Relationships among hedonic and utilitarian values, satisfaction and behavioral intentions in the fast-casual restaurant industry

Purpose - The paper aims to examine the relationships among hedonic and utilitarian values, customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions in the fast-casual restaurant industry. Design/methodology/approach - The measures were developed based on a thorough review of the previous literature. Questionnaires were collected in classroom settings at a mid-western university in the USA. Anderson and Gerbing's two-step approach was employed to assess the measurement and structural models. Findings - The findings indicate that hedonic and utilitarian values significantly influence customer satisfaction, and customer satisfaction has a significant influence on behavioral intentions. Utilitarian value shows a greater influence on both customer satisfaction and behavioral intention than does hedonic value. This study also reveals that customer satisfaction acts as a partial mediator in the link between hedonic/utilitarian value and behavioral intentions. Research limitations/implications - Study findings will greatly help hospitality researchers and practitioners understand the roles of hedonic and utilitarian values in customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions in the fast-casual restaurant industry. Originality/value - The paper is the first to explore the relationships among hedonic and utilitarian values and their effect on customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions in the fast-casual restaurant industry using Babin et al's two-dimensional measure of consumer value.