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Hedonic shopping is a growing phenomenon designed to enhance gamers’ virtual content shopping experience with increasing economic significance, yet limited attention has been dedicated to this area. Our study explores key hedonic motivations of virtual content shopping and how hedonic shopping value builds trust (trust in virtual content and trust in virtual retailers) that enhances the intention to pay for premium.

This research adopts a mixed-methods approach. Study 1 is qualitative; 19 semi-structured interviews were conducted with virtual game retail platform users. Study 2, based on the literature review and qualitative inquiry findings (obtained from Study 1), proposes a research model empirically validated by analyzing survey data administered to 437 online gamers from gaming zones, cybercafés and e-sports centers.

The results show that in-game shopping-related adventure-, gratification-, role- and idea-seeking motivations significantly influence gamers' perceived hedonic shopping value. In turn, perceived shopping value has a significant indirect effect through trust on gamers’ intention to pay for premium.

This research contributes to gaming literature by offering a comprehensive model that elucidates the role of hedonic shopping in increasing gamers’ trust, which explains purchase behavior in the virtual game retail context. The findings deepen the understanding of the game retailing landscape and offer strategies to build gamers’ trust, increase premium usage and retain existing spenders.

Counter-hedonic entertainment, characterized by evoking negative emotions in consumers, has emerged as one of the most popular and profitable forms of entertainment in Western countries. However, this entertainment type is not as popular in China as in Western countries. This study examines whether the free trial of counter-hedonic entertainment can promote the consumption of such entertainment and explores the moderating effect of contextual factors on this relationship.

This study investigates the promotional effectiveness of the free trial strategy on counter-hedonic entertainment through a quasi-experiment involving the broadcasting of a large-scale free counter-hedonic program. This study has analyzed the counter-hedonic consumption data from 31 major cities in China and employed econometric modeling to test the hypotheses.

Results show that the free trial of counter-hedonic entertainment can promote the sales of entertainment with similar categories. The follow-up moderation analyses show that the positive effect is amplified on days with less sunlight and for consumers with abundant (vs scarce) financial resources, thereby providing evidence to support the underlying drivers of the positive effect – the need for arousal and confidence frame. Meanwhile, the free trial of counter-hedonic entertainment also has a long-term effect after airing.

Based on existing research on consumers’ counter-hedonic consumption motivation, this study confirms the effectiveness and boundary conditions of the free trial strategy in promoting counter-hedonic entertainment consumption for the first time. The results also offer actionable insights for counter-hedonic entertainment marketers and practitioners.

Online shopping has recently been evolving more toward the subject area of collaborative online shopping (COS), and customer satisfaction is one of the key determinants for the success of COS. In this study, we investigate the effect of product type and gender and their interaction with customer satisfaction through user involvement in a collaborative online shopping context.

We developed a lab experiment with a mixed two-by-two factorial design to test the proposed research model. We chose gender (male versus female) as the between-subjects factor and product type (utilitarian product versus hedonic product) as the within-subjects factor.

The obtained results indicate that collaborative shopping may require group members to be more involved for a hedonic product than a utilitarian product. When collaboratively shopping for utilitarian products, male groups tend to show a higher level of involvement than female groups. In contrast, female groups show a higher level of involvement than male groups when collaboratively shopping for hedonic products. Furthermore, our results indicate that greater involvement in COS may lead to higher satisfaction.

Websites that sell hedonic products should first adopt the design elements that support COS. Meanwhile, online sellers should be aware that the gender gap still exists as online shopping evolves toward social online shopping. In addition, COS websites should provide more design elements (e.g. co-browsing, avatar embodiment, video chat and voting tools) to stimulate user involvement.

In this paper, we employ the theory of consumption values, which decomposes COS value into the utilitarian and hedonic dimensions, as a theoretical foundation to investigate the effect of product type and gender together as well as their interactions in the COS context. The obtained findings may provide various insights and empirical evidence to improve the understanding of how to target male and female customers across different product types in the COS context.

This paper aims to explores the escapist journey that consumers embark on to reduce self-discrepancy, from the motivation to satisfy personal goals to the fulfilment of these goals. Escapism is a powerful concept for understanding why and how people resolve a perceived self-discrepancy. Previous research has provided rich and diverse insights into the motivations and goals, experience contexts and outcomes that are associated with escapism. However, these notions have been explored in an independent, piecemeal fashion that has hampered the development of cohesive theoretical foundations.

The authors conduct a qualitative study, relying on 33 journeys derived from 20 in-depth interviews, to understand and explain how escapism is initiated, formed and relived.

