Go with the flow – the experiential drivers of continued event mobile app use

Purpose This study aims to examine acceptance of event mobile apps and their capacity to trigger the flow, along with engagement of event attendees related to experience co-creation and perception of risk while using event mobile apps and their joint impact the continued use of mobile apps. Event mobile apps are recognised as an important instrument capable of positively altering event attendees’ experiences. Although previous studies have extensively discussed how event mobile apps could be used in the event context, few studies have examined internal and external experiential drivers of their usage. Design/methodology/approach The proposed study aims to identify the most relevant triggers of continued use by revealing both internal (event engagement) and external (UTAUT dimensions and perceived privacy risk) drivers following Csíkszentmihályi’s flow theory and division of event mobile apps encounters into existential (hedonic) and structural (utilitarian) reality. The sample included 238 users of event mobile apps in Spain, while relationships among constructs were analyzed by structural equation modelling and additionally examined by an artificial neural network (ANN). Findings The study’s findings suggest that performance expectancy and social influence are significant determinants of flow experience, while attention and absorption stand out as significant antecedents of experience co-creation. Finally, flow experience, experience co-creation and perceived privacy risk had a significant effect on the continued use of event mobile apps. Originality/value The proposed study follows the premises of Csíkszentmihályi’s flow theory and acknowledges existential (engagement and co-creation) and structural (UTAUT dimensions) reality of event attendance. Moreover, the study’s findings could lead to tourism experiences being perceived as utilitarian and hedonic.