Experience and Well-Being

Recently, well-being has drawn extensive scholarly attention and has become a key subject in assessing consumer experiences in sport marketing [13,97]. Understanding the concept of well-being is crucial since it enables the assessment of individuals’ physical and psychological health conditions [98]. Scholars have found that spending money on experiential products (e.g., sports participation, sports spectating, and sports media viewing) typically leads to a higher degree of well-being compared to material purchases [98]. For example, Kim et al. (2017) observed that sports event viewing is an activity leading to the fulfillment of psychological needs and well-being [13]. Kim and Kim (2020) affirmed that the motivation for esports spectatorship on livestreaming influences esports viewers’ flow experience and subjective well-being [6].

Well-being is a holistic and multidimensional concept that concerns an individual’s overall state of physical, mental, and emotional health and happiness, thus representing a positive and optimal condition of an individual’s overall functioning and life satisfaction [99]. Well-being covers a wide range of domains, and, although there is consensus among scholars regarding this overarching definition, the approaches to conceptualizing well-being vary across different disciplines and research backgrounds. Generally, according to Diener (2000), well-being can be conceptualized within affective and cognitive dimensions when individuals evaluate their lives [100]. On this basis, Jang et al. (2021) conceptualized sports consumers’ level of subjective well-being with three essential components: happiness, life satisfaction, and purpose in life [101]. In addition, Satici and Uysal’s (2015) research pointed out that subjective happiness, subjective vitality, and life satisfaction have been accepted as dimensions of well-being in online social platform environments [102].

In this study, we conceptualized esports viewers’ well-being using two different components: happiness and vitality. In the esports livestreaming context, we adopted happiness as the primary indicator of well-being, as it encompasses a comprehensive positive psychological state resulting from a combination of various positive and negative affective states, aligning it with the affective dimension of well-being [101]. Furthermore, esports viewers may experience momentary or enduring happiness perceptions owing to the game’s outcomes and the athletes’ performances [97]. Additionally, these temporary or enduring perceptions are regarded as another perspective for evaluating happiness [103]. Therefore, using happiness as a key component of viewers’ well-being is a more appropriate approach for this study.

Regarding vitality, psychometricians in the fields of mood and well-being have recognized constructs related to vitality, highlighting personal energy as a prominent and readily accessible attribute that can be considered a crucial indicator of well-being [104]. In addition, Jang et al. (2017) found that sports spectators may increase their vitality by engaging in spectating behavior depending on their level of team identification [97]. Researchers have also observed that vitality, as a positive sense of aliveness and energy, can be regarded as one component of well-being [23,102].

While vitality and happiness share similarities as positive psychological states, they have distinct differences [97]. The key difference is that vitality refers to a highly aroused energetic state, such as enthusiasm, liveliness, and zest for life [105], whereas happiness entails a broader concept that encompasses overall life satisfaction, positive emotions, and a general sense of well-being [106]. In other words, vitality focuses more on the experience of energy and aliveness, while happiness encompasses a wider range of positive psychological states and evaluations of life satisfaction. Hence, in this study, we conceptualized well-being as a multidimensional construct that includes both happiness and vitality to assess the psychological responses of esports viewers. Specifically, in the psychological literature, happiness is defined as a psychological state of joy, pleasure, and contentment that results from an enjoyable or satisfying experience [106]. Vitality refers to a subjective sense of energy and liveliness, representing an internal force that promotes both mental and physical well-being [107]. It often emerges as a concept of “energy” and has received scholarly attention from various disciplines, including psychology, consumer behavior, and marketing. This is because vitality positively influences psychological well-being, including enjoyment of and satisfaction with activities, as well as an individual’s happiness and life satisfaction, making it a potentially significant construct in the field of sports-consumer behavior [97,107].

Since flow experience is an optimal state where individuals are fully absorbed in their activities, this positive psychological experience ultimately can enhance the subjective happiness of the experiencer [108]. Moreover, flow experience frequently occurs in sports activities because the optimal state of challenge and focus in recreational activities fulfills diverse desires that cannot be met in other domains of life, thereby triggering psychological happiness [109]. In addition, Kim and Kim (2020) exhibited that, if engaged in the absorbing activity when watching esports livestreaming, viewers are more prone to experiencing positive affective states, including feelings of subjective well-being (including a measure of happiness) and life satisfaction [6].

