The deployment of professional football clubs’ eSports strategies: a dynamic capabilities approach

Research question: There is currently poor understanding of howprofessional football brands can take advantage of eSportsactivities. Therefore, drawing on sense-seize-transform model ofdynamic capabilities (DC), the purpose of this study is to analysehow eSports divisions can be deployed.Research methods: Based on a qualitative approach, a thematicanalysis was conducted of semi-structured interviews withmanagers responsible for eSports activities with 28 professionalclubs from 24 countries.Results and findings: The results identify the specific DCs, internal(i.e. microfoundations) and external factors which enable thedeployment of eSports strategies. They also describe theoutcomes for each step of the deployment process, i.e. (1) thestrategic objectives resulting from the sensing step, (2) thestrategic choices made by clubs to seize eSports opportunities,and (3) the creation of new sources of value. Hence, thesefindings lead to the building of a preliminary model ofprofessional football clubs’ involvement in eSports.Implications: Several implications are outlined, including the needfor eSports’ managers to characterize more precisely their strategicobjectives, to adequately select and allocate their resources –notably eSports players – and to better integrate eSports in thecore value chain of the club