Online Engagement Among Restaurant Customers: The Importance of Enhancing Flow for Social Media Users

Abstract

The increased usage of digital communication technologies has transformed online engagement into a key aspect of the modern customer experience in the hospitality industry. The flow theory is especially important for understanding customer engagement in the online environment. The purpose of this study is to examine the antecedents of flow and to investigate its influence on the positive attitudes and continuance intentions among the users of social media. The study’s results show that challenge, information quality, and system quality all play significant roles in flow; and flow leads to positive attitudes and continuance intentions, which indicates the importance of creating flow to increase customer engagement. Academically, this study contributes to the limited body of literature on the flow experience and customer engagement in the hospitality context. Additionally, it provides practical insights how to gain competitive advantages by strategically managing customer engagement with social media marketing through flow.