Driving event attendee co-creation experience and sharing experiences via social media: understanding generational differences

Purpose This study investigated attendee engagement in driving co-creation experience and its differing effects on sharing experiences via social media by Generation Y (Gen Y) and Generation Z (Gen Z) cohorts at art and cultural exhibitions. Design/methodology/approach Based on 457 event attendee survey data, PLS-SEM and MGA were employed to examine the research hypotheses. This study compared Gen Y (n = 204) and Gen Z (n = 253) on three key dimensions of engagement which increase co-creation and sharing experiences via social media. Findings The results indicated that Gen Y individuals were actively engaged in enjoyment, fun and happiness that evoked positive emotions and Gen Z individuals engaged in learning, exploration and sharing conversations with like-minded people while attending. Moreover, Gen Y individuals incorporated actual experiences on shared social media less than Gen Z individuals, who shared experiences via social media extensively, including reviews and creative content. Originality/value Drawing on self-expansion theory, this study provides the evidence-based results on how to increase attendee co-creation experience and foster them to share their experience via social media. This study and its findings provide important, realistic and useful theoretical contributions in the event tourism context.