Exploring the Utilitarian and Hedonic Value Derived from Tourism Pre-experiences with Virtual Reality: Differences Between Destinations and Accommodations

The tourism industry is in a convulsive situation of great uncertainty. The recovery of the sector depends on boosting digitalization processes. In this sense, virtual reality represents an essential tool that can generate added value in the customer experience. This study analyzes the impact of virtual reality tourism pre-experiences on the utilitarian and hedonic value perceived by the customer. In addition, given the heterogeneity of tourism products and offers, it is proposed that the influence of virtual reality on the dimensions of perceived value will depend on whether the product is evaluated on an attribute basis (hotels) or holistically (destinations). The results will provide interesting implications for understanding and generating tourism experiences with high added value. Particularly, these results will be helpful for tourism managers to design effective virtual reality pre-experiences according to the features of the tourism products they are promoting, fostering the corresponding hedonic/utilitarian value in the tourist’s pre-experience.

Critical thinking; the father of all disciplines

Looking at the history of philosophy, one will see that philosophy is often credited with the attributes of critical thinking, hence, critical thinking is always discussed as a tool of or the same as philosophy. Whereas it seems almost impossible to find philosophy or philosophizing without critical thinking, it may not be true to say that they are the same. This work therefore, demonstrates that philosophy and critical thinking are very complementary, but are not same, and critical thinking is not a tool of philosophy. It agrees that philosophy is the mother, but show that critical thinking is the father, of rational enquiries. For long, critical thinking and philosophy have served to produce results of rational enquiry hence the identification of the critical thinking DNA as is found in all the results of rational and creative thought. Adopting the method of critical analysis, this work concludes that critical thinking should be seen and appreciated for what it is and that it is better for all disciplines to emphasize the need and role of their paternal (critical thinking) DNA as it is what brings them to their pragmatic utilitarian value.

The effect of hedonic value, utilitarian value, and customer satisfaction in predicting repurchase intention and willingness to pay a price premium for smartwatch brands

The aim of this study is to examine the role of hedonic value (HV), utilitarian value (UV), and customer satisfaction (CS) in individuals' willingness to pay a price premium (WTP a price premium) and repurchase intention (RI) to smartwatches. This study is unique and important as it only deals with smartwatches, unlike other studies on wearable technology products that often focus on the general situation. The research sample includes smartwatch users aged 18 years and above. An online survey was used to collect research data from 420 people identified using the convenience sampling method. After checking the missing values, 401 valid surveys were retained for further analysis. Hypotheses were analysed using the Structural Equation Modelling. The research findings revealed strong relationships between HV and UV and CS. HV and UV were found to positively affect the CS. The results showed that CS also had a positive influence on both WTP a price premium and RI.

The Teaching of Historical Memory as a Tool for Achieving SDG 16 and Teachers’ Views on the Exile Memorial Museum (MUME) Routes

This article analyses the educational role of historical memory in Spain in the context of Education for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. The main objective is to show the utilitarian value of historical memory as an enabling element to achieve SDG 16: “Peace, justice and strong institutions”. The study analysed focuses on a very specific heritage product, the exile routes of the Exile Memorial Museum—MUME (La Jonquera, Spain), through a series of semi-open in-depth interviews with teachers who visited the routes. Their responses were cross-checked with the learning objectives for SDG 16 in its three categories: cognitive, socio-emotional and behavioural. The results of this cross-referencing show that there is a significant relationship between the teaching of heritage in places of memory and the block of socioemotional learning objectives, and more specifically with the third category, related to the display of empathy and solidarity.

The Impact of Utilitarian Value, Hedonic Value, and Brand Image of Modern Coffee Shop City of Malang on Customer Satisfaction

The existence of modern coffee shops in Malang City is growing and encouraging the birth of coffee shops with all things modern nuances, one of factor is the number of students in Malang City is increasing year by year, so that this moment is used by entrepreneurs to establishing modern coffee shops in the city of Malang, but not all modern coffee shops can maintain their business because competition in introducing or selling products is not oriented to the characteristics of their consumers, this is a challenge for entrepreneurs to be able to understand the characteristics of their consumers well to be able to compete. The purpose of this study is to find out how the impact of utilitarian value, hedonic value, and brand image of modern coffee shops in Malang City on customer satisfaction by using a quantitative descriptive analysis method approach. The results of data analysis show that: 1) utilitarian value behavior that has a consumer has a significant effect on modern coffee shop customer satisfaction; 2) the hedonic value behavior that has consumers has a significant effect on modern coffee shop customer satisfaction; and 3) brand image embedded in consumers has a significant effect on modern coffee shop customer satisfaction.

