New media, new possibilities? How esports strategies guide an ambidextrous understanding of tradition and innovation in the German Bundesliga

Abstract

Sport clubs are endowed with beliefs and practices that constitute their tradition. Conversely, there is a certain pressure to embrace innovation to win the race for tomorrow’s fans. Managing two inherently conflicting systems such as tradition and innovation can be seen as an ambidexterity challenge. Despite this, new media and esports change the access, perception, and consumption of traditional sport. We conduct a multiple case study to investigate how nine (out of 18) clubs from the German Bundesliga approach esports. The dynamic configuration model presented in this study showcases that hybrid clubs effectively overcome innovation inertia within their traditional environment. This research enriches our comprehension of the tradition-innovation paradox, emphasising that tradition and innovation are orthogonally aligned rather than opposed.