2023
Cestino, Joaquin; Macey, Joseph; McCauley, Brian
Legitimizing the Game: How Gamers' Personal Experiences Shape the Emergence of Grassroots Collective Action in Esports Journal Article
In: Internet Research, vol. 33, iss. 7, pp. 111-132, 2023, ISSN: 1066-2243.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Change agents, Collective action, Esports, Grassroots, Interpretive phenomenological analysis, Legitimacy, Mobilization, Personal experiences, Propriety jugments, Sweden, Validity
@article{Cestino2023,
title = {Legitimizing the Game: How Gamers' Personal Experiences Shape the Emergence of Grassroots Collective Action in Esports},
author = {Joaquin Cestino and Joseph Macey and Brian McCauley},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-05-2022-0347
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/intr-05-2022-0347/full/html
},
doi = {10.1108/INTR-05-2022-0347},
issn = {1066-2243},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-05-19},
urldate = {2023-05-19},
journal = {Internet Research},
volume = {33},
issue = {7},
pages = {111-132},
abstract = {Purpose
This paper studies early stages of actor mobilization for institutional change within Swedish esports.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employ interpretative phenomenological analysis.
Findings
The authors’ findings explain how actors become motivated to act in critical reflections linked to conflicting legitimacy judgments and emotionally charged personal struggles. Moreover, the findings show how, as actors get activated in collective action, they identify efficacy lines around valid domains and experience emotionally charged collective endeavors. Furthermore, the findings explain how particularities in early experiences project legitimacy aspirations that orient collective action toward validity ends and particular values and ideals shaping actors' grassroots movements.
Originality/value
This study adds to legitimacy and institutional change theory through individual actors' perspectives, providing key insights into how they are motivated, activated, and oriented. This study is the first to investigate grassroots activists' personal stories in esports.},
keywords = {Change agents, Collective action, Esports, Grassroots, Interpretive phenomenological analysis, Legitimacy, Mobilization, Personal experiences, Propriety jugments, Sweden, Validity},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Purpose
This paper studies early stages of actor mobilization for institutional change within Swedish esports.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employ interpretative phenomenological analysis.
Findings
The authors’ findings explain how actors become motivated to act in critical reflections linked to conflicting legitimacy judgments and emotionally charged personal struggles. Moreover, the findings show how, as actors get activated in collective action, they identify efficacy lines around valid domains and experience emotionally charged collective endeavors. Furthermore, the findings explain how particularities in early experiences project legitimacy aspirations that orient collective action toward validity ends and particular values and ideals shaping actors' grassroots movements.
Originality/value
This study adds to legitimacy and institutional change theory through individual actors' perspectives, providing key insights into how they are motivated, activated, and oriented. This study is the first to investigate grassroots activists' personal stories in esports.
This paper studies early stages of actor mobilization for institutional change within Swedish esports.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employ interpretative phenomenological analysis.
Findings
The authors’ findings explain how actors become motivated to act in critical reflections linked to conflicting legitimacy judgments and emotionally charged personal struggles. Moreover, the findings show how, as actors get activated in collective action, they identify efficacy lines around valid domains and experience emotionally charged collective endeavors. Furthermore, the findings explain how particularities in early experiences project legitimacy aspirations that orient collective action toward validity ends and particular values and ideals shaping actors' grassroots movements.
Originality/value
This study adds to legitimacy and institutional change theory through individual actors' perspectives, providing key insights into how they are motivated, activated, and oriented. This study is the first to investigate grassroots activists' personal stories in esports.
2021
Cestino-Castilla, Joaquin; Macey, Joseph; McCauley, Brian
Aiming for Validity: The Experience of Conflicts in Legitimacy Judgments in Esports Actors and New Grassroots Activism Proceedings Article
In: Bujić, Mila; Koivisto, Jonna; Hamari, Juho (Ed.): Proceedings of the 5th International GamiFIN Conference Levi, Finland, April 7-9, 2021, pp. 190-199, CEUR-WS, 2021, ISSN: 1613-0073.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Activism, Electronic sports, Grassroots, Interpretive phenomenological analysis, Legitimacy
@inproceedings{Cestino-Castilla2021,
title = {Aiming for Validity: The Experience of Conflicts in Legitimacy Judgments in Esports Actors and New Grassroots Activism},
author = {Joaquin Cestino-Castilla and Joseph Macey and Brian McCauley},
editor = {Mila Bujić and Jonna Koivisto and Juho Hamari},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202106296124},
issn = {1613-0073},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-04-07},
urldate = {2021-04-07},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 5th International GamiFIN Conference Levi, Finland, April 7-9, 2021},
pages = {190-199},
publisher = {CEUR-WS},
abstract = {Esports is a phenomenon which continues to grow in socio-cultural and economic importance, yet it remains at the edges of mainstream society. To date, there have been few works which address the topic in terms of legitimacy, particularly the micro-processes of legitimization. Given that the esports system is one which currently operates outside wider societal practices, the lived experiences of actors in the ecosystem can offer valuable insights into the world of esports. This research employs IPA in order to understand how actors in organized grassroots esports movements make sense of their individual experiences and actions. A series of novel contributions are provided by this work. First, micro-level theories of legitimacy are applied to a phenomenon which has recently come to mainstream attention, one which is at the same time a business and a culture. Second, it is the first, in our knowledge, to apply a qualitative methodology to the explicit issue of legitimacy in esports. Third, it adds to theories of legitimacy and institutional change by providing empirical insights into the circumstances in which the experience of conflicts in legitimacy judgments independently mobilizes actors, shaping collective action into grassroots activism efforts. Finally, it highlights tensions between international success and the foundations of grassroots esports.},
keywords = {Activism, Electronic sports, Grassroots, Interpretive phenomenological analysis, Legitimacy},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Esports is a phenomenon which continues to grow in socio-cultural and economic importance, yet it remains at the edges of mainstream society. To date, there have been few works which address the topic in terms of legitimacy, particularly the micro-processes of legitimization. Given that the esports system is one which currently operates outside wider societal practices, the lived experiences of actors in the ecosystem can offer valuable insights into the world of esports. This research employs IPA in order to understand how actors in organized grassroots esports movements make sense of their individual experiences and actions. A series of novel contributions are provided by this work. First, micro-level theories of legitimacy are applied to a phenomenon which has recently come to mainstream attention, one which is at the same time a business and a culture. Second, it is the first, in our knowledge, to apply a qualitative methodology to the explicit issue of legitimacy in esports. Third, it adds to theories of legitimacy and institutional change by providing empirical insights into the circumstances in which the experience of conflicts in legitimacy judgments independently mobilizes actors, shaping collective action into grassroots activism efforts. Finally, it highlights tensions between international success and the foundations of grassroots esports.