In the present context, two perspectives can be used to explain the reason that flow experience is related to viewers’ vitality. First, flow experience is associated with heightened levels of energy, focus, and a sense of being fully alive, and, when individuals are in a state of flow, they are deeply engaged in the present moment, fully utilizing their skills and abilities and experiencing a sense of challenge that matches their capabilities [110]. This alignment between one’s perceived challenges and skills may lead to a heightened sense of vitality. Second, esports viewers who experience flow also experience positive emotions, such as enjoyment and interest [6]. Relatedly, Ryan and Deci (2008) discovered that positive emotions are related to the enhancement of subjective vitality [111]. Therefore, it can be speculated that flow experience may also be correlated with subjective vitality.

H9. 

Flow experience positively influences viewer’s happiness.

H10. 

Flow experience positively influences viewer’s vitality.

A research model that summarizes the hypothesized relationships can be found in Figure 1 below.

3. Methods

3.1. Data Collection

In this study, our target population consisted of frequent users of livestreaming media in South Korea who actively watched esports content. To ensure high-quality data, we employed Embrain (https://embrain.com/, accessed on 20 July 2022), an esteemed online survey firm, to randomly select study samples. The data collection for this study took place from 26 July 2022 to 8 August 2022, lasting for a period of two weeks. Additionally, to ensure the collection of appropriate samples, the survey incorporated two screening questions: (a) “Do you have any experience using online livestreaming media?” and (b) “Have you recently watched esports via livestreaming media?” The Embrain survey system also identified and excluded respondents who completed the survey too quickly or exhibited recurring response patterns aimed at qualifying for incentives. Finally, of 600 online questionnaires, a total of 539 cases were considered useful samples for analysis, excluding 61 cases that either included dishonest answers or were treated as insufficient responses. The average age of participants was 29.23 years (SD = 5.26), and 280 were male (51.9%). In terms of education, 53 participants (9.9%) had a graduate degree, 438 (81.3%) had a bachelor’s degree, and 48 (8.9%) had a high school diploma or less than a high school diploma.

3.2. Measurement Model

Eight constructs in the research model were measured with multiple items adopted from previous studies and revised to fit the context of the present study. These items measured each of their target variables using a seven-point Likert-type scales anchored from one (not at all) to seven (very much). Specifically, we modified and adopted existing scales to measure four attributes of esports content: entertainment (three items [30]), reliability (three items [112]), diversity (three items [43]), and usefulness (three items [78,80]). We conceptualized flow experience as a psychological state characterized by cognitive absorption, time distortion, and enjoyment, and measured it using eight items adopted from Kim and Ko [55]. Happiness was measured with three items that were adopted from Jang, Ko, Wann, and Kim [97] and Guevarra and Howell [98]. The vitality construct was operationalized with six items based on Jang et al. [97]’s spectatorship happiness study. Lastly, esports involvement was measured using three items adopted from Kim and Ko [55].

The initial measurement instruments were translated into Korean by two bilingual Korean scholars, taking into account potential cross-cultural variations. Subsequently, to ensure the equivalence of items across the two versions, two additional bilingual scholars (one specializing in marketing and the other in sport management) compared the Korean rendition with the original English version. Based on their recommendations, minor adjustments were made by the researchers to develop the final measurement scale.

To validate the proposed measurement model, we conduct an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) by using SPSS 26.0 and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted using Mplus 8. The latent moderated structural equation (LMS) analysis followed the two-step approach recommended by Klein and Moosbrugger [113].

