Development and validation of a scale for consumer beliefs about esports sponsorship

Purpose The current study aims to conceptualise belief dimensions about esports sponsorship and to develop a reliable and valid scale for measuring these beliefs. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on established theories and prior literature, the study first conceptualised a seven-dimensional belief framework. An initial item pool was developed and subjected to content validity, face validity and Q-sort test. Data were collected from 295 Korean esports consumers for exploratory factor analysis (EFA), followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with another sample of 315 respondents from the same population. Findings EFA supported seven belief dimensions: economic benefit, hedonism/pleasure, technological advancement, inclusivity, commercialism, annoyance/irritation and waste of money. CFA demonstrated satisfactory model fit, internal consistency, convergent validity and discriminant validity. As a result, a 42-item scale of beliefs about esports sponsorship was developed. Originality/value The study presents the first validated scale specifically tailored to measure beliefs about esports sponsorship. The scale provides researchers and practitioners with a robust tool to assess the consumer beliefs about esports sponsorship and lays a foundation for future research.