Examining the Role of Implicit Self-Theories in Celebrity Meaning Transfer toward eSports: An Abstract

Electronic sports (eSports) have enjoyed a giant leap in the entertainment industry. However, eSports have faced negative images after the effort to become categorized under sport. Currently, they do not have a fixed identity due to a marginal appeal as a sport product. This study aims to explore if an athlete celebrity can transfer meaning to a sport organization (eSports) in which the brand personality is less established and examine if the debate of eSport being a sport can be eased by using traditional sport spokesperson's expertise. To do this, we will conduct an in-depth review of the literature and an experiment to identify if potential factors (i.e., implicit self-theory and celebrity meaning transfer) affect the meaning transfer. Furthermore, how these transferred meanings influence consumer behaviors (attendance intent, merchandise purchase intent, perceived athleticism, brand attitude, and brand image) will be examined.

Based on the literature review and proposed hypotheses, we expected a more substantial meaning transfer from the celebrity condition than a non-celebrity condition. Also, we anticipated the moderating effect of an individual’s implicit self-theory. Participants who were manipulated to be an entity theorist will be more affected by the celebrities, compared to the incremental theorists, due to their urge to signal their positive attributes (Dweck and Leggett 1988; Elliott and Dweck 1988). This is due to the assumption that individuals have an urge to enhance self and consume positive brands to construct self-perceptions by identifying and attaching oneself to the brand. In this study, we have hypothesized that human brands with desirable personalities can also be used as a brand to attach oneself to, and entity theorists will see celebrities as a chance to signal their positive qualities, acting more favorably to celebrities (Carlson and Donovan 2013; McCracken 1989; Thomson 2006).

This study will add to the meaning transfer model (McCracken 1989) by identifying which meanings transfer to organizations depending on the celebrity meanings. We anticipate that our findings will extend knowledge in the celebrity endorsement literature and the meaning transfer model. Also, this study will extend the literature in celebrity endorsement to sport settings, specifically in eSports. Further, practitioners will benefit from the findings from the moderating effects of implicit self-theories.

The current study creates a new line of sponsorship and celebrity research in eSports. As eSports are in a developing phase, celebrity endorsements and sponsorship studies have not been widely discussed (Reitman et al. 2019). However, this study will be able to provide evidence of the importance of sponsorship opportunities in eSports.