Justification Effects on Consumer Choice of Hedonic and Utilitarian Goods
Published 2/1/2005
Author: Erica Mina Okada
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Executive Summary
People distinguish between hedonic goods, which are primarily experiential and fun, and utilitarian goods, which are primarily instrumental and functional. There is a sense of guilt associated with hedonic consumption and, accordingly, a higher need for justifying it. People are motivated to consume hedonic goods but are less likely to do so when the situation makes it difficult for them to justify it. The author analyzes how this need for justifying hedonic consumption drives two effects that are observed in typical purchase situations. She explores the topic through a combination of four experiments and field studies.
First, the author demonstrates a reversal in the relative preferences for hedonic over utilitarian alternatives. On the one hand, people have a more favorable response to the prospect of having fun than the prospect of being practical. However, when the two alternatives are presented simultaneously, the choice of the hedonic requires the rejection of the practical, which makes the justification difficult. In an experiment, subjects tended to give higher ratings to a hedonic dinner certificate than to a utilitarian grocery certificate of equivalent dollar value. However, in a side-by-side choice, subjects tended to choose the grocery certificate. Data of actual customer orders taken at a restaurant corroborate the phenomenon.
Second, the author shows that people are willing to pay relatively more in effort (time) for hedonic goods and more in hard currency (money) for utilitarian goods. People expend a combination of time and money in acquiring goods. In general, they pay a premium for convenience and go the distance for a bargain. Between the two currencies of exchange, the value of time is more ambiguous and therefore easier to justify spending. Subjects in an experiment were willing to pay relatively more in time (money) for items that they indicated as being more hedonic (utilitarian). Data from customers who made actual purchases at a camera store are consistent with the experimental findings. Consumers want to have fun, and they are more likely to have fun if the situation allows them to justify it.
Biography
Erica Mina Okada is Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Washington Business School. She holds an A.B. cum laude in economics from Princeton University, an MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College, and a Ph.D. in managerial science and applied economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests include managerial and consumer decision making and the implications for marketing strategies. Her articles have been published in Journal of Consumer Research.
J Marketing Research, Volume 42, Number 1, February 2005
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