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This study uses relationship marketing theory to explore affective and calculative commitment as mediators in the delight–loyalty link. Furthermore, it investigates the role of perceived employee service delivery skills, perceived value and trust in the relationships between delight, affective commitment, calculative commitment and loyalty.

A descriptive research approach was applied, and the data were collected from 332 retail banking customers in an emergent market who are overall satisfied with their bank. A self-administered questionnaire collected data from 332 respondents who adhered to the stipulated requirements to participate in the study. These respondents were selected through purposive and convenience sampling. The constructs’ interrelationships were analysed via structural equation modelling. The measurement and structural models were also assessed.

Affective and calculative commitment and delight impact loyalty. Both affective commitment and calculative commitment were found to mediate the relationship between delight and customer loyalty.

The study enhances an understanding of the role of affective and calculative commitment in strengthening the delight–loyalty link from a relationship marketing theory perspective.

The study provides guidance to the retail banking industry in emerging markets on the importance of affective and calculative commitment in strengthening the delight–loyalty link. It further informs retail banks of the need to provide banking customers with products and service value that exceed their expectations to strengthen their future commitment and loyalty to their bank.

Guided by relationship marketing theory, the role of affective and calculative commitment in mediating the delight–loyalty link in an emerging market context is uncovered.

When encountering novel technology, customers often use the term “cool” to express their thoughts; therefore, coolness has become crucial for launching service robots. However, research on the impact mechanism of “coolness” is lacking. This study explored the relationship between delight and behavioral intention regarding the coolness of service robots in the food and beverage industry while discussing the mediating roles of utilitarian and hedonic values.

Questionnaires were distributed online with links to the survey posted on restaurant discussion boards on Facebook and online community platforms such as Dcard. In total, 540 responses were deemed valid. The hypotheses were tested using the partial least squares structural equation modeling method.

The results indicate that coolness positively impacted both utilitarian and hedonic values and that both perceived values positively impacted delight. Moreover, coolness does not directly impact delight but must be mediated by perceived value to be effective.

Increasing customer perceptions of the coolness of service robots is recommended. Moreover, regarding customer revisits, utilitarian value services can delight customers more effectively than hedonic value services.

The stimulus-organism-response model was used to identify the relationships among coolness, perceived value, delight and behavioral intention. Moreover, the authors investigated the impact of coolness on utilitarian and hedonic values. These findings are significant for the development of smart restaurants and provide a critical reference for exploring service robots.

Although there is a growing body of literature on how celebrity involvement impacts the effectiveness of destination marketing, the underlying mechanisms of that relationship are still underexplored. Based on the affect transfer and meaning transfer theories, this study aims to examine the impact of celebrity attachment on customer delight toward K-culture and K-culture attachment, affective and cognitive images of Korea, and the intention to visit Korea.

Online survey data were collected from 2,614 US residents, representing various demographic characteristics. For the data analysis, the partial least squares-structural equation modeling was conducted to evaluate the structural model and test the hypotheses.

The results showed that celebrity attachment is positively related to customer delight toward K-culture and K-culture attachment, which, in turn, positively influences affective and cognitive images of Korea. Additionally, K-culture attachment positively influences cognitive and affective images of Korea, which are positively related to the intention to visit Korea.

By using the affect transfer theory and meaning transfer theory, this study provides valuable insights into how consumer’s attachment to celebrities has spillover effects on the decision-making process. This study also adds a new concept, customer delight connected to cultural experience, in the context of destination marketing.

By understanding the importance and influence of people’s intimacy with media characters, practitioners can apply parasocial relationship theory, affect transfer theory and meaning transfer theory to their marketing strategies.

As one of the few empirical studies that examines the impact of celebrity attachment on consumers’ perceptions and behaviors, this study can make significant contributions to the destination marketing literature.

Applying servant leadership theory, this study aims to investigate whether servant leadership predicts service excellence of bank employees through mediating role of psychological capital (PsyCap). It also tests buffering role of conscientiousness in boosting service excellence.

The study uses data collected from 224 bank employees. SPSS and jamovi statistics were used for data analysis.

Study findings suggest a significant relationship between servant leadership, service excellence and PsyCap. PsyCap emerged as a mediator, and conscientiousness moderated the nexus between servant leadership and service excellence.

