How Personality Affects Flow Experience and Performance in Online Classes: A Cross-regional Comparison among Hospitality and Tourism Students

• Published in: Journal of hospitality & tourism education Vol. 35; no. 4; pp. 333 - 348
• Main Authors: Tavitiyaman, Pimtong, Ren, Lianping, Guan, Jieqi, Chung, Kam-Ho Manson
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 02-10-2023
• Subjects: flow experience; hospitality and tourism (H&T) education; Personality traits; regional difference in education; student performance
• ISSN: 1096-3758; 2325-6540
• DOI: 10.1080/10963758.2022.2109479

Owing to a swift shift in hospitality and tourism (H&T) education from physical to online since the breakout of COVID-19, quality assurance measure is required to gauge effectiveness of students' online learning. This study aims to explore the influence of H&T students' personality traits on flow experience and performance in online classes. It further assesses the cross-regional comparison among three regions in Greater China (including Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao). A questionnaire instrument was developed and distributed in the abovementioned three regions. From a total of 895 respondents, results showed that the students' personality traits influenced their experience and performance in online classes in a few ways. In addition, regional differences in education were used as a moderator to examine potential learning behavior differences in the three regions, and result confirms their existence. Theoretical and managerial implications were then discussed.