Does firm-created social media communication develop brand evangelists? Role of perceived values and customer experience

Purpose The social media communication of luxury service firms remains largely unexplored. This study explores the influence of firm-created social media communication (FCSMC) on predicting brand evangelism (BEM) via perceived values, including functional value (FV), emotional value (EV) and social value (SV), by embedding the direct and moderating influence of customer experience (CX) on brand evangelism in the luxury hotel sector. Design/methodology/approach This study recruited 405 regular travelers to participate in an online survey. Following meticulous data curation, the empirical analysis was performed on 363 responses using structural equation modeling. Findings The findings revealed that FCSMC substantially impacted perceived values, including FV, EV and SV, as well as BEM. Likewise, perceived values, including FV and EV, were positively associated with BEM. In addition, this study revealed that CX exhibited significant predictive capability with its direct and moderating effects on BEM in the luxury hotel sector. Originality/value This original research advances the uses and gratifications theory and attribution theory. It provides novel theoretical insights and practical recommendations for the luxury hotel sector.