Consumer Choice between Hedonic and Utilitarian Goods

TLDR

The authors discuss theoretical implications of reference‑dependent preference asymmetries and explore consequences for marketing managers and other decision makers. The study investigates how the nature of the decision task—whether consumers are choosing items to acquire or to give up—affects preference for hedonic versus utilitarian goods, proposing that hedonic salience is higher in forfeiture decisions. They tested this by conducting experiments that manipulated reference states to create acquisition and forfeiture conditions, comparing hedonic and utilitarian item preferences. Two choice experiments confirmed that hedonic items are preferred over utilitarian ones in forfeiture decisions, and a field survey found that hedonic car owners value their vehicles higher than utilitarian car owners relative to market prices.

Abstract

In this article, the authors examine how consumer choice between hedonic and utilitarian goods is influenced by the nature of the decision task. Building on research on elaboration, the authors propose that the relative salience of hedonic dimensions is greater when consumers decide which of several items to give up (forfeiture choices) than when they decide which item to acquire (acquisition choices). The resulting hypothesis that a hedonic item is relatively preferred over the same utilitarian item in forfeiture choices than in acquisition choices was supported in two choice experiments. In a subsequent experiment, these findings were extended to hypothetical choices in which the acquisition and forfeiture conditions were created by manipulating initial attribute-level reference states instead of ownership. Finally, consistent with the experimental findings, a field survey showed that, relative to market prices, owners of relatively hedonic cars value their vehicles more than do owners of relatively utilitarian cars. The authors discuss theoretical implications of these reference-dependent preference asymmetries and explore consequences for marketing managers and other decision makers.