Better Understanding the State of Flow: Meet New Professor Raymond Lavoie

Raymond Lavoie joined Telfer as an Assistant Professor of Marketing in July 2024. After completing his PhD at the University of Manitoba in 2017, he gained extensive research experience at Merrimack College and New Mexico State University. His research focuses on the concept of flow, strategies to achieve it and the impact of technologies like smartphones and virtual reality on consumer behaviour.

Beyond academics, Lavoie serves as Vice President of the Higher Learning Foundation, a non-profit offering high school courses to help teenagers manage their mental health.

Why did you choose to study Marketing? Any personal motivation? 

I find the state of flow fascinating. I experienced it growing up mostly through sports, though I did not know what it was called at the time, and wished I could experience it more often. It is something that is incredibly enjoyable but can be elusive, which is why I want to help people achieve the flow state more often.

How does your PhD training inform your current research program?

Thanks to generous support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, I was able to conduct several studies on flow throughout my PhD. We uncovered some of the benefits of flow, as well as the dangers, and even came up with a new scale to measure it. I had the opportunity to collaborate with local companies in Winnipeg to explore how to help people get into (or out of) the state of flow in many contexts, including product trials, gambling, virtual reality and exercise.

Do you have any new research highlights to share? Any interesting publications in the pipeline?

Along with co-authors Markus Baer and Bess Rouse, I recently published a conceptual paper on group flow, establishing what it is and how it emerges. That project was so fun as we experienced group flow together during our meetings and we interviewed improv comics at the start to guide our theorizing. The comics loved discussing group flow, as it brought back the joy they felt from experiencing it, which was one of the main reasons they continued to do improv.

How can your research influence business communities in Canada?

Flow is highly related to enjoyment, well-being and productivity. So, revealing how to get people into a state of flow, whether as consumers or employees, is incredibly valuable, not only to them but to any business seeking to improve employee productivity and overall results.