From surprise to evangelism: The sequential roles of delight and brand defense in hospitality

Noureddine Selmi, Damien Chaney (), Muhammad Dliya'Ul Haq and John Christopher B. Mesana
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Noureddine Selmi: Groupe Sup de Co La Rochelle, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies
Damien Chaney: Métis Lab EM Normandie - EM Normandie - École de Management de Normandie = EM Normandie Business School
Muhammad Dliya'Ul Haq: NSYSU - National Sun Yat-sen University
John Christopher B. Mesana: NU Manila - National University-Manila

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Abstract: In the competitive hospitality industry, emotionally resonant guest experiences are vital for fostering long-term brand support. Building on Affective Events Theory, this study thus investigates how surprise, customer delight, brand defense, and customer intimacy contribute to brand evangelism. This study draws on data collected from 367 hotel guests in Tunisia and analyzes the responses using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal that surprise significantly enhances both customer delight and brand defense. Furthermore, while customer intimacy directly influences brand evangelism, it does not significantly moderate the link between brand defense and evangelism. Finally, the results show that surprise drives brand evangelism indirectly through a serial mediation pathway of customer delight and brand defense, highlighting how emotional experiences translate into proactive brand-supportive behaviors.

Keywords: Affective events theory; Brand evangelism; Customer intimacy; Brand defense; Customer delight; Surprise (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-03-01
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Published in Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 2026, 66, pp.101391. ⟨10.1016/j.jhtm.2025.101391⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05568759

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhtm.2025.101391

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