EMPIRICAL STUDY OF CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT IN SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE FOOD SERVICE AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Zh. Nurbolatkyzy, Zhanar S. Rakhimbekova

2026

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DOI 10.63881/ejent2026v2i3a3
Data confidence 70 medium
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Abstract

Abstract. Despite the growing role of social media in the food service and hospitality industry, the empirical verification of the three-component consumer engagement model in this sector on Kazakhstani material has not been carried out until now. Existing studies are predominantly limited to Western markets and do not account for the possible specifics of digital behavior in post-Soviet economies. This article aims to identify the structure and level of engagement of the Kazakhstani audience in the social media of the food service and hospitality sector and to propose evidence-based practical directions for the marketing departments of the industry. The methodological basis was an online survey of 114 respondents in April 2026; statistical processing included calculation of Cronbach's alpha, Spearman's rank correlation, and the Wilcoxon, Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests. Three key results were obtained. First, the emotional dimension of engagement turned out to be not dominant, as originally assumed, but statistically significantly weaker (M = 1.89) compared to the cognitive and behavioral dimensions (M = 2.39; p < 0.001). Second, the «emotional — behavioral» relationship proved to be the strongest of the three (ρ = 0.753 versus ρ = 0.434 for «cognitive — behavioral»), indicating the affectively mediated nature of digital behavior. Third, robust age differences were identified: the young cohort aged 18–24 demonstrates a profile above the neutral level, while the 35–44 age group is consistently below it. At the intersection of these results, the author's concept of «the paradox of digital presence» is formulated — a stable gap between the high frequency of audience contact with thematic content and the low affective response. The practical significance of the work is determined by concrete recommendations on content formats, trust-building tools, and age based segmentation of communication strategies.