The aim of this research is to present a successful flipped classroom proposal in higher education to better understand its influence in terms of knowledge, skills and engagement. The reason why we focus on these three dimensions is because of their core roles in the international learning conceptual frameworks presented above to increase the employability of Generation Z students in the digital society of the 21st century. In doing so, first, we first develop a measurement scale (4D_FLIPPED) to explore the degree of flipped classroom presence in our higher education learning experience. Then, we present a structural equation model to analyze the causal relationships of knowledge, skills, and engagement with students' satisfaction. The empirical results point out that there are four fundamental dimensions that should be present in the flipped classroom to be successful in the 21st century with Generation Z. This study also confirms that the flipped classroom has positive effects on students’ knowledge, skills, and engagement. Our research provides useful recommendations and insights for academia. •A flipped classroom measurement scale (4D_FLIPPED) is proposed and tested in higher education.•A partial least squares (PLS) approach for structural equation modeling (SEM) is employed.•Empirical evidence is provided about the relationships among knowledge, skills, engagement, and students' satisfaction.•Useful recommendations and insights are provided for academia.