Utilitarian Experience Research Articles

Correction to “Hedonic objects and utilitarian experiences: The overriding influence of hedonism in driving consumer happiness”

Correction to “Hedonic objects and utilitarian experiences: The overriding influence of hedonism in driving consumer happiness”

Demonstrating the influencing factors and outcomes of customer experience in omnichannel retail

As omnichannel retailing becomes a more prominent and pervasive shopping method, customers’ retail experiences are also changing. A key factor in developing customer loyalty is their level of satisfaction with the entire shopping experience provided by omnichannel retailers. Therefore, this study investigated the influencing factors of customer experience from the perspectives of objective omnichannel characteristics and subjective individual characteristics. The survey was conducted using a questionnaire from June 15 to July 15, 2022. Based on the data collected from 356 respondents, reliability, validity, path, structural equation model, and mediation analyses were verified using SPSS (27.0) and AMOS (27.0). The results demonstrated that among the omnichannel characteristics, only personalization positively affected the hedonic experience, while connectivity positively affected the utilitarian experience. Regarding individual characteristics, both personal innovativeness and self-efficacy had a positive impact on the hedonic experience, while only self-efficacy was shown to impact the utilitarian experience. Hedonic and utilitarian experiences both exhibited an influence on customer loyalty as components of customer experience. Furthermore, the mediation analysis revealed the mediating role of customer experience when omnichannel and individual characteristics affected customer loyalty. This study contributes to the research in the field of omnichannel customer experience and offers insightful implications for omnichannel retailers to provide optimal customer experience to improve customer loyalty.

Hedonic objects and utilitarian experiences: The overriding influence of hedonism in driving consumer happiness

AbstractThe experience recommendation prescribes a disadvantage to material purchases, suggesting that spending on experiential rather than material purchases makes people happier. This study challenges this idea by examining the hedonic/utilitarian nature of purchases. The results of a qualitative study and four experiments (one preregistered) show that the happiness advantage of experiential (vs. material) purchases is contingent on pronounced hedonic properties. Our results indicate that hedonism asymmetries override the distinction between purchase type, such that there is no happiness advantage in buying experiences over material objects when purchases are equally (non)hedonic. Importantly, we find that hedonism is more instrumental for material purchases and that hedonic materials are equally effective as experiential purchases, altogether, and even outperform utilitarian experiences in eliciting happiness. Our findings encourage consumers to focus on the properties, rather than the type, of purchases to increase purchase‐related happiness. Our results further suggest that marketers of material goods, in particular, can considerably increase customer value by using design components, product features, and brand imagery that leverage hedonic qualities.

Experiencing Branded Apps: Direct and Indirect Effects of Engagement Experiences on Continued Branded App Use

This study aimed to gain insight into how people engage with branded apps and adopted the media engagement framework to examine how different types of engagement experiences are associated with the continued use of branded apps. In this study, three types of engagement experiences were identified that are important in the context of branded apps: (1) hedonic, (2) utilitarian, and (3) symbolic engagement experiences. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted among a sample of 298 Dutch smartphone users. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used for the analyses. The results demonstrate that, overall, branded app engagement experiences affect continued app use in two distinct ways: indirectly, via app attitude, through hedonic and utilitarian experiences, and directly through symbolic experiences.

An assessment of comfortable sports Shoe in terms of MD [material + design] factors

The objective of this study was to identify the comfortable sports shoes which are available with the participants and investigate the reasons for the comfortable sports shoes. Forty-five Delhi-national capital region Indian youth males participated in the study. A one-on-one discussion was conducted to fill the experience survey questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of two parts. First part consists of demographic details and second part includes the choice factors, but the comfortable factors [choice F1-F9] was mentioned by the participants and even scaled by them on the five point likert scale. Their sports shoe was found most comfortable and least comfortable mainly on the basis of utilitarian experience. The good comfortable shoes have the qualities like good material (M) and nicely designed (D).i.e. MD factors.

Assessing pre-travel online destination experience values of destination websites: scale development and validation

Destination websites, provided by destination marketing/management organisations (DMOs), are central environmental drivers of tourist experiences in the pre-travel phase. DMOs increasingly apply experiential marketing on their websites to support positive online destination experiences (ODEs) and attract tourists. Despite the ongoing scientific debate on technology-driven tourist experiences, research into pre-travel ODEs is still nascent and theoretical knowledge on the nature of ODEs is limited. Particularly, an appropriate measurement tool to evaluate the pre-travel experience value of destination websites is missing. In this paper, we propose a reliable, valid, and parsimonious measure for assessing pre-travel ODEs on destination websites, building on two prior studies. In a quasi field experiment, German millennials (n = 1820) evaluated the ODEs of different real destination websites using an online questionnaire. The ODE scale was developed using principal component analysis based on half of the cases; the other half was used to validate the scale via confirmatory composite analysis. In result, the overall ODE is reflected by two interrelated dimensions: hedonic and utilitarian experiences. Websites with a high level of experiential design yield significantly higher ODE values, supporting the construct validity. Results contribute to the theoretical understanding of the technology-driven tourist experience in the anticipatory phase. Moreover, the developed scale yields a methodological knowledge gain and will help destination managers to evaluate, purposefully review and improve their website designs and contents.