4. Results

Firstly, we conducted an exploratory factor analysis on the four attributes of esports livestreaming content conceptualized based on the UG theory. We used four criteria to determine the retention of factors and their respective items: (a) Eigenvalues equal to or greater than 1.0 for each factor; (b) Factor loadings equal to or greater than 0.50 for each item; (c) Communalities greater than 0.50 for each item, and interpretability of identified factors and retained items in the theoretical context [114]. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy was 0.91, indicating that the total variance explained by the solution was satisfactory [114]. Furthermore, Bartlett’s test of sphericity (BTS) yielded a significant result (3814.936, p < 0.001), confirming the appropriateness of conducting the EFA. According to the pre-established item retention criteria, one item was removed from the analysis as its factor loading was below 0.50 or cross-loadings greater than 0.50. After iterative rounds of EFA, four factors surfaced with 12 items meeting the retention criteria, explaining a total of 77.66% variance among the variables (

Table 1. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of esports livestreaming content.

Construct	Variable	F1	F2	F3	F4	Eigen Values	Variance Explained (%)
Entertainment	ENT2	0.86				52.20	20.65
	ENT3	0.88
	ENT4	0.64
Reliability	REL1		0.68			10.95	19.22
	REL2		0.79
	REL3		0.78
Diversity	DIV1			0.88		8.57	19.00
	DIV2			0.74
	DIV3			0.78
Usefulness	USE1				0.78	5.92	18.78
	USE2				0.70
	USE3				0.86
Total variance explained							77.66

).

CFA was performed to assess the construct validity and reliability of the measurement model. The findings revealed satisfactory fit indices, indicating a good fit between the data and the measurement model (χ²/df = 1380.521/433 = 3.18, CFI = 0.94, TLI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.06, SRMR = 0.06). All factor loadings in the measurement model were greater than 0.05 and statistically significant (

Table 2. Summary results for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

Factors and Items	λ	CR	AVE
Entertainment		0.87	0.69
It is a heart-pounding kind of esports content	0.86
I experience enjoyment when I watch the esports content	0.84
I find the game to be very meaningful	0.89
Reliability		0.84	0.64
The esports content I have recently experienced is dependable	0.78
The esports content I have recently experienced is professional	0.82
The esports content I have recently experienced is accurate	0.80
Diversity		0.84	0.63
The esports content I have recently experienced is diverse in games	0.75
The esports content I have recently experienced is rich	0.80
The esports content formats I have recently experienced are varied	0.83
Usefulness		0.84	0.64
The esports content I have recently experienced helps me become better at esports (games)	0.79
The esports content I have recently experienced helps me get the related information and knowledge	0.81
The esports content I have recently experienced helps me to expand my skills in gaming	0.79
Flow experience		0.97	0.78
(Cognitive Absorption) I was totally focused on the esports game	0.87
(Cognitive Absorption) I was deeply engrossed in the esports game	0.91
(Cognitive Absorption) I was absorbed intensely	0.89
(Time Distortion) It felt like time flew	0.87
(Time Distortion) Time seemed to go by very quickly	0.89
(Enjoyment) It was enjoyable	0.87
(Enjoyment) It was exciting	0.88
(Enjoyment) It was fun	0.87
Happiness		0.89	0.72
When I think about the esports content viewing experience task, I feel happy	0.83
The esports content I have recently experienced contributes to your overall life’s happiness	0.88
The esports content I have recently experienced increase my overall life satisfaction	0.85
Vitality		0.95	0.75
The esports content I have recently experienced make me feel alive and vital	0.83
The esports content I have recently experienced make me feel so alive so I just want to burst	0.86
The esports content I have recently experienced make me have energy and spirit	0.89
The esports content I have recently experienced make me look forward to each new day	0.86
The esports content I have recently experienced make me feel alert and awake	0.88
The esports content I have recently experienced make me feel energized right now	0.88
Esports involvement		0.90	0.75
I have high attention to esports	0.86
Esports are important to me	0.81
I am highly interested in esports	0.92

Note. CR = composite reliability, AVE = Average variance extracted.

). The average variance extracted (AVE) values ranged from 0.63 (diversity) to 0.78 (flow experience). Moreover, all composite reliability coefficients of the latent variables were found to be greater than 0.80. Based on these results, this study concluded that the measurement model has both reliability and convergent and discriminant validity [114,115].

