Online or offline servicescapes: examining the flow experience in industrial tourism

Purpose Industrial tourism is the extension of traditional industry, the redevelopment of original industrial resources and the innovation of mass tourism. This study aims to examine the factors that influence industrial visitors’ purchase intentions. Design/methodology/approach Based on the flow experience theory, three situational experiments were used to compare industrial visitors’ purchase intentions in online and offline servicescapes. Findings The empirical results show that visitors have stronger purchase intentions, which are mediated by their flow experience, in offline industrial tourism servicescapes than in online servicescapes. The stronger the perceived interactivity is, the stronger the mediating effect of the flow experience is, and the more likely visitors are to generate purchase intentions. These findings enrich flow experience theory by identifying differences in how online and offline servicescapes influence purchase intentions. Originality/value This paper contributes to flow experience theory and the servicescape model. The findings enrich industrial tourism research and provide managerial suggestions for industrial tourism enterprises in servicescapes.