Analysis on Forestry Economic Growth Index Based on Internet Big Data

The development of economic forestry industry is an important support in the process of rural revitalization strategy and precise poverty alleviation, as well as enrichment of the people. As the market of economic forestry products is close to a perfectly competitive market, brand effect is crucial under homogeneous competition, and economic forestry product enterprises and other business entities need to win and maintain sustainable competitive advantages through brand management. Currently, in the field of economic forest, products such as Chinese wolfberry, jujube, blueberry, fungus, walnut, tephrosia, hazelnut, and chestnut and forest foods and product brands with certain market recognition have emerged, but for most small- and medium-sized economic forest product enterprises, forest product brand cultivation and construction are still in the initial stage. Under the rapid development of the Internet, different types of Internet platforms, which provide new tools and possibilities for branding, the way of corporate brand marketing, and customer management services, have also undergone significant changes. In the market with serious homogenization and increasingly fierce competition, how to establish brand-consumer connection through the Internet platform, strengthen the intensity of consumer participation and connection to the brand, give play to the brand effect, and enhance the brand value in the long term, so as to obtain a new way to win a sustainable competitive advantage, has become an important proposition for all kinds of enterprises, including economic forest product enterprises. Combining the competitive characteristics of economic forestry products and the development of the Internet, the model of brand value enhancement of economic forestry products based on virtual brand communities is constructed. The model takes the experience value obtained by consumers in the virtual brand community as the antecedent and studies the path relationship from experience value, community identity, brand fit, and consumer brand value creation to brand value in four dimensions, utilitarian experience value, emotional experience value, social experience value, and learning experience value, and takes community integration and community support feeling as the moderating variables.

Perception of customer retail experiences in Poland

PurposePoland’s political and economic transition of 1989 resulted in a cultural trauma experienced by consumers, which has influenced their perception of the retail experience. However, younger Polish consumers can remember neither communism nor the transition period. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the differences in perception of customer experiences in retail between Poland’s pre- and post-transitional generations.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative survey is first conducted with a sample of 1,045 Polish consumers measuring their perception of utilitarian and hedonic customer experiences in retail environments. Then, five qualitative focus group interviews with 29 participants provide an in-depth understanding of the survey results.FindingsThe quantitative study suggests that the pre-transitional generation is focused on utilitarian experiences, whereas the post-transitional generation is attracted to hedonic experiences in retail environments. The qualitative study provides an understanding of how the utilitarian and hedonic aspects of customer retail experiences are perceived and how the cultural trauma manifests in consumers’ values.Originality/valueThe study provides a new perspective on the customer experience in retail contexts from a society that has undergone a cultural trauma. The findings focus on generational differences in consumer attitudes toward hedonic and utilitarian experiences in a post-transition society and expand the theory of cultural trauma into the field of customer retail experience.

Examining customers’ experience with the Nigerian Bank Verification Number (BVN) policy from the perspective of a dual-lens theory

