Bruno Duarte Abreu Freitas | Universitat de Vic (original) (raw)

Journal articles by Bruno Duarte Abreu Freitas

International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 2019

Book chapters by Bruno Duarte Abreu Freitas

eSports Yearbook 2017/18, 2019

Conference papers by Bruno Duarte Abreu Freitas

Videogame Sciences and Arts 12th International Conference, VJ 2020 Mirandela, Portugal, November 26–28, 2020

Esports fans have been known for being heavy consumers of competitive gaming content and for bein... more Esports fans have been known for being heavy consumers of competitive gaming content and for being digital natives who love to comment about esports on numerous social platforms. This has attracted various sponsors interested in capitalizing in this social buzz. However, there have been signs that this high vocality can in fact heavily damage several sponsors. Hence, this research aimed to determine if esports fans' high vocality is a benefit and/or a risk to these sponsors. To achieve this, we adopted a qualitative exploratory design to interview, via digital platforms, 10 esports sponsorship experts. In total, we interviewed two endemic and three non-endemic esports sponsors and five marketing agencies with experience in esports sponsorships. They were sampled via a nonprobability purposive heterogeneous method and were reached via the companies' website contact sections. Data were analyzed with the assistance of NVivo 10. The overall results showed that all experts agreed that this high vocality can both benefit and damage esports sponsors. The uniformity in the answers showed that this element is not a greater benefit or risk to a particular type of esports sponsor. Ergo we considered that the high vocality of esports fans is a double-edged sword. This study is necessary because, despite esports' massive growth, this field has received scant scientific attention, with the specific areas of esports marketing and esports sponsorships being even more severely overlooked. Besides, from a business standpoint, the findings are highly significant for every sponsor looking to better comprehend esports and its fanbase.

Creative Industries Global Conference: Libro de Actas/Proceeding Book, 2018

Book of Abstracts of the IX Postgraduate Conference ESGHT / ISCAL 2018, 2018

Livro de Atas/Book of Proceedings: IX Postgraduate Conference ESGHT/ISCAL 2018, 2019

Nota de apresentação Filipa PERDIGÃO RIBEIRO | Sandra REBELO 5 1. Gestão corporativa no século XV... more Nota de apresentação Filipa PERDIGÃO RIBEIRO | Sandra REBELO 5 1. Gestão corporativa no século XVIII: o caso da Companhia Geral de Comércio de Pernambuco e Paraíba Álvaro PEREIRA DE ANDRADE 7 2. Desenvolvimento de competências gerais e específicas em ambiente académico: um estudo em cursos de Contabilidade do 1.º ciclo do ensino superior português Alexandra DOMINGOS / Manuela SARMENTO / Manuela DUARTE 13 3. Os benefícios, riscos e estratégias do patrocínio de eSports ABSTRACT This study, based on the management model of Companhia General de Comércio de Pernambuco e Paraíba -CGCPP, created in 1759, revealed the existence of sophisticated internal control systems, which generated monthly accounting reports for the monitoring of the Company's operations. The management policies adopted showed practices of corporate governance, similar to the current ones, focused on ethics and transparency, devoted to the security of shareholders and to the well-being of captaincies.

Conference Presentations by Bruno Duarte Abreu Freitas

Creative Industries Global Conference (CIGC) 2017, 2017

2nd International Conference of Tourism and Creative Industries Academic Association (TOCRIA), 2018

IX Postgraduate Conference ESGHT & ISCAL 2018, 2018

Seminar Presentations by Bruno Duarte Abreu Freitas

Theses and Dissertations by Bruno Duarte Abreu Freitas

Papers by Bruno Duarte Abreu Freitas

Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2022

Resumen The aim of the research was to provide theoretical and empirical data on the weight that ... more Resumen The aim of the research was to provide theoretical and empirical data on the weight that cultural events organized by hotels have in the selection of the establishment. A qualitative exploratory methodology focused on a single point in time and in a non-artificial scenario was adopted. The elements of the investigation were the individual and the organization and the sampling method was the voluntary and non-probabilistic. The data collection was performed through face-to-face interviews with questionnaires serving as guides. Although the cultural events organized by hotels did not appear as a selection factor of the establishments, these events were attended by a considerable percentage of clients, who were influenced by marketing communications located inside the establishments. The study was limited by the data collection period, by the authors' lack of consensus on the subject and little research on the topic. El objetivo de la investigación fue proporcionar datos te...

