From surprise to evangelism: The sequential roles of delight and brand defense in hospitality

In the competitive hospitality industry, emotionally resonant guest experiences are vital for fostering long-term brand support. Building on Affective Events Theory, this study thus investigates how surprise, customer delight, brand defense, and customer intimacy contribute to brand evangelism. This study draws on data collected from 367 hotel guests in Tunisia and analyzes the responses using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal that surprise significantly enhances both customer delight and brand defense. Furthermore, while customer intimacy directly influences brand evangelism, it does not significantly moderate the link between brand defense and evangelism. Finally, the results show that surprise drives brand evangelism indirectly through a serial mediation pathway of customer delight and brand defense, highlighting how emotional experiences translate into proactive brand-supportive behaviors.