Esports development ecosystem: An application of a systems thinking literacy approach in Hong Kong

Abstract

Purpose: The present article attempts to apply Hong Kong into a comprehensive framework - esports development ecosystem, examining the development of the Hong Kong esports industry and to raise recommendations for policymakers seeking to facilitate the esports industry in Hong Kong. Accordingly, a systems thinking literacy approach emphasizing multiple perspectives, a dynamic feedback process, and a big picture mindset was adopted to depict the esports development ecosystem. Theoretical Background and Literature Review: Referring to the article from Reitman (2020), contemporary esports research has been developed across seven academic disciplines, including business, sports science, cognitive science, informatics, law, media studies, and sociology. As to psychology perspective, research has mostly focused on the identity of esports players, psychological characteristics of esports players, reasons for watching esports, and cognitive and neuropsychological differences between novices and professional players (García-Lanzo, & Chamarro, 2018). Esports research in informatics collects and combines from a wide variety of data sources, such as usergenerated play data and text mining with observations to have a further analysis (El-Nasr et al., 2013). Much of the work in media studies has focused on relationships between esports, sports, and media, and the practice of live streaming gameplay (Burroughs & Rama, 2015). In addition, the sociology has explored questions around gender issues (E.g., the roles of women in esports), live esports events and the interactions between audience and gameplay (Taylor & Witkowski, 2010). With the development of the esports industry, the esports industry has 54 evolved into a complex ecosystem, which involves consumers, players, and other stakeholders and extends a series of legal problems, such as copyright protection issues, gambling regulation which have emerged and aroused researchers’ interest (Kelly & Sigmon, 2018). Design/methodology/approach: Literature review concerning journal papers and government reports was conducted. Keyword search covering “esports”, “games” and “electronic games” was conducted via databases, including Proquest, EBESCO and PsychoLit. Findings: By applying a systems thinking literacy approach, the ecosystem framework considered the interactions between the different levels of six macro systems: the technological system, education system, social system, policy and legal system, nongovernmental organisations system, and economic system (specifically, the esports industry). Discussion: Hong Kong has a competitive advantage in information and communications technology infrastructure and a strong potential market for esports, but needs to improve the social image of esports, to implement policies to support the industry, to strengthen the education system, and to address a series of industry issues