Course Syllabus for students Autumn 2024

On completion of the course, the students will be able to:

1. Understand the context and culture of esports as a hybrid of online and offline engagement.
2. Develop their knowledge of business & media practices within an innovative environment rooted in digitally such as content creation, co-created experiences and event management.

3. Discuss and analyze the business & communication practices within esports.
4. Integrate digital practices from esports into other relevant contexts.

5. Evaluate management and marketing within esports.
6. Analyze and reflect on digital media content and practice at the intersections of culture, media, sports and entertainment

This course is about competitive video gaming (esports) and the wider media sphere it operates in. Gaming is the world’s largest entertainment industry and esports is a big part of its continued growth with an audience exceeding 600 million. Jönköping as the ‘City of DreamHack’ represents one of the most iconic places in esports and gaming worldwide, with the world’s largest digital festival, DreamHack, happening twice a year here. Esports represents a blend of culture, sport, gaming and entertainment that is rooted in digitality yet with a growing influence in the physical world. It influences the modern society and business sphere, as it innovates via passionate communities and forward-thinking companies. These digital innovations are increasingly adopted and leveraged by stakeholders within education, sports, culture and entertainment resulting in impact on the wider society. Within this course students will develop an overview of the esports industry and the management and marketing practices within. The course will be held on campus but with online session where students can engage and learn with professionals from the industry. This course will benefit those considering a career within the areas of esports and gaming but also adds value for those who wish to enhance their knowledge of modern digital practices. Students will deepen their understanding of digital practices, communities and innovations that have relevance across a broad range of career paths.


Connection to Research and Practice
Jönköping is the City of DreamHack, the world’s biggest digital festival with an emphasis on gaming and esports. The Esports Research Network (ERN) is the world’s largest research network on the context with over 400 members and an annual conference. The Network was founded and is led by a current JIBS academic who also does research in the area including published works on the esports actors in the city. There are a host of projects in games and esports currently underway, under review or have been published. These include topics such as; entrepreneurship, sustainability, legitimacy & organization studies, marketing, management, regional studies, festivals & events, game development, play experiences and society. The academic is also an associate editor at the Journal of Electronic Gaming and Esports and on the editorial board for the International Journal of Esports Research. The academic also hosts an ongoing podcast, the Esports Research Report which talks to researchers and practitioners on a variety of subjects relevant to the course. The academic currently has ongoing working relationships a large number of stakeholders in the context. These include large multinational companies (RIOT games & ESL Faceit Group (EFG)), international nonprofit organizations (Queer Esports & International Federation of Esports Coaches), Swedish nonprofits (Swedish Esports Federation, Female Legends, Esport United) and international teams and franchises including Sweden’s largest brand (Ninjas in Pajamas). Further relationships include the game development industry itself such as the Arctic Game Lab and International Game Developers Association of Sweden. In November 2022, the academic will chair a large international conference on ‘Sustainable Esports in the Digital Society’ on behalf of ERN working closely with EFG, DreamHack, Destination Jönköping and Jönköping kommun. The academic also works with Jönköping University Student Team in Esports (JUSTICE) and has secured a space in science park with nonprofit Phoenix Blue, the Jönköping Esports Centre. This includes space for esports play and a broadcasting studio where elements of production can be experienced.

The course will take place in a combination of on campus teaching and workshops plus online sessions to allow students to engage with international professionals and academics who operate within esports. For examination Students will engage in projects that link theory to practice and allow them to develop real world skills applicable outside the context of esports. The course will also operate in some parts as a flipped classroom with students delivering content as assessment.

The teaching is conducted in English.

General entry requirements and passed courses of 30 credits in Business Administration and/or Economics including 15 credits in Business Administration (or the equivalent).

The course is graded A, B, C, D, E, FX or F.

Individual Project (ILOs: 1, 2, 3, 6) representing 4,5 credits.
Group assignment (ILOs: 4, 5, 6), representing 3 credits.

Name of the Test	Value	Grading
Individual Project1	4.5 credits	A/B/C/D/E/FX/F
Group assignment1	3 credits	A/B/C/D/E/FX/F

¹ All parts of compulsory examination in the course must be passed with a passing grade (A-E) before a final grade can be set. The final grade of the course is determined by the sum total of points for all parts of examination in the course (0-100 points). Grade is set in accordance with JIBS grading policy.

It is the responsibility of the examiner to ensure that each course is evaluated. At the outset of the course, the programme evaluators in the course must be contacted. In the middle of the Itcourse, the examiner should meet the programme evaluators to identify strengths/weaknesses in the first half of the course.
At the end of the course, the examiner should remind students to fill in the survey. The examiner should also call a meeting with the programme evaluators to debrief the course, based on course evaluation data and comments. The next time the course runs, students should be informed of any measures taken to improve the course based on the previous course evaluations.

At the end of each study period, JIBS’ Director of Quality and Accreditation crafts a “Course Evaluation Quarter Report”, presenting the quantitative results from course evaluation surveys. The Associate Dean of Education, The Associate Deans of Faculty, Programme Directors, and JSA President and Quality receive the report.

Academic integrity
JIBS students are expected to maintain a strong academic integrity. This implies to behave within the boundaries of academic rules and expectations relating to all types of teaching and examination.

Copying someone else’s work is a particularly serious offence and can lead to disciplinary action. When you copy someone else’s work, you are plagiarizing. You must not copy sections of work (such as paragraphs, diagrams, tables and words) from any other person, including another student or any other author. Cutting and pasting is a clear example of plagiarism. There is a workshop and online resources to assist you in not plagiarizing called the Interactive Anti-Plagiarism Guide.

Other forms of breaking academic integrity include (but are not limited to) adding your name to a project you did not work on (or allowing someone to add their name), cheating on an examination, helping other students to cheat and submitting other students work as your own, and using non-allowed electronic equipment during an examination. All of these make you liable to disciplinary action.

Hedlund, D., Fried, G., & Smith, R. (Eds.). (2020). Esports business management. Human Kinetics Publishers.

A list of relevant academic articles will be supplied at the course introduction.