Unraveling the dynamic and contingency mechanism between service experience and customer engagement with luxury hotel brands

Abstract

This study unravels the dynamic and contingency mechanism between service experience and customer engagement with luxury hotel brands by investigating a multi-step model linking these two variables, in which emotional attachment and relational quality constructs (i.e., brand satisfaction, brand trust, and brand commitment) act as a bridge, while customer involvement acts as a moderator. Based on a self-administered survey dataset of 249 international tourists who are customers of luxury hotel brands, partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is used to test the hypotheses. The results indicate that all proposed hypotheses are supported. As such, this study discovers and clarifies the nature and dynamic mechanism underpinning the co-creation and reciprocation process of customer engagement with luxury hotels. In particular, the positive service experience is found to contribute to customer engagement via emotional attachment and relational marketing. Furthermore, the moderating role of customer involvement in the luxury hotel setting is confirmed. • Unravel the mediating roles of emotional attachment, relational quality on the service experience-customer engagement nexus. • Investigate the moderating/contingency role of customer involvement on the formation of customer brand engagement. • Propose a multi-step process of value co-creation and reciprocation between customers and luxury hotel brands. • Provide suggestions to win over customers’ hearts and minds, achieving desired outcomes of customer brand engagement.