Go with the flow: engineering flow experiences for customer engagement value creation in branded social media environments

A vital objective for brand managers is to engineer compelling branded social media consumption experiences for consumers that create value and innovation opportunities for brand-building advantage. This multidisciplinary study, anchored in flow theory, investigates for the first time the role of flow, configured as a hierarchical model in a branded social media environment, as having a direct influence on customer engagement value (CEV) creation. Using a survey of 371 consumers, a theoretical framework was empirically tested using structural equation modelling. The results validate flow modelled as a higher-order construct, which unlocks and positively influences perceptions of CEV in branded social media environments. Curvilinear quadratic effects of flow are also investigated which provide novel insights on how optimising salient components of flow act as key customer experience mechanisms for maximising CEV creation in social media.