Findings highlight important implications for organisational practitioners. Because servant leadership leads to service excellence, practitioners should consider adopting servant leadership at every organizational level. Further, servant leaders could enhance followers’ PsyCap for creating service excellence. Organisations should use customized training programs and development interventions to enhance service excellence.

This study is one of the few studies to investigate the mediating role of PsyCap as a personal resource and buffering role of conscientiousness for service sector employees. Study generates new insights on employee experiences working in service sectors.

Applying signaling theory to Schein’s organizational culture framework, this study aims to explain how restaurants communicate that their establishments value wine through multiple cultural attributes.

A phenomenological research design was adopted to conduct three focus groups with 14 restaurateurs about wine culture. Conversational analysis with Straussian coding was used.

A comprehensive definition of wine culture was provided, and five factors emerged that signal the presence of a wine culture. A wine presence includes a wine list, marketing efforts, community involvement and restaurant aesthetics. Employee traits are defined by individual attributes, communications skills and overall knowledge (training). Restaurant identity reflects the cultural alignment and customer relationship expectations set forth by ownership. Organizational structure reflects a restaurant’s hierarchy within which an individual or department is afforded the freedom to invest in wine. Future alignment reflects generational differences and trends in wine preferences and consumption.

Researchers are provided a wine-culture definition and framework for wine research. Restaurants can use the study’s findings to formulate strategies for establishing a wine culture.

This study provided a framework for restaurateurs who wish to be known for wine to implement. Researchers and restaurateurs may facilitate communication between guests, staff and an organization regarding wine as a means of creating a competitive advantage.

This study aims to assess green food packages’ role in sustaining a restaurant’s curbside pickup service on three stages of consumer experiences: choosing a restaurant, evaluating their experiences of a recent purchase and weighing their post-consumption behavioral intentions after the recent purchase.

The service encounters framework and relevant literature guided the development of the questionnaire. A Qualtrics panel data of 314 valid questionnaires were collected and analyzed with choice experience, ordinary least squares regression and PROCESS modeling.

First, word-of-mouth (WOM) and function encounters significantly influence consumers’ first-time curbside pickup purchasing decisions. Then, service results encounter (besides distributor encounter) most significantly affects consumers’ overall curbside pickup experience. Finally, green food packages increase consumers’ shares of future purchases through their positive WOM intentions and extra efforts of revisiting the restaurant. Consumers’ perceived importance of green restaurant practices strengthens green food packages’ positive impact on extra efforts.

This study provides operational and marketing insights for restaurants to use food packages and sustain their curbside pickup service.

Besides assessing consumers’ evaluations and behavioral intentions for an off-premises restaurant service expected to stay beyond the pandemic, this research uniquely focuses on green food packages, a sustainability issue lacking research attention. The findings add new empirical insights to studies about sustainability and restaurant/food–retail operations.

This study aims to investigate value co-creation, its antecedents (i.e. customer delight and place identity) and the consequences (i.e. satisfaction and revisit intention) at eco-hotels concerning sustainable practices.

Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyze the data collected from 562 guests surveyed online who had stayed and contributed to sustainable practices through interaction and collaboration with eco-hotels.

The results revealed that customer delight and place identity are critical antecedents of value co-creation, significantly influencing guests' intention to revisit. Further, value co-creation significantly influences satisfaction and revisits intention. Satisfaction significantly influenced revisit intentions. Moreover, customer delight was the most critical factor affecting value co-creation, followed by the path between value co-creation and satisfaction. Finally, the results confirmed the mediating role of value co-creation and satisfaction.

This research can support hotel managers in comprehending the motivating factors and outcomes of value co-creation among guests, allowing efficient hotel strategies to be planned and implemented. Managers should prioritize customer delight and place identity to maintain guests' involvement in value co-creation, resulting in satisfaction and a willingness to return.

This study contributes to the literature by tackling the scarcity of research on the significance of value co-creation, its drivers and outcomes at eco-hotels concerning sustainable practices within an emerging market context.

This study aims to chart the impact of technological advancements on tourism from the post–Second World War era to the present and forecast their influence until 2050. It assesses how technologies have reshaped travel experiences and operations, with a focus on upcoming innovations such as the metaverse, Web 3.0 and AI, and their implications for sustainable and ethical tourism.

This study uses a hybrid approach, combining historical analysis and future projections. It analyzes archival data, industry reports and academic literature.

This study identifies crucial technological milestones that have significantly impacted tourism, including the rise of commercial aviation, the internet and AI. Future trends suggest emerging technologies will further transform the sector. Challenges in sustainability, ethics and inclusivity are highlighted as critical considerations for future development.