Journal of Contemporary Marketing Science, 2021

PurposeThis research aims to identify how important it is that brands incorporate relevant-added ... more PurposeThis research aims to identify how important it is that brands incorporate relevant-added value into their esports sponsorships.Design/methodology/approachThis exploratory research applied a convergent-parallel mixed method with equal status. Data were collected by interviewing 22 experts in esports sponsorships and having 5,638 esports fans fill out an online survey. SPSS 25 was used to analyze quantitative data and NVIVO 10 to process qualitative data. Each dataset was analyzed separately and then compared with both having the same level of importance.FindingsThe results revealed that all experts considered the creation of relevant-added value as an essential strategy for successful esports sponsorships and the large majority of fans want sponsors to apply this tactic. Interestingly, while the experts mostly emphasized ways to directly benefit the fan-base, the fans prefer that sponsors focus on directly supporting the esports industry.Practical implicationsBrands should in...

This research aimed to provide theoretical and empirical data on the weight that cultural events ... more This research aimed to provide theoretical and empirical data on the weight that cultural events conducted by hotel units have in the selection of the establishment, as well as to determine the most influential source to attend them and their ability to meet customer's expectations. A qualitative exploratory methodology focused on a time horizon of cross-sectional studies and in a non-artificial study scenario was adopted. The sample consisted of 2229 clients and six directors of eight hotel units, that conducted cultural events, located on the island of Madeira (Portugal), thus making this research a multiple case study. The elements of the investigation were the individual and the organization and the sampling method was the voluntary and non-probabilistic. The data collection lasted 76 days and was performed through face-to-face interviews with questionnaires serving as guides. The data revealed that, although the cultural events conducted by hotel units did not appear as a selection factor of the establishments, these events were attended by a considerable percentage of clients, who were influenced by marketing communications carried out within the establishments, in which the clients participated in a passive manner, had their expectations met, talked about the events personally with other people and felt valued for opining in questionnaires related to the events. The value of this research is centred in the fact that the verified high attendance, satisfaction and information sharing by the clients about the cultural events have demonstrated that these events have a place in the hotel units, being also that they set themselves apart by being more influential through marketing communications than by recommendations from other customers.

Scientific Annals of Economics and Business, 2020

This research aimed to identify how esports sponsorships affect the sponsors' brand image. An exp... more This research aimed to identify how esports sponsorships affect the sponsors' brand image. An exploratory focus was adopted along with a convergent-parallel mixed method with equal status. Twenty-two experts in esports sponsorships were interviewed and 5,638 esports fans were surveyed. Quantitative data was processed on SPSS 25 and qualitative data on NVivo 10. The two data sets were analysed separately from one another, but the results were interpreted together and given the same level of importance. The results showed that all experts believe that sponsoring esports can positively affect the sponsors' brand image and roughly one-third of fans perceive more positively a small number of brands as a result of them sponsoring esports. This image improvement is, however, dependent on multiple variables, including activation strategy, brand type, and target audience. The findings are relevant for academics and companies looking to better understand the brand image effects of sponsoring esports.

Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2019

The purpose of this research was to identify the main motives that contribute to society’s negati... more The purpose of this research was to identify the main motives that contribute to society’s negative view of videogames and that present a risk to the eSports sponsors’ image. To achieve this, an exploratory, qualitative, and integrative literature review was conducted. According to the theoretical data, there are four main reasons why society has a negative perception of videogames. It is commonly believed that: (1) gaming is an unproductive activity, (2) violent videogames incite aggressive behaviors, (3) videogames lead to gaming-addiction, and (4) eSports lead to eSports-related gambling addiction. However, while the literature presents convincing evidence that gaming can create addiction and that eSports can promote gambling addiction, there is no conclusive evidence to assume that violent videogames lead to aggressiveness and there is evidence showing that playing videogames can be a productive activity. Nevertheless, these four beliefs are a threat to the eSports sponsors’ image and may lead them to cancel their existing sponsorships or lead other brands to not want to sponsor eSports to prevent being associated with these negative notions. This research will help expand the minor literature on eSports sponsorships and advance the knowledge of why some eSports sponsorships are terminated and why some brands may be reluctant to sponsor eSports.

Transnational Marketing Journal, 2021

This research aimed to determine if disreputable behaviour in esports is a threat to its sponsors... more This research aimed to determine if disreputable behaviour in esports is a threat to its sponsors. An exploratory design and a convergent-parallel mixed method with equal status were used. Esports sponsorship experts (N = 22) were interviewed via digital platforms and esports fans (N = 5,638) filled an online survey. Qualitative data was processed on NVivo 10 and quantitative on SPSS 25. The results showed that most experts consider disreputable behaviour as a threat to esports sponsors and roughly one-third of fans have developed negative feelings towards esports sponsors due to disreputable behaviour. The most brand-image threatening types of behaviours are corruption, illegal and unregulated gambling, and toxicity. Despite esports’ rapid growth, the field of esports sponsorships has received poor academic attention. Moreover, the findings are relevant for existing and potential sponsors wishing to understand how esports’ disreputable behaviour can damage their brands and how to p...

Comunicação pública, 2020

Este estudo procurou identificar os pros e os contras do patrocinio de eSports e as taticas para ... more Este estudo procurou identificar os pros e os contras do patrocinio de eSports e as taticas para os maximizar e os mitigar, respetivamente. Foi usado um metodo exploratorio focado numa revisao integrativa da literatura. Os elementos mais atrativos sao o aumento do reconhecimento, da imagem e das vendas e a alta aceitacao de patrocinios e boa relacao custo-beneficio. Assim, as marcas devem patrocinar jogadores e torneios profissionais, realizar in-game branding e criar valor adicional relevante o mais rapido possivel. Os elementos de maior risco sao o comportamento desonroso, a influencia negativa dos media, a infância do setor, a vida curta dos videojogos, os investimentos a longo prazo, o baixo desempenho e a baixa visibilidade. Portanto, as marcas devem sincronizar-se com o publico, punir comportamentos desonrosos, promover a aceitacao dos videojogos, estudar o mercado e comprometer-se a longo prazo.

International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 2019

Purpose This paper aims to determine how important cultural events organized by hotels are when g... more Purpose This paper aims to determine how important cultural events organized by hotels are when guests select the establishment, determine the most influential source to attract customers to the hotels’ cultural events and measure their ability to meet guests’ expectations. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative exploratory methodology was adopted. Data collection was performed through voluntary and non-probabilistic face-to-face interviews to 2,229 guests and six directors from eight hotels that organize cultural events. Findings The data revealed that, although cultural events organized by hotels were not a selection factor, these were attended by the majority of guests, who felt valued for being asked for feedback by the hotels and were more influenced by marketing communications within the establishments than by word-of-mouth. Originality/value Contrary to cultural events organized by local authorities, cultural events organized by hotels have received little to no academic a...

International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 2019

Videogame Sciences and Arts 12th International Conference, VJ 2020 Mirandela, Portugal, November 26–28, 2020