For the hypothesis testing, this study estimated a structural model (model 0) without latent interaction terms (entertainment × esports involvement, reliability × esports involvement, diversity × esports involvement, and usefulness × esports involvement) in the first step. The result showed an acceptable fit between the structural model and the data (χ²/df = 1154.38/443 = 2.61, CFI = 0.94, TLI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.06, SRMR = 0.06, log-likelihood value = −20,777.875) [114]. Therefore, this study estimated another structural model (model 1) with the latent interaction terms and then conducted a log-likelihood ratio test in the second step. The result of the log-likelihood ratio test indicated that model 1 is statistically superior to model 0 (D = −2[|−20,776.192| − |−20,777.875|] = 3.37, Δdf = 4). Accordingly, model 1 was adopted, and its coefficients were used for the hypothesis testing.

The results showed that entertainment (β = 0.18, p < 0.01), reliability (β = 0.28, p < 0.001), and diversity (β = 0.11, p < 0.05) positively influenced flow experience. Therefore, H1, H2, and H3 were supported. The results revealed that the path coefficient from usefulness to flow experience was not statistically significant (β = −0.10, p = 0.18). Therefore, H4 was untenable.

Regarding the moderating roles of esports involvement, the results indicated that the path coefficients from the latent interaction terms between entertainment and esports involvement to flow experience (β = 0.02, p = 0.69) were not significant. Thus, H5 was untenable. Esports involvement was found to negatively moderate the effect of reliability on flow experience (β = −0.15, p < 0.05). Therefore, H6 was supported. The moderating effect of esports involvement on the relationship between inclusive diversity and flow experience was not statistically significant (β = −0.03, p = 0.53), meaning H7 was untenable. The results also showed that esports involvement had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between usefulness and flow experience (β = 0.12, p < 0.05), thus supporting H8.

Lastly, the path coefficients from flow experience to happiness (β = 0.79, p < 0.001) and vitality (β = 0.60, p < 0.001) were statistically significant. Hence, H9 and H10 were supported. All path coefficients are summarized in Figure 2.

5. Discussion

5.1. Theoretical Implications

The present study makes several theoretical contributions to the literature on esports livestreaming services and consumer psychology. Our holistic, conceptual model sheds new light on viewer experiences with online esports livestreaming services by drawing on distinct theories: the cognitive appraisal theory [14], the uses and gratification (UG) theory [15,16], and the flow theory [17]. This study presents, for the first time, a comprehensive elucidation of the specific mechanisms underlying the generation of well-being among viewers from the perspective of esports content by investigating how flow experience is beneficially related to the different aspects of well-being, i.e., viewers’ happiness and vitality.

The current study found that the UG theory provides a useful theoretical perspective for understanding viewers’ viewing experiences and well-being regarding esports livestreaming environments. The UG theory, which emphasizes individuals’ psychological and social needs and how specific media platforms fulfill communication requirements, is well-suited for studying the psychological and behavioral responses of viewers engaged in esports content livestreaming.

First, the entertainment, reliability, and diversity content attributes significantly influence viewers’ flow experience during esports content viewing. These results are consistent with previous research that found that the essence of esports content, with its competitive nature and inherent entertainment attributes, contributes significantly to the flow experience [69]. The reliability of the esports content ensures a sense of authenticity, allowing participants and viewers to fully engage in the virtual world [72]. Meanwhile, diversity in esports content helps prevent a decline in stimulation level due to prolonged gaming sessions. In particular, it promotes arousal from change and sustains a sense of novelty, enabling viewers’ prolonged enjoyment of and immersion in the livestreaming experience [44].

We additionally proposed that the usefulness esports content attribute positively influences viewers’ flow experiences while watching esports livestreaming, but the results afforded no statistical support to this hypothesis. Usefulness has previously been recognized as a key factor for in-depth concentration during the consumption of media, such as for websites (e.g., Wang [116]) and online shopping (e.g., Sohn [79]). There may be several reasons why our results contradict these findings from the current literature. The usefulness of esports content varies depending on the characteristics or types of esports viewers. We believe that the usefulness of esports content is thus especially subjective due to being judged by viewers based on their own needs. Particularly, viewers with less experience in watching esports content may consider hedonic needs (e.g., entertainment) more significant while evaluating their viewing experience, rather than focusing on its usefulness. Moreover, only 8% of our respondents watched esports livestreaming more than four hours per day. Additionally, in terms of viewing frequency, the proportion of our respondents who watched less than three to four times a week was 68.5%. Our respondents’ short viewing time and low frequency of viewing further strengthen the supposition that our respondents watch esports as entertainment. Therefore, the results of this study did not find a statistically significant impact regarding usefulness on viewers’ flow experience. Therefore, while the results of this study did not find a statistically significant impact regarding usefulness on viewers’ flow experience, this may be more due to with our respondents’ motivation for viewing esports livestreaming than with the nature of the content itself.

