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Consumer Esport engagement and wellbeing

  • School: Nottingham Business School
  • Starting: 2022 / 2023
  • Funding: UK student / EU student (non-UK) / International student (non-EU) / Self-funded
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Overview

Esport captures many of the distinguishing attributes of traditional sport with competition, socialisation, fans, spectators, and rivalries, however, is unique due to its reliance on computer mediated interfaces. The esport industry has millions of online players and a worldwide virtual audience of nearly 500 million because of a progressively active and engaged online platform and its consumers. The growth of esports has only been speeded up by the global pandemic where online gaming satisfied a need for competition in periods of indoor lockdown and social distancing. Here, the level of engagement with esport offerings can gain importance. For the purposes of this study engagement is defined as: a state of being involved with and committed to a specific online esport offering (Taheri et al., 2014). Yet, to create engaging experiences, esport service providers must adopt a holistic, collaborative and innovative approach to co-creating and co-designing participative activities and offering with consumers, cognizant of the implications of co-created experiences on consumer’ wellbeing. However, a little research has explored how online gamers can participate and engage with services, and events, and also how esport can influence consumer wellbeing. To this end, this project aims to contribute to a better understanding of esport consumers engagement and participation in online platforms in order to reduce physical and psychological health problems and increase the wellbeing. We anticipate a mixed-method approach, drawing on both quantitative (e.g., survey) and qualitative (e.g., interviews, netnography), drawing on relevant theories to understand the impact of esport participation and related contextual factors during online gaming.

Application Enquiries:

  • See: https://www.ntu.ac.uk/course/nottingham-business-school/res/this-year/research-degrees-in-business for more information on undertaking a PhD at Nottingham Business School.
  • General PhD programme enquiries: NBS PhD Programme Director, Dr. Ishan Jalan (Ishan.jalan@ntu.ac.uk)
  • Topic related enquiry: Prof. Babak Taheri (babak.taheri@ntu.ac.uk).

Interview details: Interviews will take place between May – Aug for Oct 2022 start date.

Entry qualifications

An applicant should normally hold a Master’s degree at distinction or merit level of a UK university or an equivalent qualification. International students will also need to meet the English language requirements - IELTS 6.5 (with minimum sub-scores of 6.0). Applicants who have taken a higher degree at a UK university are normally exempt from the English language requirements.

How to apply

Please visit our how to apply page for a step-by-step guide and make an application.

Application deadline: 15th August for 1st Oct 2022 start date, or 15th Nov for 1st Jan 2023 start date.

Fees and funding

This opportunity is for self-funded PhD students. Applicants are encouraged to apply for external funding and we will support this process if and when required. Find out about fees and funding for PhD projects.

Guidance and support

Find out about guidance and support for PhD students.

Still need help?

Prof. Babak Taheri