Prior study has indicated that merely satisfying customers are not sufficient to secure a lasting competitive advantage in the hotel business during service encounters. We propose and demonstrate that rather than simply satisfying consumers by meeting their expectations, hospitality providers might evoke sentiments of “being moved” in them by performing unexpected acts of human compassion, which can significantly increase customers’ loyalty and commitment (LoC) and positive word of mouth (WoM) and minimize shame. 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.

Hospitality Service Excellence Social Economy