Indian Journal of Marketing

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

Role of Consumption Intent in Service Quality : Perceived Benefit Relationship


Affiliations
1 SVKM's NMIMS (Bangalore Campus), Lakshmipura Village, Jigani Hobli, Anekal Taluk, Kalkere, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore, India
2 Goa Business School, Goa University, Goa - 403 206, India
3 Department of Mechanical and Marine Engineering, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Post Bag No13338, Windhoek, Namibia
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


The purpose of this study was two-fold. First, it explained the relationship between service quality and benefit perception. Second, it studied the role of customers' intent in the relationship. Following a descriptive design, data were gathered from a sample of 202 restaurant customers in Goa, India during the year 2017. Empirically validated tools were used for data collection. Data were statistically analyzed for direct as well as for moderated impacts using regression analysis and testing coefficient differences. Service quality was found to be positively impacting overall benefit perception. The impact of service quality on utilitarian benefits was stronger than that on hedonic benefits. While all five dimensions of service quality were found to be impacting utilitarian benefit perception, only tangibles and assurance dimensions were found to be impacting hedonic benefit perception. Customer intent, whether hedonic or utilitarian, moderated the relationship between service quality and benefit perception. A utilitarian intent positively moderated the relationship, while a hedonic intent moderated negatively. Besides its theoretical relevance, the study is also relevant for practice. The areas of practical relevance included market segmentation based on customer intent, service quality levers that influence utilitarian versus hedonic benefit perception, and adaptations in service design and delivery to address customer induced variability. As a first effort to understand the role of intent in quality-benefit relationship, the study makes original contribution to the existing body of knowledge.

Keywords

Service Quality, Hedonic And Utilitarian Intents, Perceived Benefits, Moderation Effect.
User
Subscription Login to verify subscription
Notifications
Font Size

  • Alba, J. W., & Williams, E. F. (2013). Pleasure principles : A review of research on hedonic consumption. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 23(1), 2 – 18.

  • Albers-Miller, N. D., & Royne Stafford, M. (1999). An international analysis of emotional and rational appeals in services vs goods advertising. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 16(1), 42 – 57.

  • Almquist, E., Senior, J., & Bloch, N. (2016, September). The elements of value. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2016/09/the-elements-of-value

  • Apter, M. J. (2001). Motivational styles in everyday life : A guide to reversal theory. American Psychological Association.

  • Apter, M. J. (2007). Reversal theory : The dynamics of motivation, emotion, and personality. Oneworld Oxford.

  • Apter, M. J., & Carter, S. (2002). Mentoring and motivational versatility: An exploration of reversal theory. Career Development International, 7(5), 292 – 295.

  • Barnabas, N., & Mekoth, N. (2010). Autonomy, market orientation and performance in Indian retail banking. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 22(3), 330 – 350.

  • Baudrillard, J. (2016). The consumer society : Myths and structures. Sage.

  • Berry, L. L., Carbone, L. P., & Haeckel, S. H. (2002). Managing the total customer experience. MIT Sloan Management Review, 43(3), 85 – 89.

  • Bridges, E., & Florsheim, R. (2008). Hedonic and utilitarian shopping goals: The online experience. Journal of Business Research, 61(4), 309 – 314.

  • Campbell, C. (2018). Traditional and modern hedonism. In, The romantic ethic and the spirit of modern consumerism (pp. 107–130). Springer.

  • Chen, C. - F., & Chen, F. - S. (2010). Experience quality, perceived value, satisfaction and behavioral intentions for heritage tourists. Tourism Management, 31(1), 29 – 35.

  • Chen, Z., & Dubinsky, A. J. (2003). A conceptual model of perceived customer value in e - commerce : A preliminary investigation. Psychology & Marketing, 20(4), 323 – 347.

  • Guido, G. (2005). Shopping motives and the hedonic/utilitarian shopping value: A preliminary study. In K. M. Ekstrom & H. Brembeck (eds.), E – European advances in consumer research (Vol. 7, pp. 168 – 169). Goteborg, Sweden : Association for Consumer Research.

  • Holbrook, M. B. (1999). Consumer value : A framework for analysis and research. Psychology Press.

  • Jin, N., Lee, S., & Lee, H. (2015). The effect of experience quality on perceived value, satisfaction, image and behavioral intention of water park patrons: New versus repeat visitors. International Journal of Tourism Research, 17(1), 82 – 95.

  • Jones, M. A., Reynolds, K. E., & Arnold, M. J. (2006). Hedonic and utilitarian shopping value : Investigating differential effects on retail outcomes. Journal of Business Research, 59(9), 974 – 981.

  • Khandelwal, U., Bajpai, N., Tripathi, V., & Yadav, S. (2016). Intention to purchase hybrid cars in India : A study. Indian Journal of Marketing, 46(8), 37 – 50. doi:10.17010/ijom/2016/v46/i8/99294

  • Khanna, P., & Seth, S. (2018). Consumer perception towards shopping malls: Evidence from a Tier II city. Indian Journal of Marketing, 48(4), 47 – 59. doi:10.17010/ijom/2018/v48/i4/122625

  • Kuo, Y.- F., Wu, C.- M., & Deng, W.-J. (2009). The relationships among service quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and post-purchase intention in mobile value-added services. Computers in Human Behavior, 25(4), 887 – 896.

