Eatertainment: Utilitarian and Hedonic Motivations for Patronizing Fun Experience Restaurants

Patrons not only want a good meal while dining but also a pleasant experience. Restaurants are dimensional in their ability to provide for this experience. The purpose of this research is to determine why people have interests in the fun experience factor that some restaurants provide. In this study we explore the hedonic and utilitarian motives for patrons dining in fun experience restaurants. It is necessary to apply these principles to the investigation of this study as consumers dine to satisfy hunger and to experience a more memorable experience. It is essential to examine both these values for a more meaningful study. Surveys were administered to a convenience sample of 287 participants at a fun experience restaurant in the metropolitan area. Crosstabs, ANOVA, Correlations, Factor Analysis and Multiple Regression were employed to explore differences and relationships between variables. Findings identified a profile of patrons at fun experience restaurants using the involvement construct, and the hedonic and utilitarian motivational motives, results of this study indicate the primary reasons for patronage at fun experience restaurants. Furthermore, motivational factors with various restaurant characteristics were found to understand what patrons’ value most about this experience. This paper provides the restaurant industry with insight and understanding as to what attracts patrons to fun experiment establishments and what motivations influences their decisions.