Media and its social impact in the esports ecosystem – a review and future research agenda

Purpose – This paper aims to examine an important yet underexplored field – the role of media and its social impact in the esports ecosystem, by identifying critical research gaps and proposing a future research agenda to guide further inquiry. Design/methodology/approach – A systematic literature review (SLR), following preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, was conducted to select 30 papers on media’s social impact in esports ecosystem from Scopus and Web of Science databases, using defined inclusion-exclusion criteria. The analysis applied the social issues dimension of the “reconceptualized Carroll’s three-dimensional framework” (RCTD-Framework) – an esports Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)/Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR) framework, aiding in the identification of key patterns and emerging trends in the domain of “media and its social impact in the esports ecosystem”. Findings – Amid esports’ rapid growth into a global, technology-driven phenomenon, this study investigates the role of media and its social impact on stakeholders – players, viewers, developers, sponsors and organizers. This study uses the social issues dimension of the RCTD-Framework, focusing on elements of consumerism, environmental concerns, discrimination, product safety, occupational safety and shareholder interests. The findings reveal notable research gaps, including limited focus of media’s social impact in the esports ecosystem across dimensions of environmental concerns, occupational safety and shareholder interests, insufficient cross-cultural research, lack of strong theoretical foundation and uneven stakeholder coverage – with sponsors, developers and organizers receiving less focus than players and viewers, indicating critical areas for future research. Originality/value – This SLR examines the niche and underexplored area of media’s social impact in the esports ecosystem using the social issues dimension of the RCTD-Framework. It provides original insights, maps existing research and highlights key gaps to guide future studies at the intersection of media, CSR-CDR and esports.