Effect of Utilitarian and Hedonic Motivations on Consumer Satisfaction with Travel Websites

Many e-commerce service providers have failed to identify specific dimensions of website quality that result in improved customer satisfaction. In addition, the importance of hedonic and utilitarian functions in improving customer satisfaction is not well understood. Thus, this study has two goals: 1) to investigate the specific website quality dimensions that influence customer satisfaction; 2) to investigate whether two shopping motivation variables, utilitarian and hedonic, moderate the effect of the Web quality dimensions on satisfaction. Results have identified five dimensions of service quality: visual and emotional appeal; information fit; response time; trust; and relative advantage. Furthermore, utilitarian and hedonic shopping motivations have significant moderating effect on customer satisfaction.