PurposeAlthough customer experience has been widely researched, its effects on behavior toward a government policy are still unclear. Drawing on two theories with some similar and opposing perspectives, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of three components of customer experience (i.e. utilitarian experience, hedonic experience and relational experience) and customers’ intention on behavior within the context of the BVN policy implemented by the Nigerian apex bank.Design/methodology/approachData emerged from one of the most populous districts in south-eastern Nigeria. Participants were recruited by mall-intercept. Out of the 283 participants approached, 246 participated but only 82.9 percent were valid for analysis. After subjecting data to statistical screening to confirm its suitability for parametric statistical analysis and examining data for the potential effects of common method variance as well as sample representativeness, a partial least squares structural equation modelling technique and the Preacher and Hayes bootstrapping procedures were utilized to test the hypothesized relationships.FindingsBased on data obtained from Nigerian bank customers, the paper demonstrated that the customer loyalty arising from the implementation of a government policy is determined more by hedonic experience, followed by relational experience and very much less by utilitarian experience. Findings also indicate that the relationship between the components of customer experience and customer loyalty is complementarily mediated by intention to open new account(s).Research limitations/implicationsThough the theoretical grounding of the paper strongly supports the study design, the authors strongly recommend that future research should examine customer experience-customer behavior models in situations of policy implementation with longitudinal design. Additionally, since intention to open new account(s) is a complementary mediator of the links between the components of customer experience and customer loyalty, there is need for future researchers to integrate other mediators into the conceptual framework that the authors examined in this paper.Practical implicationsThis paper cautions that whilst the research findings play out effectively in situations where the benefits of the introduced policy and the consumers’ belief in the good intent of the policy are congruent and customers are susceptible to the manipulations of the social class leading to absence of volitional control; firms should not be deceived into relying too heavily on this kind of loyalty because it is situational and consequently promiscuous. Nevertheless, deploying more resources to seamlessly meet the needs of customers in such situations is counter-productive for service organizations.Social implicationsBased on the findings, it has come to the fore that consumers will be at the receiving end of a government policy poorly implemented by service organizations. When such policies are rolled out therefore, governments should enforce operational modalities that will forestall potential negative experiences that consumers could possibly encounter.Originality/valueBy examining the effects of three components of customer experience and intention to open new account(s) on customer loyalty within the context of BVN implementation in an emerging banking sector, the authors contribute to the broad stream of literature that focuses on the effect of customer experience on company bottom-line. The strength of this contribution is based on the premise that this paper draw on the similarities and opposing orientations of two theories to uncover these effects. The authors show that the effects of the three components of customer experience on customer loyalty is different from the results of previous research because of the unique perspective adopted in this paper.

Opinion Seeking in a Social Network-Enabled Product Review Website: A Study of Word-of-Mouth in the Era of Digital Social Networks

This paper challenges a long-held assumption of prior research that online word of mouth (eWOM) is anonymous and impersonal by examining online shoppers’ opinion seeking in the context of using a product review website affording access to a digital social network (SN). Motivated by the need to account for the heterogeneous and idiosyncratic resources available in shoppers’ SN, we distinguish between two opinion-seeking behaviors: (i) exploiting opinions from peers in one’s core network — online friends, and (ii) exploring opinions from peers in one’s extended network — strangers. We draw on social network theory to specify what drives these behaviors and how they influence shoppers’ utilitarian and hedonic experiences during an online product selection task. The results of a free-simulation study conducted with a restaurant review website connected to the Facebook SN platform yielded three key findings. First, exploitation has a stronger beneficial effect on shoppers’ utilitarian and hedonic experiences than exploration. Second, shoppers with high social capital (both structural and relational) have a stronger propensity to engage in exploitation. Third, high social capital does not induce a substitution of exploration with exploitation. Overall, this study enhances our understanding of online shoppers’ opinion seeking in the increasingly prevalent SN-enabled settings.

Mental Resources Increase Preference for Dissimilar Experiences

AbstractAfter having a utilitarian experience, consumers may prefer to have another utilitarian experience or a hedonic experience. Similarly, after having a hedonic experience, consumers may prefer to have another hedonic experience or a utilitarian experience. We propose that the cognitive processes involved in analyzing the benefits of an experience that differs on the hedonic-utilitarian dimension require mental resources. As a result, after having an initial experience, consumers who have (vs. do not have) a high level of mental resources are better able to identify the benefits of a dissimilar experience and show higher preference for this experience. This suggests that an initial utilitarian experience will lead to preference for a hedonic experience when consumers have a high level of mental resources available, but a utilitarian experience when they do not. These findings have implications for how consumers combine multiple experiences, seek pleasure, and exert self-control.

Examining the effect of experiential marketing on behavioral intentions in a festival with a specific sport event

ABSTRACTResearch question: Participation in sport events is a significant aspect of experience. So far very few analyses exist that shed light on the kind of experiences that satisfy participants within the context of sport events. Using an experiential marketing approach, a behavioral model was tested in which perceived experiences and attitudes were proposed to interact with satisfaction to predict behavioral intentions of participants in festival with a specific sport event.Research methods: The proposed model was tested by path analysis. The sample setting of this study was Dragon Fest, which is held in Turkey’s different cities. Data for the pilot study were collected from 358 Dragon Fest participants in 2013, while a different sample of 490 participants were included in the main study for the path analysis.Results and findings: The current study verified the value of incorporating an experiential approach into sport event modeling. The relative importance of hedonic and utilitarian attitudes on sport event evaluation decisions was also presented. This study is unique in considering the utility of both hedonic and utilitarian attitudes and 4E experiences in a sport event context.Implications: Sport event organizers should design their event programs to facilitate experiencing different types of experiences with regard to senses of feeling (entertainment), learning (education), being (esthetic), and doing (escapist). This may be a convenient tool for sport and leisure-marketing efforts because the more experience dimensions an event incorporates the more individuals become satisfied and repeat attendance behavior in the future.