  • Panigrahi, S. K., Azizan, N. A., & Khan, M. W. A. (2018). Investigating the empirical relationship between service quality, trust, satisfaction, and intention of customers purchasing life insurance products. Indian Journal of Marketing, 48(1), 28 – 46. doi:10.17010/ijom/2018/v48/i1/120734

  • Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1988). SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64(1), 12 – 40.

  • Rajeswari, S., Srinivasulu, Y., & Thiyagarajan, S. (2016). Service quality in the telecommunication industry : Analysis with special reference to DSL services. Indian Journal of Marketing, 46(2), 7 – 21. doi:10.17010/ijom/2016/v46/i2/87245

  • Sánchez-Fernández, R., & Iniesta-Bonillo, M. Á. (2007). The concept of perceived value : A systematic review of the research. Marketing Theory, 7(4), 427 – 451.

  • Sharma, S., & Verma, R. (2015). Extent of service quality in commercial banks in Punjab. Indian Journal of Marketing, 45(10), 36–48. doi:10.17010/ijom/2015/v45/i10/79797

  • Sony, M., & Mekoth, N. (2012). A typology for frontline employee adaptability to gain insights in service customisation : A viewpoint. International Journal of Services and Operations, 12(4), 490–508. Retrieved from http://www.inderscienceonline.com/doi/abs/10.1504/IJSOM.2012.047955

  • Sony, M., & Mekoth, N. (2016). The relationship between emotional intelligence, frontline employee adaptability, job satisfaction and job performance. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 30(1), 20 – 32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2015.12.003

  • Soper, D. S. (2013). Interaction. Windows software for graphing and analyzing statistical interactions.Retrieved from https://www.danielsoper.com/Interaction/

  • Taquet, M., Quoidbach, J., de Montjoye, Y.-A., Desseilles, M., & Gross, J. J. (2016). Hedonism and the choice of everyday activities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(35), 9769 – 9773.

  • Vieira, V., Santini, F. O., & Araujo, C. F. (2018). A meta-analytic review of hedonic and utilitarian shopping values. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 35(4), 426 – 437.

  • Voss, K. E., Spangenberg, E. R., & Grohmann, B. (2003). Measuring the hedonic and utilitarian dimensions of consumer attitude. Journal of Marketing Research, 40(3), 310 –320.

  • Yang, H., Yu, J., Zo, H., & Choi, M. (2016). User acceptance of wearable devices: An extended perspective of perceived value. Telematics and Informatics, 33(2), 256 – 269.

  • Yim, M. Y.- C., Yoo, S.- C., Sauer, P. L., & Seo, J. H. (2014). Hedonic shopping motivation and co-shopper influence on utilitarian grocery shopping in superstores. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 42(5), 528 – 544.


Abstract Views: 234

PDF Views: 0




  • Role of Consumption Intent in Service Quality : Perceived Benefit Relationship

Abstract Views: 234  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

Barnabas Nattuvathuckal
SVKM's NMIMS (Bangalore Campus), Lakshmipura Village, Jigani Hobli, Anekal Taluk, Kalkere, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore, India
Nandakumar Mekoth
Goa Business School, Goa University, Goa - 403 206, India
Michael Sony
Department of Mechanical and Marine Engineering, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Post Bag No13338, Windhoek, Namibia

Abstract


The purpose of this study was two-fold. First, it explained the relationship between service quality and benefit perception. Second, it studied the role of customers' intent in the relationship. Following a descriptive design, data were gathered from a sample of 202 restaurant customers in Goa, India during the year 2017. Empirically validated tools were used for data collection. Data were statistically analyzed for direct as well as for moderated impacts using regression analysis and testing coefficient differences. Service quality was found to be positively impacting overall benefit perception. The impact of service quality on utilitarian benefits was stronger than that on hedonic benefits. While all five dimensions of service quality were found to be impacting utilitarian benefit perception, only tangibles and assurance dimensions were found to be impacting hedonic benefit perception. Customer intent, whether hedonic or utilitarian, moderated the relationship between service quality and benefit perception. A utilitarian intent positively moderated the relationship, while a hedonic intent moderated negatively. Besides its theoretical relevance, the study is also relevant for practice. The areas of practical relevance included market segmentation based on customer intent, service quality levers that influence utilitarian versus hedonic benefit perception, and adaptations in service design and delivery to address customer induced variability. As a first effort to understand the role of intent in quality-benefit relationship, the study makes original contribution to the existing body of knowledge.

Keywords


Service Quality, Hedonic And Utilitarian Intents, Perceived Benefits, Moderation Effect.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom%2F2020%2Fv50%2Fi3%2F151027