ONLINE FEEDBACK IMPACT ONLINE SHOPPERS' IMPULSE PURCHASES IN MALAYSIA

Online shopping has risen to the third position among Malaysians who use the Internet. Typically, past customer online reviews are deciding factors for an online business's success or failure because online consumers encounter online reviews while visiting a website, and it has a direct effect on their ability to purchase impulsively and online impulse buying conduct. The majority of previous research on market-generated context as a factor in online impulse buying behaviour has concentrated on the market-generated background. As a result, this research identified two types of online reviews as independent variables: hedonic and utilitarian value online reviews, browsing, and willingness to buy impulsively as mediating and moderating variables. While online impulse buying behaviour a dependent variable. This study only involves online shoppers who have made at least one purchase on both Lazada Malaysia and Shopee Malaysia websites. This study took a quantitative approach, with 100 responses collected from online shoppers who had made at least one purchase on Shopee Malaysia and Lazada Malaysia through an online questionnaire. Due to the deletion of one straight-lining response, 99 responses were subjected to data analysis using SmartPLS software. According to the results, hedonic value online reviews influence browsing, and browsing influences the urge to buy impulsively and directly to online impulse purchasing.

An Empirical Test of Brand Love and Brand Loyalty for Restaurants during the COVID-19 Era: A Moderated Moderation Approach

Although brand love–loyalty relationships can deepen, the literature does not include systematic and empirical investigations demonstrating when perceived value and relationship duration are valuable in enhancing the brand love–loyalty relationship. This study investigates the effects of relationship duration, perceived value, and restaurant type on the relationships between brand love and brand loyalty during the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In particular, hedonic value rather than utilitarian value is hypothesized to negatively enhance the relationship between brand love and brand loyalty when consumers continue to have long-lasting relationships with a restaurant brand. Using data collected from an online research firm in Korea, the findings revealed that brand love negatively influences brand loyalty. However, the impact of brand love on brand loyalty increases when customers seek hedonic value. Our findings also demonstrate that consumers who sought hedonic value strengthened the brand love–loyalty link compared to consumers who sought utilitarian value, particularly one with a short-lasting relationship. Consumers who sought utilitarian value through a long-lasting relationship strengthened the same relationship, although the increased correlation was not statistically significant. Furthermore, brand loyalty gradually decreases at fine-dining restaurants, whereas it sharply increases at takeaway restaurants.

Factors Influencing Chinese Online Health Service Use

Despite the popularity of online health services (OHSs) among patients in recent years, academic research on this phenomenon is limited. Drawing on the valence framework, the authors proposed a model to explore both the most important facilitators of OHS use intention from the perceived value perspective and inhibitors of OHS use intention from the perceived risk perspective. Data were collected from 407 OHS users through an online survey. Results showed that the inhibitors of OHS use intention include privacy risk and social risk, while facilitators include social support value, convenience value, and utilitarian value. These findings enrich the OHS literature by revealing both the inhibitors and facilitators of OHS use intention. This study also provides practical implications for platforms offering OHS in relation to effectively attracting users.

The service triad: an empirical study of service robots, customers and frontline employees

PurposeRecent service studies suggest focusing on the service triad consisting of technology-customer-frontline employee (FLE). This study empirically investigates the role of service robots in this service triad, with the aim to understand the augmentation or substitution role of service robots in driving utilitarian and hedonic value and ultimately customer repatronage.Design/methodology/approachIn study 1, field data are collected from customers (n = 108) who interacted with a service robot and FLE in a fast casual dining restaurant. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to test hypotheses about the impact of service robots' anthropomorphism, social presence, value perceptions and augmentation opportunities in the service triad. In study 2, empirical data from a scenario-based experimental design (n = 361) complement the field study by further scrutinizing the interplay between the service robot and FLEs within the service triad.FindingsThe study provides three important contributions. First, the authors provide empirical evidence for the interplay between different actors in the “customer-FLE-technology” service triad resulting in customer repatronage. Second, the empirical findings advance the service management literature by unraveling the relationship between anthropomorphism and social presence and their effect on perceived value in the service triad. And third, the study identifies utilitarian value of service robots as a driver of customer repatronage in fast casual dining restaurants.Practical implicationsThe results help service managers, service robot engineers and designers, and policy makers to better understand the implications of anthropomorphism, and how the utilitarian value of service robots can offer the potential for augmentation or substitution roles in the service triad.Originality/valueBuilding on existing conceptual and laboratory studies on service robots, this is one of the first field studies on the service triad consisting of service robots – customers – frontline employees. The empirical study on service triads provides evidence for the potential of FLEs to augment service robots that exhibit lower levels of functional performance to achieve customer repatronage. FLEs can do this by demonstrating a high willingness to help and having excellent interactions with customers. This finding advocates the joint service delivery by FLE – service robot teams in situations where service robot technology is not fully optimized.