- 期刊
- Ahead-of-Print
「能力」與「熱愛」：電競職業選手自我身份之建構歷程
Ability and passion: The self-identity construction of professional esports players
摘要
緒論：2022年中國電競產業的總體市場規模約為1579億元人民幣，用戶規模首次突破5億人。作為電競領域的核心群體，職業選手既享受著電子競技的發展紅利，亦面臨著來自社會大眾的認知偏差。學界對電競職業選手的既有研究成果多是以外部角度呈現從業特點和外部形象，鮮有從內部角度解讀其在從業過程中對自我身份的建構及潛在的特殊意義。方法：本研究依循建構型紮根理論的方法論引導，選取8名電競職業選手進行一對一的半結構式訪談來收集質性資料。轉謄完成的訪談逐字稿，經由初始編碼、聚焦編碼和理論抽樣三個分析環節，完成理論建構，並借助不斷比較、同儕討論、自我反思等方法提升研究的信實度。結果：電競職業選手對自我身份的建構是一個歷時性、流動性的過程，經歷了早期過渡、核心發展和消退重構三個階段。經由進一步分析後發現，「能力」與「熱愛」兩個要素的階段性變化是串聯電競職業選手自我身份建構的關鍵線索。結論：本研究對電競職業選手這一新興群體的自我身份建構進行理論化解釋，在一定程度上豐富了體育學領域的身份認同研究。此外，電競職業選手面臨的高職業風險和身份挑戰、身處不同電競項目中的職業選手狀態，以及電競產業中的性別議題，均為未來研究留下了探索空間。
並列摘要
Introduction: The market value of Chinese esports industry reached 157.9 billion yuan ($22.2 billon, approx.) in 2022, and the esports users exceeded 500 million for the first time. Professional esports players not only attract great attention from the fans and market and enjoy remarkable development in the rapidly burgeoning Chinese esports industry, but also face misunderstandings from the public and consequently suffer from the identity tension and challenges. In the field of sports sciences, despite a great number of current studies that focus on personal characteristics, career development, and media portrayal of professional esports players, there is limited investigation of the self-identity construction with data collected through interviews with professional esports players per se. Methods: Drawing on the constructivist grounded theory, this study examines qualitative materials collected through eight one-to-one semi-structured interviews with professional esports players. All interviews have been recorded and transcribed into verbatim. The analytical process is composed of initial coding, focused coding, and theoretical sampling. Meanwhile, the technique of constant comparisons, peer debriefing, and reflexivity are also employed in order to enhance the trustworthiness of this study. Results: The self-identity construction of professional esports players in China is a diachronic and fluid process, going through three main stages, which are "the early-transitional stage", "the core-developmental stage", and "the slumping stage". Moreover, the phased variations of "ability" and "passion" are recognized and identified as two key factors for the self-identity construction of Chinese professional esports players throughout their career. Conclusion: This study provides a theoretical explanation for the self-identity construction of professional esports players within the Chinese context and, to a certain degree, enriches the identity research in sports. It is also revealed in this study that professional esports players are confronting with high career risks and identity challenges. Future research is suggested to examine the relationship between the identity construction of professional esports players and the types of games that they play and/or the gender to which they commit.