Sports digitalisation and gaming

Track 24

Track chairs

Daniel Westmattelmann

PHWT Vechta

University of Münster – Center for Management

Willem Standaert
HEC Liège – Management School of the University of Liège

Lily Haffner
University of Auckland Business School

Track description

The digitalisation of professional and recreational sports is a dynamic, rapidly expanding research domain within the IS field. This track investigates the dissolving boundaries between traditional physical sports, competitive gaming (esports), and newly emerging physical-digital hybrid or “virtual” sports. Leveraging advanced digital platforms, big data analytics, AI, blockchain, and XR technologies, sports are undergoing profound changes. While the physical component remains primordial in traditional sports, digital innovations are fundamentally redefining athletic performance, fan consumption, and value creation.

Recent developments highlight continued momentum at the intersection of sports and digitalisation. Driven by the “attention and attachment economy”, big tech and media companies are turning to sports for audience/fan engagement. Moreover, new sports formats like the Kings League for football are disrupting traditional business models by bridging physical play with streamer-led ecosystems, content creators, and gamified rules. Simultaneously, the institutionalisation of hybrid sports is unfolding, as exemplified by the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, which establishes these formats as recognised, new disciplines within traditional sports governing bodies. These hybrid sports shift conventional notions of competition, identity, and regulation.

This track aligns seamlessly with the ECIS 2027 theme “Bridging Digital Borders,” in particular in terms of how technology bridges the borders between physical and virtual realities (e.g., VR cycling, augmented stadiums), between traditional broadcasting and decentralised creator economies, across geographically dispersed fan communities, and between the need for international governing bodies and the reality of geo-political shifts. We invite theoretical and empirical research examining how diverse stakeholders, such as sports organisations, platform owners, athletes, fans, and entrepreneurs, leverage digital tools for improving sports performance, offering novel fan experiences, and enabling equitable governance structures.

The growing relevance of sports digitalisation is strongly reflected in the IS discipline’s premier outlets, offering excellent publishing opportunities in leading journals for authors in this track. Recent research addressing sports digitalization, esports, gaming, and hybrid sports has been published in top-tier IS journals. For instance, a recent JSIS paper provided an overview and research agenda on sports digitalisation and recent JMIS and EJIS issues have featured impactful work on algorithmic fairness in hybrid sports and the virtualisation of major sporting events. Furthermore, JBR, DSS, IT&P, ISF (and other journals) have published research on physical-digital hybrid frameworks, immersive fan engagement, digital innovation in refereeing and digital governance models. This track has served as a vital stepping stone for authors targeting these prestigious outlets.

Topics of interest

The institutionalisation of hybrid and virtual sports and their social and economic impact

Sports as key levers in the attention and attachment economies (e.g., Kings League)

Business model transformations: how digital revenue streams, streamers, and partnerships reshape sports organisations

AI-driven refereeing and anti-doping solutions: balancing fairness, data governance, and trust

Generative AI for training and content creation: opportunities and ethical concerns

Immersive fan engagement: AR, VR, or blockchain-based initiatives for sports communities

Data privacy, ownership, and interoperability: new standards for digital sports ecosystems

Sustainability, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and sports washing: social and ethical dimensions in virtual and hybrid sports

Digital Twins of athletes (based on markerless motion capture) for performance optimization, injury prevention, and competition judging

Hybrid sports bridging physical and digital contexts (e.g., VR cycling)

Measuring success: redefining performance metrics for eSports and hybrid sports

Skill vs. chance in digital ecosystems: Decision support systems and policy-making for gamified athletics and digital fantasy sports

By illuminating these developments, the track aims to foster a vibrant dialogue on digital transformation in sports, its deeper societal ramifications, and how we can envision responsible, inclusive, and forward-looking ecosystems for the future of global athletic competition.

Associate editors

Jonas Hedman
Copenhagen Business School

Felix Tan
University of New South Wales

Lucas Goebeler
University of Hamburg

Eeva Kettunen
University of Jyväskylä

Sven Laumer
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

Bram Janssens
Ghent University

Raghava Mukkamala
Copenhagen Business School

Karl Werder
IT University of Copenhagen

Joschka Hüllmann
University of Twente

Jonas Landgren
University of Gothenburg

Bill Rand
North Carolina State University

Christoph Buck
Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg

Anne Tjønndal
Nord University

Thibault Fouquaert
Ghent University

Xiao Xiao
Copenhagen Business School

Xiaobo Bob Ke
The Education University of Hong Kong