The findings document the existence of a predominantly utilitarian and a predominantly hedonic model, articulating why and how consumers pursue distinctly different types of escapist journeys. Utilitarian escapism is primarily concerned with the need to avoid negative emotional states, prompting consumers to decide impulsively to engage into routinised experience contexts to find relief. Hedonic escapism is primarily concerned with the desire to achieve positive emotional states. It involves lengthy and thoughtful anticipation, promotes consumers to pursue experiences in out of the ordinary contexts, and is realised when consumers obtain reward.

This study’s contributions present significant opportunities for further knowledge development.

The research findings have substantial practical ramifications for industry.

Understanding people’s needs to avoid the stress of everyday life (i.e. utilitarian escapism) and their desires to seek out excitement and pleasure (i.e. hedonic escapism) has important societal implications.

This research provides a robust theoretical foundation for escapism, one that is applicable across multiple settings. Findings are anchored within existing theory to articulate the notions of utilitarian and hedonic escapism, explaining why and how consumers engage in markedly different escapist journeys.

This paper aims to explore the pathways connecting perceived social isolation, perceived stress, hedonic browsing and e-impulse buying in social commerce.

A theoretical model was proposed. Data from 394 young adults was analyzed using structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized relationships in the model.

Perceived social isolation is associated with elevated levels of perceived stress and engagement in hedonic browsing. Young consumers often turn to hedonic browsing as a coping mechanism for stress, and both stress and hedonic browsing play significant roles in fostering impulsive purchases. Perceived stress fully mediates the influence of perceived social isolation on hedonic browsing. Conversely, hedonic browsing partially mediates the impact of perceived stress on e-impulse buying.

Businesses can use the findings to develop effective marketing strategies that entice customers to purchase on social commerce platforms. Moreover, the findings offer valuable insights for young consumers, providing them with an understanding of the complexities of impulsive buying in social commerce. This knowledge can empower them to make informed decisions and exercise enhanced control over their purchasing habits. Furthermore, the findings could be used as a basis for developing targeted interventions to reduce unnecessary purchases, particularly during challenging times that necessitate social isolation.

This study offers new empirical insights into the ways in which perceived social isolation, perceived stress and hedonic browsing contribute to the heightened prevalence of e-impulse buying in social commerce.

Fierce competition among over-the-top (OTT) platforms has rendered branding a precondition for consumer appeal. This study proposes a new structural equation model for OTT brands, especially Netflix, where hedonic and eudaimonic entertainment motives function as facilitators of consumer brand engagement.

An online survey was conducted. Structural Equation Modeling was used to build the model and test for various direct, mediation, and moderation effects.

The results suggest a multiple mediation model in which the relationship between the two types of entertainment and intention to use Netflix is sequentially mediated by consumer attention and consumer brand engagement. Moreover, this study confirms that female consumers, compared to male consumers, exhibit higher levels of consumer brand engagement when motivated by hedonic entertainment.

This is the first study to present a novel structural model for the content consumption of OTT brands and test the role of the two types of entertainment in the intention to use Netflix.

With the increasing popularity of live streaming, the exploration of online behaviors on live streaming platforms has become a research hot spot in academia. However, the literature lacks cross-cultural investigations into live streaming addictive (LSA) behaviors among viewers. To address this gap, based on stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory and motivation theory, this study investigates how information seeking, sensation seeking and community commitment (stimulus) affect hedonic and utilitarian motivation (organism), which in turn influence viewers’ LSA behaviors (response). This study also compares American and Chinese viewers to understand how LSA behaviors differ across national cultures.

We surveyed live stream viewers in both nations, collecting 758 valid samples including 377 Chinese respondents and 381 American respondents for use with the research model. A partial least squares (PLS) approach is employed for data analysis.

The results show that information seeking increases utilitarian motivation, sensation seeking increases hedonic motivation, and community commitment strengthens both hedonic and utilitarian motivation. Both hedonic motivation and utilitarian motivation positively affect LSA behaviors. In addition, based on cross-cultural analysis, we found that there was a significant mediating path common to the respondents in China and the USA (i.e. sensation seeking ? Hedonic motivation ? LSA).

The findings of this study make theoretical contributions to live streaming research and offer practical guidance for live streaming firms to formulate proper marketing strategies. Last, this study outlines several limitations and possible directions for future research.

Service robots offering low-contact services are trending in the hospitality industry. Nevertheless, there is limited empirical research on consumer perspectives. Using the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model, this study aims to investigate consumer acceptance of service robots and explores the relationships among stimuli (coolness and affinity), organisms (utilitarian and hedonic value) and responses (behavioral intention).

