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Segmenting e-sports players: Consumer profiles of generation Z e-sports enthusiasts
Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing,
12
(1),
65-80
(2024)
Abstract
Generation Z people born between 1995 and 2006 cite gaming as their favourite media and entertainment activity. For this reason, e-sport continues to be developed as a key channel for interactive marketing. This study aims to segment generation Z e-sports enthusiasts and create meaningful consumer profiles. This exploratory study employed an online survey (n = 429) to collect data on generation Z e-sports enthusiasts. A two-step cluster analysis was conducted based on motives. Socio-demographic information and behaviours served as descriptor variables to create consumer profiles. Four clusters were revealed: excitement lovers, sportscape experience seekers, immersed players and spectators, and entertainment and excitement adorers. Differences across the clusters merged across age and gender, but also hours played per week, games played and watched, and other behaviours. This study adds to the still limited body of academic segmentation studies on e-sports consumers, focusing on generation Z.
Keywords: market segmentation; e-sports players; e-sports motivation; buyer personas
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Claudia Brauer is Professor of Business and Management at the Management Center Innsbruck. For more than 20 years she has been researching in the areas of internet technologies and measuring the success of internet-based business models (web analytics, social media analytics and mobile analytics). In this context, she teaches at several national and international universities. In addition to her research activities, Claudia has gained extensive practical experience and advises various companies from different industries in the areas of performance measurement of internet-based activities and internet strategy development.
Kirstin Hallmann is a researcher at the Institute of Sport Economics and Sport Management, at the German Sport University Cologne. She is also Director of the university’s MSc Sport Management programme. Her main research fields are consumer behaviour in tourism, event and sport contexts (active and passive participation, volunteering), sport governance and destination competitiveness. Her work has been published in leading sport management and tourism journals.
Anita Zehrer is Head of the Family Business Center at MCI The Entrepreneurial School®, as well as Head of Research within the field of management and society. Her scholarly pursuits are characterised by a breadth of research interests, with a primary emphasis on the landscape of family business management and entrepreneurial behaviour in small and medium-sized enterprises. Dr Zehrer’s work has been published in various leading journals in the fields of business management and tourism.
