ABSTRACT
The standard model of customer delight examines the effects of delight on word of mouth (WOM) and repurchase intentions. Customer delight is conceptualised as an emotional response which results from a surprising and positive level of performance, and is considered to provide an explanation for the observed variation in the intentions of consumers reporting the same level of satisfaction. This chapter discusses the antecedents and consequences of delight, and the relationship between delight and satisfaction, and provides a brief review of studies examining delight. The elicitation of delight is presented firstly through a discussion of delight and satisfaction, which are considered as two overlapping concepts. The chapter examines impact of delight on behavioural intentions, and reviews the concept of delight in tourism. It is more concise and useful to consider customer delight as a multidimensional construct rather than to use the simple surprise–pleasure–delight (ORV) model.
