• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.83-105
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• 2013

During recent decades, the number of mixed attribute products (henceforth mixed products), which have both utilitarian and hedonic benefits, has increased dramatically. Despite these products' growing popularity, academic research has paid little attention to them, and there remains a gap between theory and the real world. Hence, our study was undertaken to understand consumers' perceptions about and behaviors toward mixed products, as well as factors affecting the evaluation and choice of these products. We divided mixed attribute products into two categories: mixed utilitarian products (utilitarian products adding hedonic attributes) and mixed hedonic products (hedonic products adding utilitarian attributes). We then showed how adding different attributes affects consumers' perception, willingness to pay (WTP), and the choice of mixed attribute products compared to pure utilitarian or pure hedonic products. We conducted an experiment using a within-subject design. A total of 160 office workers and college students participated in the study. The pure utilitarian product used in the study was orange juice, and the mixed utilitarian product was carbonated orange juice. The pure hedonic product was chocolate, and the mixed hedonic product was polyphenol enriched chocolate. Results showed that consumers perceived a mixed utilitarian product to be less utilitarian, less pleasurable and more guilty than a pure utilitarian product. On the other hand, a mixed hedonic product was perceived to be more utilitarian, less pleasurable and less guilty than a pure hedonic product. Also, WTP for a mixed hedonic product was higher than WTP for a pure hedonic product, but WTP was lower for a mixed utilitarian product than for a pure utilitarian product. Furthermore, mixed hedonic products were likely to be evaluated more favorably when they were presented together with pure hedonic products, more so than when they were presented alone. Finally, when compared to low self-control participants, high self-control participants chose mixed hedonic products more frequently. The present study contributes to the existing literature on utilitarian and hedonic consumption by adding to the sparse literature on the consumption of products that have both utilitarian and hedonic purposes. Also, our research findings provide several useful implications for practitioners in related fields. First, the current study provides marketers with a useful guide for understanding consumers' perceptions of these types of products, and helps to predict how adding different attributes influences these products. Second, this study has examined the conditions that may moderate the evaluation and choice of hedonic base products and this finding will serve as a good reference for marketers of mixed hedonic products in marketing communication strategy, in-store marketing and targeting. Specifically, comparative advertising with a pure hedonic product will be beneficial for a mixed hedonic product. Also, displaying mixed hedonic products near pure hedonic products may enhance the effectiveness of in-store marketing of mixed hedonic products.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.131-142
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• 2003

Consumer researchers' growing interest in consumer experience has revealed that many consumption activities produce both hedonic and utilitarian outcomes. The personal shopping value also has both hedonic and utilitarian dimension. This article describes the effect of socio-economic variables and materialism on hedonic and utilitarian shopping value. 820 middle, high and college students in Seoul and Ulsan were surveyed. A moderate degree of positive intercorrelation between hedonic and utilitarian shopping value support the trend of consumption ambivalence. Materialism is positively related to hedonic and utilitarian shopping value. While age is negatively related to utilitarian shopping value, it is unrelated to hedonic shopping value. The mean scores of hedonic and utilitarian shopping value in Ulsan is higher than in Seoul.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.161-173
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• 2002

This study explored the Internet searching values(utilitarian searching value and hedonic searching value) of college student consumers, typed the Internet searching values to four types, and analysed the level of perception to Internet shopping' benefit-risk according to the Internet searching value types. The subjects were 361 college students. We used Cronbach'$\alpha$, multiple regression, one-way ANOVA, and Scheffe' test as statistical analysis. The results were summarized as follows : 1) According to the Internet searching values, college student consumers were classified into 4 types - high utilitarian/high hedonic type, high utilitarian/low hedonic type, low utilitarian/high hedonic type, and low utilitarian/low hedonic type. 2) Both high utilitarian/high hedonic type and low utilitarian/high hedonic type had high level of perception to Internet shopping' benefit-risk.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.25-53
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• 2007