This paper offers a unique longitudinal perspective on technology’s influence on tourism, bridging past trends with future projections.

本研究采取混合方法, 融合历史分析与未来趋势预测。研究分析了丰富的档案数据、行业报告以及学术文献。

旨在勾勒从二战后至今技术进步对旅游业的影响, 并展望至2050年的潜在影响。本研究着重评估技术如何重塑旅游体验和运作, 特别是对元宇宙、网络3.0和人工智能等即将到来的创新技术及其对可持续和伦理旅游的意义。

识别了旅游业中关键的技术里程碑, 包括商业航空、互联网和人工智能的崛起。研究指出, 未来趋势显示新兴技术将继续深刻改变旅游业。同时强调, 可持续性、伦理和包容性是未来发展中不可忽视的关键要素。

本文从独特的纵向视角出发, 深入探讨了技术对旅游业的历史与未来影响, 将过去发展趋势与未来展望紧密结合。

Este estudio emplea un enfoque híbrido que combina el análisis histórico y las proyecciones de futuro. Analiza datos de archivo, informes del sector y bibliografía académica.

La investigación pretende trazar el impacto de los avances tecnológicos en el turismo desde la era posterior a la Segunda Guerra Mundial hasta la actualidad y prever su influencia hasta 2050. Evalúa cómo las tecnologías han reconfigurado las experiencias y las operaciones de viaje, centrándose en las próximas innovaciones como el Metaverso, la Web 3.0 y la IA, y sus implicaciones para un turismo sostenible y ético.

El estudio identifica hitos tecnológicos cruciales que han tenido un impacto significativo en el turismo, como el auge de la aviación comercial, Internet y la IA. Las tendencias futuras sugieren que las tecnologías emergentes transformarán aún más el sector. Los retos en sostenibilidad, ética e inclusividad se destacan como consideraciones críticas para el desarrollo futuro.

Este artículo ofrece una perspectiva longitudinal única sobre la influencia de la tecnología en el turismo, tendiendo un puente entre las tendencias pasadas y las proyecciones futuras.

The increasing popularity of immersive activities (e.g. immersive performing art (IPA) at tourism destinations calls for the need to understand customers’ immersive experiences and its impact on their attitudes and behavioral intentions. This study aims to conceptualize customers’ interactive experience in IPA and systematically examine how interaction in IPA experience shapes customers’ word-of-mouth (WOM) intention and thus generates business values for destination managers.

A two-step mixed-methods approach was used. The qualitative study was adopted to identify the salient dimensions of interaction in IPA experience and develop a context-specific measurement scale. Structural equation modeling approach was applied to test the theoretical model using partial least squares 3.3.0.

The results indicated that the three dimensions of interaction in IPA experience (i.e. parasocial interaction, narrative interaction and environmental interaction) are positively related to customers’ experiences of narrative transportation and self-expansion related to the IPA, which further influence their WOM intention.

This study considers IPA as an emerging form of immersive tourism activities and conceptualizes its interactive nature, and contributes to the understanding of how customers’ interactive experience helps them construct meanings through narrative transportation, and offers valuable guidance for IPA designers and destination management organizations.

Chewy, Inc. is a direct-to-consumer seller of pet food and supplies. Their approach involves a deep understanding of pet owners’ needs and behaviors to provide personalized product recommendations and exceptional customer service. This case study aims to describe Chewy’s growth strategies and how the company can remain a market leader.

Using the customer value assessment tool, the authors examine Chewy’s value proposition, including service, quality, image and price strategies.

Chewy has built a loyal customer base that values the company’s commitment to their pets’ health and well-being. Future opportunities include focusing on pet wellness products and services, collaborating with veterinary providers in telemedicine and international expansion.

This work is largely conceptual and presents a descriptive case study which reviews Chewy’s marketing strategy based on industry research as well as a customer value assessment via the service-quality-image-price framework.

Corporate leaders must adapt to market change and create business strategies to deliver superior value for customers. This requires innovative products, services and processes. The strategic insights are applicable to retailers, service and technology firms and entrepreneurial companies seeking to scale their businesses.

Chewy’s highly competitive market includes Amazon, e-commerce pet supply companies and big-box pet stores. But it has dominated the online sector and has substantial growth prospects. This paper concludes with recommendations for management and questions for consideration.