The Hedonic and Utilitarian Dimensions of Attendees' Attitudes Toward Festivals

Abstract

This study examined the attendees'attitudes toward festivals by utilizing a two-dimensional consumer attitude scale, the Hedonic/Utilitarian (HED/UT) Scale, developed by Voss, Spangenberg, and Grohmann. The HED/UT Scale was originally developed to measure the hedonic and utilitarian dimensions of consumer attitudes toward product categories and different brands within categories. Findings suggested the scale has good reliability and validity and can be used successfully to measure attendees' attitudes toward festivals or other events and services. Results indicated that people attend festivals and other social events for both hedonic and utilitarian reasons. However, their hedonic attitudes have a stronger impact on attending the festival and other special events than their utilitarian attitude. Marketing and theoretical implications are discussed.

‘From mosh pit to posh pit’: Festival imagery in the context of the boutique festival

“…The arts and cultural sector presents a key site for the staging and consumption of experiences, and festivals have to some extent been the focus of exploring aesthetic consumption and experience design for commercial purposes (e.g. Gursoy et al 2006;Matheson 2008). …”

Cross Channel Consumer Behavior and its Benefits: Scale Validation to Assess Purchasing Process Performance

“…Many researchers have studied the hedonistic behavior of searching for product information, which can be explained by a number of reasons: i) a pleasurable sensation derived from the imaginary use of products and objects seen and desired in stores and window displays (Campbell, 2001), ii) entertainment (Bridges & Florsheim, 2008), iii) the establishment of social and family bonds and ties (Raghunathan & Corfman, 2006), iv) the search for self-gratification, which refers to the pleasure and contentment derived from carrying out purchase experiences as a way of improving a momentary negative emotional state, whether as a form of distraction or to improve self esteem (Arnold & Reynolds, 2003); v) following market tendencies and innovations (Gursoy, Spangenberg, & Rutherford, 2006); vi) voyeurism, to contemplate people, products, environments, and objects (Holbrook, 2001).…”

Shopping Tourist Satisfaction: An Application of Hedonic and Utilitarian Values

“…Furthermore, this study is limited in its explanation of all shopping behaviors because tourists may react differently to various types of shopping items (i.e., luxurious or non-luxurious products) and shopping venues (i.e., department stores, shopping centers, or duty-free shops). Future research may opt to differentiate tourist groups to deepen the understanding on the complex nature of tourist shopping behavior [71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83].…”