Being Moved or Being Satisfied? The Effect of Unexpected Acts of Personal Kindness in Hospitality Service Encounters

Abstract

Prior research has revealed that merely satisfying customers is not sufficient to secure a lasting competitive advantage during service encounters in the hospitality industry. We propose and demonstrate that hospitality providers can evoke feelings of “being moved” in their customers by providing unexpected acts of personal kindness rather than merely satisfying them by meeting their expectations. The distinct emotional signature associated with being moved, in turn, significantly increases customers’ loyalty and commitment (LoC) and the extent to which they engage in positive word of mouth (WoM), on top on what can be achieved by simply satisfying customers. We show that the joy/happiness component of being moved significantly increases LoC and WoM, and that this effect is shared with satisfaction. Moreover, surprise and guilt, which are emotions uniquely associated with being moved, also both significantly increase customers’ LoC and WoM. The positive effect of being moved can be enhanced by minimizing shame, an emotion occasionally associated with being moved. We also show that being moved has a positive effect on how customers perceive the workplace environment of an organization and the extent to which a hospitality organization is perceived as socially and environmentally responsible, which are core measures of organizations’ corporate social responsibility efforts.