The Expectation Confirmation Model (ECM) of information systems investigates the continued information systems usage behavior. This paper expands the original post-adoption beliefs and searches the applications in the emerging hedonic information systems. Previous IS researches focused on the organizational environments. However as the information technology (especially internet) evolves, information systems have not only emerged for the organizations but also for the individual users, such as internet portals, internet communities, on-line games etc. These information systems so called Hedonic Information Systems aims to provide self-fulfilling value rather than instrumental value to the users. Researches in other disciplines, including marketing and consumer behavior research, illustrate that the hedonic and utilitarian perspective of goods and services have different influence on the consumer behavior. Goods and services used to be classified into either hedonic or utilitarian aspect but now they may belong to both aspects simultaneously. Moreover consumer's goals or tasks have both hedonic utilitarian aspects. When a consumer makes a decision to purchase or repurchase goods or services, he/she compares the hedonic and utilitarian perspectives of goods to find most suitable ones to satisfy their goals/tasks. Finally, consumer's behavior is determined by the trade-off between what the goods can provide to the consumers and in what extent the goods fulfill consumer's purchase behavior. Consumer also shows that the salience of hedonic perspective is relatively greater when consumer decides which of several items to give up (forfeiture choices) than the time when they decide which item to acquire (acquisition choices). Some researches in MIS discipline have found out that the information systems also have both hedonic and utilitarian perspectives. The decision process of whether to use information systems or not is similar to that of a consumer's decision of purchasing or repurchasing goods or services. However most of researches in MIS tend to focus on the extrinsic motivation variables which only cover the utilitarian perspective of information systems. It is only recent that researches start to investigate the intrinsic motivation variable - Perceived Enjoyment - for the hedonic perspective. Considering the consumer's purchasing decision process, users of information systems evaluate the systems through balancing between intrinsic (hedonic) and extrinsic (utilitarian) variables according to their main tasks or tendencies. This paper proposes a model that is based on the ECM of IS Continuance model modified from Expectation Confirmation Model to fit into the continued usage of information system. It first started from the decision process regarding hedonic and utilitarian perspectives in the consumer behavior literatures. The model deals with continued usage of information systems beyond the mere technology adoption as in most of the previous MIS researches. This research is particularly important to the hedonic information systems, because their business model depends on the frequent usages rather simple adoption at the beginning. Because the basic model only considered the extrinsic motivations (perceived usefulness) to explain the users' behavior and as the information systems can have both hedonic and utilitarian dimensions, it should consider both perspectives. Therefore, this newly proposed model considers intrinsic variable (perceived enjoyment) as well. Since the individual user can have a preference on either aspects that is between the hedonic and utilitarian perspective depending on his/her main tasks or goals, some variables (Hedonic Orientation and Utilitarian Orientation) meaning the extents of users' pursuing from the information system were additionally studied.

• Journal of Korea Society of Industrial Information Systems
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.83-100
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• 2022

In marketing, the thematic conceptual study related to hedonic consumption with product symbolism contributed to symbolic consumerism and its hedonic experience. Researching how consumers deal with expectations for unexpected income or windfall gains helps understand what makes them enjoy experiences. This paper discusses the trade-off relationship between hedonic and utilitarian consumption. it aims to determine when and why people choose hedonic (pleasant) or utilitarian (material) products under windfall gains. We suggested five hypotheses, and through a series of experiments, respondents preferred hedonic to utilitarian goods when lottery amounts increased and the probabilities did not discriminate between two products. the preference order was not discriminated in the hedonic, utilitarian goods. the shape of preference revealed an opposite direction (U vs. invert-U)when the winfall amounts increased. and when the discounting rates varied, the consumers' preference order was expected to change. Subjects selected hedonic goods the most, utilitarian goods second, and cash rewards were the last choice. Therefore, stimulating consumers' hedonism and promoting hedonic experiences might be effective marketing tactics and strategies.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.73-96
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• 2003

Shopping is a work and fun for a consumer. Retailers satisfy social and physiological needs through various experiences as well as economic and rational. Do offer online shopping malls fun and hedonic experiences that offline retailers do? This study applied the hedonic-experiential value relating to the consumption dimension of fun and excitement to online shopping. Especially, a model of online hedonic-experiential value, consisted of its antecedents and consequences, was developed and identified through a survey(n=436). As the result, graphic & multi-media, site structure & design, customer services, payment, individualization, product assortment & display, interactivity, dynamic pricing factors influence online hedonic-experiential value. Also, online hedonic-experiential value significantly related to revisiting, purchasing, and word-of mouth intention of the shopping site. The implications for online retailer are discussed and further research is suggested.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.45-56
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• 2019