Esports fans have been known for being heavy consumers of competitive gaming content and for bein... more Esports fans have been known for being heavy consumers of competitive gaming content and for being digital natives who love to comment about esports on numerous social platforms. This has attracted various sponsors interested in capitalizing in this social buzz. However, there have been signs that this high vocality can in fact heavily damage several sponsors. Hence, this research aimed to determine if esports fans' high vocality is a benefit and/or a risk to these sponsors. To achieve this, we adopted a qualitative exploratory design to interview, via digital platforms, 10 esports sponsorship experts. In total, we interviewed two endemic and three non-endemic esports sponsors and five marketing agencies with experience in esports sponsorships. They were sampled via a nonprobability purposive heterogeneous method and were reached via the companies' website contact sections. Data were analyzed with the assistance of NVivo 10. The overall results showed that all experts agreed that this high vocality can both benefit and damage esports sponsors. The uniformity in the answers showed that this element is not a greater benefit or risk to a particular type of esports sponsor. Ergo we considered that the high vocality of esports fans is a double-edged sword. This study is necessary because, despite esports' massive growth, this field has received scant scientific attention, with the specific areas of esports marketing and esports sponsorships being even more severely overlooked. Besides, from a business standpoint, the findings are highly significant for every sponsor looking to better comprehend esports and its fanbase.

Creative Industries Global Conference: Libro de Actas/Proceeding Book, 2018

Book of Abstracts of the IX Postgraduate Conference ESGHT / ISCAL 2018, 2018

Livro de Atas/Book of Proceedings: IX Postgraduate Conference ESGHT/ISCAL 2018, 2019

Nota de apresentação Filipa PERDIGÃO RIBEIRO | Sandra REBELO 5 1. Gestão corporativa no século XV... more Nota de apresentação Filipa PERDIGÃO RIBEIRO | Sandra REBELO 5 1. Gestão corporativa no século XVIII: o caso da Companhia Geral de Comércio de Pernambuco e Paraíba Álvaro PEREIRA DE ANDRADE 7 2. Desenvolvimento de competências gerais e específicas em ambiente académico: um estudo em cursos de Contabilidade do 1.º ciclo do ensino superior português Alexandra DOMINGOS / Manuela SARMENTO / Manuela DUARTE 13 3. Os benefícios, riscos e estratégias do patrocínio de eSports ABSTRACT This study, based on the management model of Companhia General de Comércio de Pernambuco e Paraíba -CGCPP, created in 1759, revealed the existence of sophisticated internal control systems, which generated monthly accounting reports for the monitoring of the Company's operations. The management policies adopted showed practices of corporate governance, similar to the current ones, focused on ethics and transparency, devoted to the security of shareholders and to the well-being of captaincies.

Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2022

Resumen The aim of the research was to provide theoretical and empirical data on the weight that ... more Resumen The aim of the research was to provide theoretical and empirical data on the weight that cultural events organized by hotels have in the selection of the establishment. A qualitative exploratory methodology focused on a single point in time and in a non-artificial scenario was adopted. The elements of the investigation were the individual and the organization and the sampling method was the voluntary and non-probabilistic. The data collection was performed through face-to-face interviews with questionnaires serving as guides. Although the cultural events organized by hotels did not appear as a selection factor of the establishments, these events were attended by a considerable percentage of clients, who were influenced by marketing communications located inside the establishments. The study was limited by the data collection period, by the authors' lack of consensus on the subject and little research on the topic. El objetivo de la investigación fue proporcionar datos te...

Journal of Contemporary Marketing Science, 2021

PurposeThis research aims to identify how important it is that brands incorporate relevant-added ... more PurposeThis research aims to identify how important it is that brands incorporate relevant-added value into their esports sponsorships.Design/methodology/approachThis exploratory research applied a convergent-parallel mixed method with equal status. Data were collected by interviewing 22 experts in esports sponsorships and having 5,638 esports fans fill out an online survey. SPSS 25 was used to analyze quantitative data and NVIVO 10 to process qualitative data. Each dataset was analyzed separately and then compared with both having the same level of importance.FindingsThe results revealed that all experts considered the creation of relevant-added value as an essential strategy for successful esports sponsorships and the large majority of fans want sponsors to apply this tactic. Interestingly, while the experts mostly emphasized ways to directly benefit the fan-base, the fans prefer that sponsors focus on directly supporting the esports industry.Practical implicationsBrands should in...

