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Netizens' behavior towards a blockchain-based esports framework: a TPB and machine learning integrated approach

Jitendra Yadav (Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Information Technology Allahabad, Allahabad, India)
Madhvendra Misra (Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Information Technology Allahabad, Allahabad, India)
Nripendra P. Rana (Department of Management and Marketing, College of Business and Economics, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar)
Kuldeep Singh (Department of Commerce, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Guntur, India)
Sam Goundar (RMIT University, Hanoi, Vietnam)

International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship

ISSN: 1464-6668

Article publication date: 7 December 2021

Issue publication date: 19 August 2022

714

Abstract

Purpose

Based on the concepts confined in Ajzen's theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study investigates users' attitudes towards adoption of a blockchain-based framework in the esports industry that proposes a scheme of rewarding stakeholders for their invested attention along with blockchain technology's inherent protocols.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study uses RStudio (Version 1.3.1093) package RedditExtractoR for scraping and analysis of the discussion referring to the keyword “Verasity” on the Reddit website. The final corpus of 1,913 user comments was considered for the study. Sentiment analysis was initially conducted to explore the semantic orientation of the users concerning Verasity. This was followed by generalized equation modeling to analyze the impact of social media attributed to the users' commenting behavior.

Findings

The study found that Redditors, in general, have a positive attitude towards the adoption of a blockchain-based esports platform. This was validated through the empirical findings. The regression model states that there is a significant positive impact of the positivity in the comments over the Redditors' attitude and in their commenting behavior.

Originality/value

This study offers a new understanding of key contributing attributes of sentiment formation over social media concerning a blockchain-based esports framework. The study also establishes an empirical relationship between the social media attributes and the commenting behavior of Redditors. Finally, the current study offers valuable insights into social media engagements and the selection of highly influential Redditors for practicing marketing managers.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The first author is thankful to Ministry of Education, Government of India for providing the financial assistance.

Citation

Yadav, J., Misra, M., Rana, N.P., Singh, K. and Goundar, S. (2022), "Netizens' behavior towards a blockchain-based esports framework: a TPB and machine learning integrated approach", International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 665-683. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-06-2021-0130

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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