Abstract:

Given the importance of customer delight in winning customer loyalty, it has gained considerable attention of academic and practitioners. Based on the perspective of service esteem needs, this study examined the formation mechanism of customer delight. Research found that service esteem needs significantly and negatively affected arousal and pleasure emotion, which the latter mediated the effect of arousal emotion on customer delight. In addition to provide high-level service quality, therefore, service enterprises should not neglect the effect of service esteem needs on customer delight, and should also regard customer delight as one of decision standards of improving customer loyalty.

Key words: Service esteem needs, Customer delight, Customer loyalty