Second, the level of esports involvement was discovered to moderate the effect of each attribute on viewers’ experiences in different directions. That is, viewers evaluated their experiences by weighing different informational cues depending on their perceived relevance or their importance within esports [87]. Specifically, the effect of entertainment on flow experience escalated as the level of esports involvement increased, and the effect of diversity on flow experience escalated as the level of esports involvement decreased. However, there were no significant moderation effects on the association between entertainment, diversity, and flow experience. These findings imply that, regardless of the level of esports involvement among viewers, entertainment and diversity are important antecedents of flow experience, a supposition supported by previous findings [42,70].

Furthermore, the effect of reliability on viewers’ flow experience escalated as their level of esports involvement decreased. This result implies that, compared to the highly involved viewers, the less-involved viewers perceived the reliability attribute as more important and were likely to have a positive experience, a finding which is consistent with the previous literature [117].

Although the direct impact of usefulness on flow experience did not reach statistical significance, it is interesting to note that the moderating effect between usefulness and flow experience was statistically significant. While the results of the moderating effect align with our hypothesis, due to the negative direct effect of usefulness on the immersion experience, this result implies that the more highly involved viewers were in esports, the more the effect of usefulness on flow experience decreased. According to the selective perception theory, due to the limited capacity of the perceptual system, individuals cannot perceive all stimuli with equal clarity simultaneously, so they tend to selectively attend to and focus on stimuli that are personally relevant or meaningful to them while disregarding less important or irrelevant stimuli [118]. Therefore, a possible explanation for the finding is that highly involved esports viewers, who typically possess more relevant knowledge than less-involved viewers [119], are more likely to pay attention to the technical aspects of esports livestreams. The usefulness attribute, which encompasses these technological aspects (e.g., game skill and game strategy), can at times hinder the overall viewing experience in the context of esports livestreams, which primarily aim to provide an enjoyable and entertaining experience for the viewer. In essence, when the focus shifts toward emphasizing usefulness and technical aspects, this shift may become a potential source of distraction for viewers and may detract from their overall enjoyment and immersion in the viewing experience. This is because, when viewers emphasize usefulness, they are thinking about, for instance, their own gameplay and are therefore not fully immersed within the content they are watching at the time.

Lastly, the present research contributes to the field of sports media consumption and sports consumer psychology by confirming the positive link between flow and well-being (i.e., happiness and vitality) in the context of esports content. We found that the flow experience in esports livestreaming not only increases viewers’ happiness but also enhances their vitality. These results align with previous scholarship, which reported, for instance, that the experience of flow leads to happiness in online mobile games [120]. The extant marketing literature features few insights into the relationship between flow experience and well-being, especially regarding vitality rather than global well-being. To the best of our knowledge, this research provides the first investigation into esports viewers’ vitality. Specifically, this research elucidates how flow experience plays an important role in driving viewers’ vitality. These findings are consistent with previous studies with more traditional research perspectives, such as that by Chang [121], who showed a positive relationship between flow experience and vitality with respect to leisure activity in senior centers. Additionally, previous research has indicated that well-being can be assessed from both momentary and enduring perspectives [101]. In accordance with the findings of our study, which utilized measures of happiness and vitality during esports content livestreaming, we discovered that the sense of immersion experienced during the viewing of esports content not only contributes to immediate feelings of happiness and vigor but also positively influences participants’ overall life satisfaction and expectations for the future. Overall, within the current context, the flow experience in esports content augments both momentary and enduring feelings of well-being.