This study uses a purposive sampling method and conducts a questionnaire survey in restaurants with service robots in Taiwan. A total of 554 valid responses are analyzed, and confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling are performed.

The findings reveal that coolness and affinity positively influence utilitarian and hedonic values, whereas utilitarian and hedonic values positively affect behavioral intention. Additionally, these values mediate how coolness and affinity impact behavioral intentions, showing that coolness more significantly influences hedonic value, while affinity has a greater effect on utilitarian value.

As a theoretical basis, the SOR model examines the relationships among stimulus, organism and response. This study comprehensively investigates the factors influencing consumer perception toward service robots, testing the applicability of this theory in the food and beverage industry and expanding its practical value. Additionally, the author introduces the “fit” concept, indicating that, for maximum effect, coolness pairs best with hedonic value and affinity with utilitarian value.

提供低接触服务的服务机器人在酒店业中越来越受欢迎。然而, 关于消费者视角的实证研究仍然有限。本研究采用刺激-有机体-反应（SOR）模型, 调查消费者对服务机器人的接受度, 并探讨刺激（酷炫度和亲和力）、有机体（实用价值和享乐价值）和反应（行为意图）之间的关系。

本研究采用目的性抽样方法, 在台湾有服务机器人的餐厅进行问卷调查。共收集到554份有效问卷, 并进行了确认性因子分析和结构方程模型分析。

研究结果表明, 酷炫度和亲和力对实用价值和享乐价值有正向影响, 而实用价值和享乐价值对行为意图有正向影响。此外, 这些价值在酷炫度和亲和力对行为意图的影响中起中介作用, 表明酷炫度对享乐价值的影响更显著, 而亲和力对实用价值的影响更大。

本研究以SOR模型为理论基础, 检验了刺激、有机体和反应之间的关系。我们全面调查了影响消费者对服务机器人感知的因素, 测试了该理论在餐饮业中的适用性, 并扩展了其实际价值。此外, 我们引入了“匹配”概念, 指出为了达到最大效果, 酷炫度最好与享乐价值搭配, 而亲和力最好与实用价值搭配。

Digitally driven virtual streamers are increasingly utilized in live-streaming commerce, possessing distinct advantages compared to human streamers. However, the applicable scenarios of virtual streamers are still unclear. Focusing on product attribute variances, this paper compares the livestreaming effects of virtual and human streamers to clarify the applicable scenarios for each and assist companies in strategically choosing suitable streamers.

We conducted four experiments utilizing both images and video as stimulus materials, and each experiment employed different products. To test the proposed model, a total of 1,068 valid participants were recruited, encompassing a diverse group of individuals, including undergraduates and employed workers.

The results indicate no significant difference between virtual and human streamers in increasing consumers’ purchase intention for utilitarian products. In contrast, human streamers are more effective in enhancing consumer purchase intention for hedonic products, with a mediating role of mental imagery quality. Consumers’ implicit personality variances also influence their willingness to accept virtual streamers.

This paper is the first to compare the effects of virtual and human streamers in promoting different products to enhance our comprehension of virtual streamers. Given the potential risks associated with human streamers, a comprehensive understanding of the role of virtual streamers is imperative for brands when deploying live-streaming commerce activities.

This study aims to explore the impact of augmented reality (AR) technologies on consumer information processing and value perceptions in physical stores. Specifically, it investigates how the vividness, novelty and interactivity of AR shape utilitarian and hedonic value perceptions, and influence consumer purchase and continuance behaviour.

The study used the store intercept survey method at 15 retail outlets across four metro cities in India, representing nine prominent retail brands deploying AR technologies. The data collected (n = 650) were subjected to exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis.

Major findings confirm a significant effect of vividness, novelty and interactivity on utilitarian and hedonic value perceptions of in-store AR experiences of customers in physical stores. Hedonic value was found to affect continuance intention but not purchase intention, while utilitarian value was found to affect purchase intention but not continuance.

This study extends the stimulus–organism–response model’s application to AR in physical stores by integrating the impact of vividness, novelty and interaction on both utilitarian and hedonic values and revealing their significance in influencing purchase intentions and continuance.

Major findings advise retailers to increase AR experience adoption in stores and illustrate the process through which purchase and continuance intentions may be influenced.

This is one of the few studies that explore the impact of AR on consumer attitudes and intentions in physical stores. In addition, the study explores the effect of AR tools as a process that passes through value perceptions and then affects the consumer.