Digitalization of the Olympics and legitimacy of the Olympic virtual series: An environmental psychology perspective

IF 13.5 1区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS

Technological Forecasting and Social Change Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2026-01-22 DOI:10.1016/j.techfore.2026.124545

Jun-Phil Uhm , Kun Chang , Sanghoon Kim , Hyun-Woo Lee

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Abstract

Olympic virtual series made its inaugural debut as the first Olympic-licensed virtual sports, yet whether audiences will perceive them as legitimate official Olympic events is unknown. Drawing on the environmental psychology model and transportation theory, we examined the relationship between the audience's perceived virtual gaming atmosphere, sense of presence, positive emotions, and perceived legitimacy of the Olympic virtual series. 339 Olympic virtual series spectators were included in the analysis of a serial mediation model using PROCESS macro. The findings revealed that game atmosphere was a significant factor in establishing audiences' sense of presence, positive emotion, and perceived legitimacy. The mediation effects of presence and positive emotion on the relationship between the game atmosphere and perceived legitimacy were also significant. This study contributed to the media communication literature and provided useful practical implications for the International Olympic Committee regarding how to enhance spectators' Olympic digital experience.

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奥运数字化与奥运虚拟系列正当性：环境心理学视角

奥运会虚拟系列赛作为首个获得奥运会授权的虚拟体育项目首次亮相，但观众是否会将其视为合法的奥运会官方赛事尚不得而知。利用环境心理学模型和运输理论，我们研究了观众感知到的虚拟游戏氛围、存在感、积极情绪和感知到的奥运虚拟系列正当性之间的关系。采用PROCESS宏对339名奥运虚拟系列观众进行了系列中介模型分析。研究结果显示，游戏氛围是建立用户存在感、积极情绪和感知合法性的重要因素。在场和积极情绪在游戏氛围与正当性感知之间的中介作用也显著。本研究为媒体传播文献做出了贡献，并为国际奥委会如何提升观众的奥运数字体验提供了有益的实践启示。

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来源期刊

Technological Forecasting and Social Change Multiple-

CiteScore

21.30

自引率

10.80%

发文量

813

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