This research aimed to provide theoretical and empirical data on the weight that cultural events ... more This research aimed to provide theoretical and empirical data on the weight that cultural events conducted by hotel units have in the selection of the establishment, as well as to determine the most influential source to attend them and their ability to meet customer's expectations. A qualitative exploratory methodology focused on a time horizon of cross-sectional studies and in a non-artificial study scenario was adopted. The sample consisted of 2229 clients and six directors of eight hotel units, that conducted cultural events, located on the island of Madeira (Portugal), thus making this research a multiple case study. The elements of the investigation were the individual and the organization and the sampling method was the voluntary and non-probabilistic. The data collection lasted 76 days and was performed through face-to-face interviews with questionnaires serving as guides. The data revealed that, although the cultural events conducted by hotel units did not appear as a selection factor of the establishments, these events were attended by a considerable percentage of clients, who were influenced by marketing communications carried out within the establishments, in which the clients participated in a passive manner, had their expectations met, talked about the events personally with other people and felt valued for opining in questionnaires related to the events. The value of this research is centred in the fact that the verified high attendance, satisfaction and information sharing by the clients about the cultural events have demonstrated that these events have a place in the hotel units, being also that they set themselves apart by being more influential through marketing communications than by recommendations from other customers.

Scientific Annals of Economics and Business, 2020

This research aimed to identify how esports sponsorships affect the sponsors' brand image. An exp... more This research aimed to identify how esports sponsorships affect the sponsors' brand image. An exploratory focus was adopted along with a convergent-parallel mixed method with equal status. Twenty-two experts in esports sponsorships were interviewed and 5,638 esports fans were surveyed. Quantitative data was processed on SPSS 25 and qualitative data on NVivo 10. The two data sets were analysed separately from one another, but the results were interpreted together and given the same level of importance. The results showed that all experts believe that sponsoring esports can positively affect the sponsors' brand image and roughly one-third of fans perceive more positively a small number of brands as a result of them sponsoring esports. This image improvement is, however, dependent on multiple variables, including activation strategy, brand type, and target audience. The findings are relevant for academics and companies looking to better understand the brand image effects of sponsoring esports.

Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2019

The purpose of this research was to identify the main motives that contribute to society’s negati... more The purpose of this research was to identify the main motives that contribute to society’s negative view of videogames and that present a risk to the eSports sponsors’ image. To achieve this, an exploratory, qualitative, and integrative literature review was conducted. According to the theoretical data, there are four main reasons why society has a negative perception of videogames. It is commonly believed that: (1) gaming is an unproductive activity, (2) violent videogames incite aggressive behaviors, (3) videogames lead to gaming-addiction, and (4) eSports lead to eSports-related gambling addiction. However, while the literature presents convincing evidence that gaming can create addiction and that eSports can promote gambling addiction, there is no conclusive evidence to assume that violent videogames lead to aggressiveness and there is evidence showing that playing videogames can be a productive activity. Nevertheless, these four beliefs are a threat to the eSports sponsors’ image and may lead them to cancel their existing sponsorships or lead other brands to not want to sponsor eSports to prevent being associated with these negative notions. This research will help expand the minor literature on eSports sponsorships and advance the knowledge of why some eSports sponsorships are terminated and why some brands may be reluctant to sponsor eSports.

Transnational Marketing Journal, 2021

This research aimed to determine if disreputable behaviour in esports is a threat to its sponsors... more This research aimed to determine if disreputable behaviour in esports is a threat to its sponsors. An exploratory design and a convergent-parallel mixed method with equal status were used. Esports sponsorship experts (N = 22) were interviewed via digital platforms and esports fans (N = 5,638) filled an online survey. Qualitative data was processed on NVivo 10 and quantitative on SPSS 25. The results showed that most experts consider disreputable behaviour as a threat to esports sponsors and roughly one-third of fans have developed negative feelings towards esports sponsors due to disreputable behaviour. The most brand-image threatening types of behaviours are corruption, illegal and unregulated gambling, and toxicity. Despite esports’ rapid growth, the field of esports sponsorships has received poor academic attention. Moreover, the findings are relevant for existing and potential sponsors wishing to understand how esports’ disreputable behaviour can damage their brands and how to p...

