• 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 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.

• Design Convergence Study
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.333-345
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• 2016

Recently, an intelligent product in which information and robotic technologies are applied to an existing common product, called a mother product has been developed. In order to develop intelligent products which could be accepted by users, various intelligent product design methods have been introduced considering various interaction aspects or intelligent parts to be made. However, as an intelligent product is originated in a mother product, intelligent product design methods based on product attributes need to be explored. In this study, the impact of intelligent product types by product attributes on users' acceptance was investigated by comparing hedonic intelligent products and utilitarian intelligent products. An experiment was executed with child slippers as a case. As a result, participants evaluated utilitarian intelligent products more positively than hedonic intelligent products. They showed higher purchase intention and willingness to pay toward utilitarian intelligent products than hedonic intelligent products. In the case of child slippers, even though the hedonic attributes could be expected as they are child products, utilitarian attributes were perceived as much more important than hedonic attributes as the child slippers are related to the floor noise which is a severe social problem.

• 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.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.37-53
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to show that the effectiveness of utilitarian versus hedonic attributefocused advertisement on product evaluation depends on the arousal level of positive emotion, and to explore mediation effect of cognitive response to utilitarian attribute-focused advertisement and affective response to hedonic attribute-focused advertisement on the effectiveness of utilitarian versus hedonic attribute-focused advertisement. This research employs a 2 (arousal level: mild vs. elevated) × 2 (advertisement type: utilitarian vs. hedonic) between-subjects design, and 200 undergraduate students participate in the experiment, in which there are 50 students at each experimental group. The results of ANCOVA with positive emotion level as a covariate on advertised product evaluation show significant interaction effect of arousal level and advertisement type, and no effect of positive emotional level. Both of the mediation effects of the cognitive response and those of the affective response are significant. Participants under mild (elevated) arousal of positive emotion more positively evaluate the product in utilitarian (hedonic) attribute-focused advertisement. The positive effect of utilitarian (hedonic) attributefocused advertisement on product evaluation is partially mediated by cognitive (affective) response to the advertisement when consumers are under the mild (elevated) arousal of positive emotion. The results of this study show that advertisers should use utilitarian (hedonic) attribute-focused advertisement to consumers under the mild (elevated) arousal of ambient positive emotion, which should be searched by exploring what kind of event they have experienced.

• 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.21 no.3
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• pp.607-620
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• 1997

The purpose of this study was to identify the variables which could predict advertisement preference and intention to purchase product in sexuality-oriented fashion advertising. The data were collected using questionnaires which contained nine advertisements of Guess jeans, selected from Vogue magazine published from 1990 to 1996.441 college students (female= 225, male=216) living in Seoul, Korea participated in the study. The data were analyzed by factor analysis and stepwise elimination method of multiful regression analysis. The results of this study were as follows: First, seven factors of New Young Generation oriented characteristics were identified: fashion, individuality, preferences of caffa or reggae bar with affective mood, expression of emotion, individualism, preferences of a foreign-made product/western culture oriented tastes and activity of fan club/chatting through personal computers. Three factors of fashion advertising involvement were identified: social involvement, hedonic involvement and utilitarian involvement. Second, the variables which predicted preferences of advertisements in sexuality-oriented fashion advertising were perceived eroticism levels, hedonic involvenent, prior brand attitude and preference of a foreign-made product/western culture oriented tastes in the case of females, while perceived eroticism levels, hedonic involvenent prior brand attitude, preference of a foreign-made product/western culture oriented tastes and activity of fan club/ chatting through personal computers were identified as predictor variables for males. Third, the intention to purchase product was predicted by preference of a foreign-made product/western culture oriented tastes, prior brand attitude, hedonic involvenent and fashion for females, and by perceived eroticism levels, fashion opinion leadership, hedonic involvenent and prior brand attitude in the case of males.

• Korean Business Review
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• v.14
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• pp.211-235
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• 2001

The level and motivational basis of consumer involvement have been recognized as having important effects on purchase behavior. To explore the importance of hedonic aspects of involvement upon consumer purchase behavior, survey data on involvement degree and type concerning 8 product classes from 388 respondents was analyzed. Major findings of this study are summarized as follow. First of all, hedonic factor is evidenced as an important component of consumer involvement. In addition, hedonic dimension of involvement is proved to have significant effects on consumer purchase behavior in general. Secondly, analysis of the difference in behavioral tendencies between purchasing product with hedonic value(coffee) and utilitarian motive(washing machine) shows that consumers have relatively high in degree of brand differentiation, brand commitment, product knowledge in purchasing product with hedonic value. This means that hedonic aspect of product and thus hedonic involvement has not less important in predicting consumer behavior. Finally, several interactive effects, which suppot to and conflict against the previous research findings, between level and type of involvement upon purchase behaviors are detacted. This implies that hedonically induced involvement has moderating roles in the effects of consumer involvement on purchase behavior.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.247-263
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• 2023

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of the compulsive hoarding behavior of consumers on the intention to purchase hedonic and utilitarian types of products. Design/methodology/approach - The online and offline survey was conducted and a total of 210 domestic data were collected. Simple and multiple regression analysis and ANOVA were conducted to analyze the data. Findings - First, the consumers'compulsive hoarding behavior had a significantly positive influence on the purchase intention. According to the analysis results of the sub-factors, however, only 'Difficulty Discarding' had a significant influence on the purchase intention, while 'Clutter' and 'Acquisition' did not. Second, as the results of identifying the moderating effect by product type in the purchase intention in accordance with the consumers'compulsive hoarding behavior, their compulsive hoarding behavior had a significant influence on only the intention to purchase hedonic products but not on the intention to purchase utilitarian ones. Similarly, the results of analyzing the sub-factors showed that only'Difficulty Discarding' significantly influenced the intention to purchase hedonic types of products, but 'Clutter' and 'Acquisition' were not significantly influential to both the hedonic and utilitarian types of products. Research implications or Originality - First, this study is meaningful in that it expanded the research discussion on compulsive hoarding behavior by conducting empirical research on this behavior in the general public, which is unlike the previous studies that focused on only severe pathological compulsive hoarding behavior. Second, it identified that the consumers'compulsive hoarding behavior could cause purchase behaviors that were different depending on the type of product by searching the purchase intention with divided types of products (hedonic and utilitarian).

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.279-292
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• 2011

This research explores the differences of two consumption behaviors from the thinking style they elicit. Specifically, we predict that more utilitarian attributes(vs. hedonic attributes) may be used when evaluating utilitarian products whereas more hedonic attributes(vs. utilitarian attributes) may be used when evaluating hedonic products. In addition, this research considered two different thinking styles: rational thinking style and experiential thinking style, and try to find out whether different product attribute information could elicit different thinking style and whether the thinking style has any effect on product evaluation. The data reported in this research demonstrates the following results. Firstly, people use different criteria when judging different types of product. That is, when judging utilitarian product, they are more likely to use utilitarian attribute as evaluation criteria, on the contrary they inclined to use hedonic attribute as evaluation criteria when choosing hedonic product. Secondly, different types of attribute informations could elicit different thinking style. Utilitarian attribute informations elicit rational thinking style whereas hedonic attribute informations elicit experiential thinking style. Finally, if people engage in rational thinking elicited in processing utilitarian attribute informations, the evaluation of utilitarian product is enhanced. But even though people engage in experiential thinking in processing hedonic attribute informations, the evaluation of hedonic product is not improved.