Relationships Among Customer Satisfaction, Delight, and Loyalty in the Hospitality Industry

Abstract

Customer satisfaction has been a focus of researchers and marketers as an important antecedent of customer loyalty. Some recent studies propose that customer delight possibly produces greater customer loyalty than satisfaction. Loyalty has also become of greater interest to researchers and marketers as a multiphase concept as well as a useful segmentation of customers with accompanying targeted strategies. As one of few empirical studies on customer satisfaction, delight, and loyalty, the primary objectives of this research is to understand how customer satisfaction and delight influence loyalty and to understand the multiphase framework of loyalty, including cognitive, affective, and conative loyalties. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on customer satisfaction, delight, and loyalty and provides theoretical and applied suggestions for the hospitality industry.

Make it delightful: Customers' experience, satisfaction and loyalty in Malaysian theme parks

“…Customer delight is defined as a customer's reaction to experiencing a product or service that provides an unanticipated level of value or satisfaction (Chandler, 1989). Based on this conceptualization, customer delight is related to, but distinct from, customer satisfaction, particularly in respect of its effect on customer loyalty (Hicks, Page, Behe, Dennis, & Fernandez, 2005;Kim & Mattila, 2013;Kim, Vogt, & Knutson, 2013;Loureiro, 2010;Oliver, 1997). Scholars such as Ma et al (2013) and Crotts and Magnini (2011) have stated that customer delight is new to the literature, arguing that this necessitates further research into its relationship with other concepts such as satisfaction and loyalty.…”

Evidence of Member Hotel Programs Boosting Loyalty

“…Therefore, loyalty programs should be carefully planned, evaluated, and constantly developed based on a long-term relationship with customers that can elevate customer loyalty (Blackwell, Miniard, & Engel, 2005;Choi & Chu, 2001;Mattila, 2006;O'Brien & Jones, 1995). To ensure that loyalty programs are attractive to customers and differentiated from the competing firms, loyalty programs can add more personal and subjective-oriented benefits such as feeling been entertained, honored, and delighted by "wowing" customers, which can produce emotional and interpersonal bonds between customers and a company, product, or service and the bonds can provide an important psychological value to the customers (Berman, 2006;Kim et al, 2013;Mattila, 2006). These emotional benefits can be perceived as more valuable to the customers than monetary rewards or extra discounts and ultimately, contribute to the formation of customer loyalty (Berman, 2006;Chiu, Hsieh, Li, & Lee, 2005).…”

An Empirical Investigation on E-Retailer Agility, Customer Satisfaction, Commitment and Loyalty

“…More recently, Chang et al (2013) observed that patients' satisfaction exerts a positive influence on gaining patients loyalty for concerned hospitals. Further, in the hospitality industry, Kim et al (2015) empirically found customer satisfaction and loyalty to be strongly associated. We extend this continuum in this context and posit our next hypothesis:…”