Experiencing Shared and Individual Ownership of Products and Services

This article aims to address paradoxes between experiencing products and services on a shared basis versus owning or having the sole proprietary privilege to consume them. A value creation perspective will be given on how to exploit these “use” and “ownership” of experiences and objects in the design of products and services. Results indicate that “pure ownership” of products and services as a stand alone phenomenon is void. Functional and emotional experiences with these products and services are essential to contextualise and construct the meaning of appropriation/ ownership. With respect to the different value propositions, a significant number of users who aimed for shared ownership of utilitarian experiences, because of economical reasons, were critical of what is being offered to them from a usability and psychological perspective. Users, who had satisfactory experiences with facets of the offering; product, service or combination of it, experienced them within the context of full ownership.

Who needs delight?

Purpose– The aim of this study is to determine whether the cumulative effects of satisfaction, trust, and perceived value may, under certain conditions, provide more explanatory power for customer loyalty intentions than the often studied and more elusive customer delight. Herzberg's two-factor theory is used to explain why the frequent nature of grocery shopping, a primarily utilitarian experience, might introduce considerations that have not yet been addressed in the study of delight.Design/methodology/approach– A survey is administered to a quota sample of Portuguese supermarket shoppers via phone, using a CATI system.Findings– Research findings suggest that perceived value, trust, and satisfaction have a greater impact on behavioural outcomes than customer delight in the grocery shopping setting. In such a setting, cognitive drivers may be even more important for customers who are primarily concerned with hygiene factors (rather than motivators).Research limitations/implications– Retailers are encouraged to focus on the more mundane factors that influence consumers' perceptions of value and trust rather than trying to invest in the substantial resources required to continually delight consumers. Future research may explore other determinants of loyalty intentions and test the extended model in different service sectors, cultural contexts and countries.Originality/value– This study applies Oliveret al.'s consumer delight model in a utilitarian, frequent-use setting, finding previously undiscovered limitations to its validity.

Mexican cross-border shoppers' motivations to the USA

Purpose – This study aims to examine the patterns of cross-border consumption of Mexican tourist-shoppers to the USA. More specifically, integrating literature from two ends – retail studies on shopping motivations and tourism research viewing cross-border shopping as leisure activities, this study aims to investigate the motivations of Mexican travelers as cross-border shoppers. Design/methodology/approach – A survey instrument was developed incorporating a set of 30 shopping motivation questions. Data were collected using the intercept survey methodology from 92 Mexican visitors who shopped at a major outlet shopping center in Central Texas in 2007. The motivational items were subsequently factor analyzed for possible underlying dimensions. Findings – Motivations of cross-border shopping by Mexicans in Texas demonstrated a combination of two aspects, the utilitarian and pleasurable shopping experiences. The cross-border consumption and shopping by Mexican residents in Texas, therefore, were both functional and recreational. Originality/value – With a better understanding of the pattern and motivations of cross-border shopping, this study developed a model to capture the stimulating influence of the retail environment as well as a framework to illustrate the integrated role of shopping and tourism in the process of developing a “must visit” destination.

Verifying the hedonic vs. utilitarian consumer attitudes categorization: the case of spas and salons

The marketing and consumer behavior literature has long used the categorizations of ‘hedonic’ and ‘utilitarian’ to distinguish among various types of goods and services. Previous research has shown that consumers perceive these two categories of goods and services differently and that consumer behavior can vary depending upon which category a product or service falls into. The present study attempts to shed light on consumer perceptions of spa and salon experiences, in an effort to gain an understanding of how women define their visits to these establishments. Our study employs a qualitative methodology, using semi-structured interviews and grounded theory to explicate the ways in which women perceive their spa and salon visits. Our findings indicate that women experience their spa visits as hedonic, while they view their salon visits as utilitarian experiences. Managerial implications are discussed.

The Moderating Effect of Prior Experience in Consumers' Use of User-Image Based Versus Utilitarian Cues in Brand Attitude

In this paper, we address the question of whether prior experience with a product moderates the extent to which the use of user-image based cues and utilitarian cues are predictive of brand attitude. Specifically, high experience consumers were expected to focus more on utilitarian cues and low experience consumers to focus on user-image based cues. Results of two studies generally support these predictions.

Student housing: A retrospect and some prospects

Abstract The threads of business, charity and sentiment have always been tangled in the provision of student housing; although the mix of these has varied depending on whether the dominant provider has been the churches, the State or the market. This paper reviews some major studies of student housing; provides an introductory survey of its development and levels of current provision in Australia; reviews some of the supply and financing issues which student housing presently confronts; and conjectures on the evolution of government policy. The formative role student housing can play and the educational support it can provide may be important, especially in a period when higher education is becoming a narrower and more utilitarian experience, but not always a more satisfying one.