Who may be loyal? Personality, flow experience and customer e-loyalty

Abstract

Marketers heavily prioritise customer loyalty. Previous works have identified the ‘flow’ experience (optimal experience with total concentration and intrinsic enjoyment) as a predictor of online customer e-loyalty. However, applications of the concept to managing customer e-loyalty are limited. Personality traits influence individual psychology and can thus reveal which individuals are likely to experience flow. This study thus examines how customer openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, skill, flow and online customer e-loyalty are related. This study surveyed 1,852 online game customers. The analytical results of a follow-up survey of 593 customers confirmed the findings of the initial survey that openness and conscientiousness positively influence customer skills and thus increase the likelihood of online game customers experiencing flow, which then enhances customer e-loyalty. The influence of extraversion was observed in the follow-up survey but not in the initial survey.