5.2. Practical Implications

This work provides several meaningful practical implications. The present study found that, when individuals fully engage in their viewing content, they feel more happiness and then become more energetic and vital. Therefore, sports organizations should invest more resources into enhancing their viewing experience to maximize revenue through increased viewer happiness and vitality.

The results of the current study suggest that marketers should enhance the entertainment, reliability, and diversity attributes of esports content to amplify their flow experience. Reliability plays the strongest role in enhancing flow experience from esports content, while entertainment and diversity play the second and third strongest roles. Marketers and game developers should carefully plan and prepare content, ensuring that the information provided is verified and supported by authoritative sources, thus guaranteeing the accuracy and reliability of the livestreaming content—for instance, offering precise game rules, event data, and player information or collaborating with professional commentators to deliver high-quality livestreaming content, thereby enhancing viewers’ trust in the livestreaming content. Additionally, marketers can create engaging and enjoyable esports livestreaming content by introducing intriguing plots, generating suspenseful game commentary, and providing interactive opportunities for viewers such as real-time chat, voting, and giveaways to foster a sense of fun and pleasure. Furthermore, practitioners and game developers can enhance the flow experience of viewers by providing diverse gaming content (e.g., different game tasks, characters, settings, and themes) through means like introducing rich audiovisual features, such as animations and special effects, to create a diverse sensory experience. Marketers can also maintain regular content updates, as innovation is crucial for sustaining audience interest and curiosity.

Furthermore, understanding the moderating effect of viewers’ involvement is practically meaningful because it helps managers of esports livestreaming glean new insights into upgrading esports content and the formulation of effective segmentation strategies. Our research revealed that the impact of the reliability and usefulness attributes of esports content on flow experience was stronger for less-involved viewers than highly involved ones. This suggests that offering reliable content and useful content to less-involved or new viewers could be an effective strategy for enhancing their happiness and vitality. In the field of marketing, because less-involved consumers can be considered important potential viewers or novice viewers (Park et al. [119]), the designers of esports livestreaming systems are required to help novice viewers by keeping informative and persuasive content posted on platforms and helping them filter out potential influxes of invalid information to help viewers better understand products or services, particularly within the interactive chat window of esports livestreaming. For example, viewers should be allowed to set filtering rules for the automatic filtration of chat messages that are either irrelevant to their interests or objectionable for other reasons, such as for being misleading.

6. Limitations and Future Research Agendas

As with any other study, despite the contributions of the present work to the literature, several certain limitations should be addressed to provide insight into future research avenues. First, we collected the main data from a target population in South Korea who had experience with livestreaming esports media based on a cross-sectional design. Therefore, the results from this study should be cautiously generalized to other media or platform contexts. In addition, the sample was composed largely of young people from 19 to 38 years old. While these findings pertain primarily to the demographic of individuals with a greater interest in watching esports livestreams, it would be valuable to investigate whether our observations hold true across different age groups or whether different esports content attributes become more or less important depending on age.

Second, future research can employ an experimental framework to examine and validate the causal nature of the relationships we have emphasized. Such investigations will help add robustness to our findings and identify causal mechanisms underlying customer behaviors to provide further implications for marketers [122].

Third, this study investigated the impact of esports livestreaming content attributes related to esports involvement on viewer well-being, aiming to address the limitations of existing research that treats consumers as homogeneous groups. While we developed a research model reflecting viewer characteristics based on esports involvement, it was constrained by setting only esports involvement as the moderating variable due to the complexity of the model. In addition to involvement, to gain more meaningful insights into improving esports livestreaming services and enhancing viewer well-being, we propose exploring the inclusion of various characteristics as moderating variables, such as gender, the duration of esports viewing experience, gamer versus non-gamer status or genres of games. This will help verify the patterns of how specific esports livestreaming content attributes influence viewer well-being.

Finally, in this study, we adopted happiness and vitality as a perspective in conceptualizing esports viewers’ well-being. Although valuable insights were obtained by examining the viewing experience of esports content livestreaming, there are other substructures (e.g., life satisfaction and flourishing) that may offer unique and meaningful knowledge on esports viewers’ well-being. Conducting future research from the perspective of these different structures is suggested to more fully examine what specific types of well-being esports content promotes in its viewers.