Hybrid Insights Into Sustainable Versus Hedonic Consumption: Experiential Dimensions and Their Impact on Consumer Value

ABSTRACT Abundant literature deals with sustainable consumption and the experiential aspects of consumption, yet the nature of the sustainable consumption experience, in terms of its distinction from other consumption contexts, remains unclear. To identify key components and dimensions that constitute this particular experience, and their effects on consumers' value perceptions, the current research adopts the theory of consumer values as a core conceptual framework to compare sustainable versus hedonic consumption experiences. An empirical study relies on a structured autobiographical narrative elicitation that includes quantitative, pictorial, and textual measures. The results consistently show that sustainable consumption explicitly comprises an intellectual experience. Compared with hedonic experiences, sustainable purchases score lower on emotional dimensions and higher on thinking dimensions, which capture cognitive thinking, problem solving, and creativity elements. The intellectual dimension of the consumption experience in turn has a strong, significant impact on the perceived value of sustainable product purchases.