Purpose - This study aimed at investigating the mediation roles of attitude dimensions in the effects of involvement type on hedonic product purchase intention and moderation role of lay rationalism in the effects of involvement type on attitude dimensions. Research design, data, and Methodology - "Wenjuanxing" was used online to make questionnaire, which was loaded on Wechat and QQ. 125 data were collected online in China. The Process macro model 58 including moderation of the two paths in the causal sequence was used to verify hypotheses. Results and Conclusions - First, cognitive (affective) involvement had positive effect on the utilitarian (hedonic) dimension of consumer attitude and the purchase intention. Second, hedonic dimension of attitude had positive effects on purchase intention, but utilitarian dimension of attitude had not significant positive effects on purchase intention. Third, Lay rationalism did decrease (did not increase) the positive effects of affective (cognitive) involvement on hedonic (utilitarian) dimension of attitude. Therefore Marketing managers should understand the differences between the cognitive involvement and affective involvement, and develop the ways by which they attract consumers to choose their hedonic product. And they should give affective (cognitive) information to the customers with low (high) rationalism consumers when they do marketing for their hedonic product.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.765-776
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• 2004

The objectives of this study are to compare the levels of materialism with hedonic-utilitarian shopping values among 645 college students in Ulsan and Seoul, Korea; Columbus, Ohio, USA; and Nagasaki, Japan, and to analyze the impact of materialism on hedonic-utilitarian shopping values. As for the levels of hedonic shopping values, the students in Japan and Ulsan had the highest of all, whereas for the levels of utilitarian shopping values, those in Ulsan had the highest. For the levels of materialism, the students in Ulsan had the highest of all and those in Seoul had the lowest. And three scales in the materialism had a different influence on hedonic-utilitarian shopping values.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.73-81
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• 2018

Purpose - When indulging in hedonic items is construed as wasteful and evokes anticipated regret or guilt, consumers are more likely to seek reasons to justify their indulgence. Justification requirement for spending on indulgences over necessities could lead to the places of their finding the ways that mitigate the anticipated regret and guilt. However the previous research focusing on consumers' own great effort leading to positive outcomes has not given much attention to other's outcomes induced from his or her little or no efforts, by which consumers could feel envy. The guilt associated with consumers' indulgence could vary according to envy type felt according to their evaluation about other's outcomes and their self construal level. Current research explored the envy type's effects on consumers' spending on hedonic products, and moderation effects of self construal level on the envy type's effects. Research design, data, and methodology - 2(envy type: benign versus malicious) × 2(self construal level: high versus low) between-subjects design was employed. Data for empirical analysis were from 173 undergraduate participants. ANOVA was used to verify hypotheses. Results - The tendency of choosing utilitarian product versus hedonic product was moderated by the envy type. The participants who felt benign envy were more likely to choose utilitarian product versus hedonic product than those who felt malicious envy were. And the tendency of benign envy-felt participants' choosing hedonic versus utilitarian product was more weakened to those with lower-level self construal than to those with higher-level self construal. However the tendency of malicious envy-felt participants' choosing hedonic versus utilitarian product was not moderated by the self construal level. Conclusions - This research could advance the theory related to indulgent hedonic consumption by exploring the effects of self construal level and envy type on hedonic indulgence. In view of the results from current study, marketers should make efforts of communicating and selling utilitarian products to persuade consumers with lower-level construal when they feel benign envy to others. And they should conduct marketing acts for hedonic products to persuade consumers when they feel malicious envy to others.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.635-645
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• 2011

This study explores the differences in product evaluation and approach behaviors as well as the effects of product evaluation on approach behaviors of utilitarian and hedonic products in on-line and off-line settings. A total of 332 subjects participated in the experiments to assess product evaluation and approach behaviors for utilitarian and hedonic clothing products in on-line and off-line settings. The results show that even though the same stimulus was presented, consumers' product evaluation of utilitarian clothing (i.e., t-shirts) was higher in the off-line setting than in the on-line setting while the approach behavior of hedonic clothing was better in the on-line setting than in the off-line setting. In addition, color was a crucial factor generating positive approach behaviors for utilitarian clothing while style and quality were core factors influencing the approach behaviors of hedonic products in an on-line setting. There was no consistency in the results of the important factors affecting approach behaviors of utilitarian and hedonic clothing in an off-line setting. The conclusion suggests implications for marketing based upon the results of this study.