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Purpose This research aims to identify critical brand touchpoints that generate value for customers and brands and examine their effects on two relational outcomes: relationship quality and word of mouth (WOM). Design/methodology/approach Three studies combining qualitative and quantitative research provide evidence distinguishing four different stages of customer experience in the telecom industry and develop a research model of staged customer experience; structural equation modeling analyses are used to validate the proposed model and test for the examined effects. Findings Customer experience in the telecom industry consists of four related but distinct stages (i.e. pre-touch, in-touch, post-touch and service failure) and these stages have direct and indirect effects on WOM. Furthermore, the effects of customer experience stages on WOM are partially mediated by relationship quality. Research limitations/implications The research model introduced here will allow academics and practitioners to focus their efforts on important touchpoints that influence relationship quality and WOM. Future research should examine the proposed model of staged customer experience in different applications and industries. Practical implications A common myth among marketers is that firms should design a painless experience if they want a superior market position. While avoiding a drain on financial resources, the prime objective should be to provide a holistic customer experience that is valuable to customers and the brand alike. Marketers should disregard touchpoints and stages that do not provide noticeable value. Originality/value This research answers the call for a more appropriate model to elucidate the factors that link customer experience with relational outcomes.

Purpose Past research has examined the extent to which users disclose personal information on social media, but the influence of fear of missing out (FOMO) or other factors on self-disclosure has received little attention. To fill this gap in the social media literature, this paper aims to examine the interrelationships among FOMO, social media addiction and self-disclosure among young users in Kuwait. In addition, the moderating effect of tie strength on the examined relationships is explored. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual framework is developed and tested by applying two-stage structural equation modeling using AMOS to examine the results of an online survey distributed to 1,347 social media users in Kuwait, 25 years of age and younger. Findings Path analysis confirmed an indirect effect of FOMO on self-disclosure mediated by social media addiction. Moreover, the path between FOMO and social media addiction and the path between social media addiction and self-disclosure are moderated by users’ tie strength. That is, higher levels of FOMO are more likely to increase social media addiction and, in turn, self-disclosure activities on social media among young users with weaker ties (compared to stronger ties). Overall, the findings provide support for a moderated mediation model. Practical implications Ethicists and consumer protection agencies should increase public awareness of the danger to young users with weaker ties of over disclosing personal data on social media and developing FOMO and social media addiction. Mitigation programs are needed to assist these addicted users in gaining control over their social media behaviors, leveraging social media as a powerful social change tool and preventing further damage to their psychological well-being. Originality/value Although previous research has demonstrated that FOMO, in general, is positively correlated with self-disclosure and social media addiction, the current research provides empirical evidence that these relationships are dependent on users’ tie strength. Additionally, this paper is the first to show a paradoxical effect of tie strength on self-disclosure: tie strength enforces the positive relationship between FOMO and self-disclosure in the absence of social media addiction but weakens this relationship when social media addiction is introduced as a mediator.