The Influence of Flow and Competitiveness on Young Adult Non-Professional Gamers’ Attitude and Continued Play Intentions Toward eSports

Abstract

While the popularity of eSports continues to grow, academic research on the topic remains limited, particularly in the African context. To address this scholarly limitation, this study applied the stimulus-organism-response theory to determine the influence of flow and competitiveness on young adult non-professional gamers’ attitude and continued play intentions toward eSports in South Africa. Guided by the explanatory research design and using a single cross-sectional sample, an online questionnaire was used to collect data from 327 young adult non-professional gamers in South Africa. Data analysis included summary statistics and structural equation modeling. Summary statistics indicated that young adult non-professional gamers experience a sense of flow whilst playing eSports, that such gameplay ignites their sense of competitiveness, that they have a positive attitude toward eSports, and intend to continue playing eSports. The measurement model displayed robust reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, and acceptable model fit. Both flow and competitiveness had a positive statistically significant effect on young adult non-professional gamers’ attitude toward eSports, which in turn, had a positive statistically significant influence on their continued play intentions toward eSports. The study extends the application of the stimulus-organism-response theory to the under-researched context of eSports in a developing market.