Hedonic and Utilitarian Values of a Service Experience with a Nonprofit: The Role of Identification

Identification is defined as the act of defining oneself in terms of the identity of a collective or an organization. In this paper, the concept of identification is linked with how customers perceive the value of a marketing offering. Customer values are conceptualized to be bi-dimensional in nature. Based on extant literature, it is argued that customer values can be utilitarian or hedonic in nature. The utilitarian dimension is more instrumental in nature, and is concerned with the functional benefits derived from the consumption. The hedonic dimension is concerned with the affective gratification derived from the consumption. It relates to the experiential benefits. It is argued that these two dimensions are distinct, however, they are positively correlated in the context of a service encounter with a nonprofit organization such as a zoo. It is also argued that consumers that feel greater identification with the organization are likely to derive more hedonic than utilitarian benefits from the consumption activity, as identification is a construct signifying affection, one of the correlates of hedonic value. Data was collected 94 zoo visitors in a mid-western town in USA to test the hypothesis. Preliminary data analysis suggests that the results would validate the hypotheses. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]