Reconceptualising corporate social responsibility in team-based esports: A conceptual framework

Esports has rapidly evolved into a global phenomenon, increasingly resembling team-based sport systems in its organisational structures, competitive dynamics, and stakeholder networks. Despite this development, corporate social responsibility (CSR) in esports remains underexamined and conceptually fragmented. This study reconceptualises CSR in esports by situating it within the broader context of team-based sports and their social, cultural, and organisational roles. Drawing on established CSR theory and esports research, the study develops a conceptual framework tailored to the distinct characteristics of esports as a digitally mediated form of team-based sport. The framework proposes six interrelated dimensions of responsibility: economic, player, public, youth, community, and environmental, capturing key challenges such as player well-being, youth engagement, digital community formation, public legitimacy, and the environmental implications of digital infrastructures. By positioning esports teams as socially embedded actors within digitally mediated sport ecosystems, this study extends CSR beyond traditional sport contexts and highlights how responsibility is reconfigured in emerging forms of team-based sport. More specifically, it complements recent ecosystem-level CSR/CDR research by shifting attention from broad stakeholder mapping to a team-centered and theoretically integrated conceptualisation of responsibility in esports. The framework contributes to CSR and team sports scholarship by demonstrating how established responsibility domains are reconfigured in digitally mediated team-based sport, particularly through changing responsibility boundaries surrounding players, youth, digital communities, public legitimacy, and technological infrastructures. While empirical validation is needed, the study establishes a foundation for future interdisciplinary research on CSR in esports.