On the road to the metaverse: a multi-stakeholder analysis of the institutionalization and legitimacy of replication-based esports

Abstract

This study investigates how replication-based esports, in which athletes' real-world physical performances are transferred into virtual environments through the input–output mechanism of meta-sport, reshape stakeholder roles and governance in professional sport. Focusing on road cycling, the study explores the legitimacy of replication-based esports and how virtualization redistributes authority between federations and platform providers. 30 semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives from nine stakeholder groups (athletes, coaches, teams, federations, sponsors, media, competition organizers, fans and hard-/software providers). The analysis applied Loy's (1968) dimensions of institutionalized sport – organizational, technological, symbolic and educational. Most stakeholders treat meta-sport as a separate discipline. Virtualization increases stakeholder visibility, broadcasting and fan-athlete interaction, while requiring platform-specific hardware, digital literacy and distinct tactical skills. Performance transparency facilitates data-driven scouting but raises concerns about manipulation and integrity. Gender parity appears more achievable in virtual events. Crucially, governance is shifting toward co-governance: federations continue to provide normative legitimacy and sanctioning authority, whereas platform providers exercise infrastructural authority by controlling data capture, calibration, in-competition mechanics and algorithmic validation. This dual model generates both tensions (e.g. anti-cheating enforcement) and synergies (e.g. standardized rules adapted to platform features). The study foregrounds how digital infrastructures reconfigure institutional authority in sport by empirically documenting co-governance in replication-based esports and extending stakeholder theory to conceptualize platform providers as hybrid co-governors and rule-enforcing actors. Findings contribute to debates on institutionalization and governance in sport management and to the emergent literature on metaverse-based sport.