Purpose

This study aims to identify key motivation factors for consumers’ social search and examine the role of flow in the process. This study assessed how content quality (i.e. visual aesthetics, textual information and timeliness) and system quality (i.e., intuitiveness and interactivity) influence flow experience. Additionally, this study tested how mental simulation and ease of task mediate this process and examined how the flow experience leads to purchase intention.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey via Amazon MTurk was performed using the general consumer population in the USA. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to test proposed hypotheses.

Findings

Visual aesthetics, text information, intuitiveness and interactivity were found to increase consumers’ flow experience in social search on Instagram. The timeliness of information was not a significant predictor of flow experience. Additional analyses demonstrated the mediating role of mental simulation and perceived ease of task mediate in flow experience, ultimately leading to increased purchase intention.

Practical implications

The concept of flow should be taken into consideration in a setting of social media marketing. To create holistic consumption experiences, social media strategy should promote seamless information search by increasing both the content (i.e. visual aesthetics and text information) and system (i.e. intuitiveness and interactivity) quality.

Originality/value

This study expands the theory of flow by applying it to the social search process in social media. Mental simulation and perceived ease of task are distinctively recognized as essential factors for flow experience on Instagram.

中文翻译：

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流程很重要：Instagram上社交搜索中流程经验的前提和结果

目的

本研究旨在确定消费者进行社会搜索的主要动机因素，并研究流程在流程中的作用。这项研究评估了内容质量（即视觉美学，​​文本信息和及时性）和系统质量（即直观性和交互性）如何影响流程体验。此外，本研究测试了心理模拟和任务轻松性如何介导此过程，并研究了流程体验如何导致购买意向。

设计/方法/方法

通过Amazon MTurk进行的在线调查是针对美国的一般消费者进行的。进行了结构方程模型（SEM）来检验提出的假设。

发现

视觉美学，​​文本信息，直观性和交互性被发现可以增加消费者在Instagram上进行社交搜索的流程体验。信息的及时性并不是流动经验的重要预测指标。额外的分析表明，心理模拟的中介作用和感知的任务轻松性在流程体验中得到中介，最终导致购买意愿增加。

实际影响

在社交媒体营销环境中，应考虑流量的概念。为了创造整体的消费体验，社交媒体策略应通过增加内容（即视觉美学和文本信息）和系统（即直观性和交互性）质量来促进无缝信息搜索。

创意/价值

这项研究通过将流量理论应用到社交媒体中的社交搜索过程中，扩展了流量理论。心理模拟和感知的任务轻松性被独特地认为是Instagram上的流程体验的重要因素。