How to increase other’s engagement with user-generated content: the role of flow experience

Purpose Based on flow theory, this research aims to explore how posting about different purchases (“what they did” vs “what they have”) affects the engagement of others in the consumer’s social network. Design/methodology/approach In study 1, the experimental design and survey methods are used to collect data. Study 2 analyzed UGC posted to Sina Weibo, which is a popular social media platform in China, testing the study’s proposed model with negative binomial regression analysis. Findings Study 1 indicates that posting UGC related to “what I did” (vs “what I have”) will increase the engagement of others in a consumer’s network, and the flow experience underlies this effect. The results of study 2 replicate the findings of study 1 and show that the UGC related to “what I did” is more likely to increase the shares and comments of others in a consumer’s network. Originality/value This work makes theoretical contributions to both social media and customer engagement research. Furthermore, there is evidence that the flow experience can be used to explain the role of UGC in eliciting the engagement of receivers to the posts.