Comunicação pública, 2020

Este estudo procurou identificar os pros e os contras do patrocinio de eSports e as taticas para ... more Este estudo procurou identificar os pros e os contras do patrocinio de eSports e as taticas para os maximizar e os mitigar, respetivamente. Foi usado um metodo exploratorio focado numa revisao integrativa da literatura. Os elementos mais atrativos sao o aumento do reconhecimento, da imagem e das vendas e a alta aceitacao de patrocinios e boa relacao custo-beneficio. Assim, as marcas devem patrocinar jogadores e torneios profissionais, realizar in-game branding e criar valor adicional relevante o mais rapido possivel. Os elementos de maior risco sao o comportamento desonroso, a influencia negativa dos media, a infância do setor, a vida curta dos videojogos, os investimentos a longo prazo, o baixo desempenho e a baixa visibilidade. Portanto, as marcas devem sincronizar-se com o publico, punir comportamentos desonrosos, promover a aceitacao dos videojogos, estudar o mercado e comprometer-se a longo prazo.

International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 2019

Purpose This paper aims to determine how important cultural events organized by hotels are when g... more Purpose This paper aims to determine how important cultural events organized by hotels are when guests select the establishment, determine the most influential source to attract customers to the hotels’ cultural events and measure their ability to meet guests’ expectations. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative exploratory methodology was adopted. Data collection was performed through voluntary and non-probabilistic face-to-face interviews to 2,229 guests and six directors from eight hotels that organize cultural events. Findings The data revealed that, although cultural events organized by hotels were not a selection factor, these were attended by the majority of guests, who felt valued for being asked for feedback by the hotels and were more influenced by marketing communications within the establishments than by word-of-mouth. Originality/value Contrary to cultural events organized by local authorities, cultural events organized by hotels have received little to no academic a...

Contemporary Management Research, 2021

Both esports sponsors and academia are not aware of how disreputable behavior in the esports scen... more Both esports sponsors and academia are not aware of how disreputable behavior in the esports scene can negatively affect their brands. Hence, this research aimed at identifying which types of disreputable behavior in competitive gaming present the biggest threats to esports sponsors. In this quantitative and exploratory research, a non-probability, purposive, and heterogeneous sampling method was employed to gather a sample of 1,592 esports fans who filled a closed-ended online survey. Results showed that illegal and unregulated gambling was a high-risk threat to esports sponsors; toxic behavior, match-fixing, and cheating were labeled as medium-risk threats; and sexism, cyberattacks, and doping were found to be low-risk threats. Besides being one of the first studies on esports sponsorships, which serves as a basis for future research in this market, the findings contribute to the sustainability of the esports industry and its sponsors. Managerial implications are also discussed.

Transnational Marketing Journal, 2021

This research aimed to determine if disreputable behaviour in esports is a threat to its sponsors... more This research aimed to determine if disreputable behaviour in esports is a threat to its sponsors. An exploratory design and a convergent-parallel mixed method with equal status were used. The results showed that most experts consider disreputable behaviour as a threat to esports sponsors and roughly one-third of fans have developed negative feelings towards esports sponsors due to disreputable behaviour. The most brand-image threatening types of behaviours are corruption, illegal and unregulated gambling, and toxicity. Despite esports' rapid growth, the field of esports sponsorships has received poor academic attention.

Journal of Contemporary Marketing Science, 2021

This research aimed to identify how important it is that brands incorporate relevant-added value ... more This research aimed to identify how important it is that brands incorporate relevant-added value into their esports sponsorships. It applied a convergent-parallel mixed method with equal status. Data were collected by interviewing experts in esports sponsorships and esports fans fill out an online survey. The results revealed that all experts considered the creation of relevant-added value as an essential strategy for successful esports sponsorships and the large majority of fans want sponsors to apply this tactic.