The role of fantasy in luxury cruise decision-making

Abstract

This study aims (a) to examine the structural relationships among the social-adjustive, value-expressive, hedonic, and utilitarian functions of attitudes, fantasy, and willingness to pay a price premium and (b) identify the moderating roles of sensory innovativeness and maximization in the relationships between the four functions of attitudes, fantasy, and willingness to pay a price premium. Through an online survey method, a total of 543 respondents were asked to complete the questionnaire. A structural equation modeling analysis was conducted to test the proposed hypotheses. The results showed that the four functions of attitudes had significant positive effects on fantasy. In the subsequent process, fantasy had a significant positive effect on willingness to pay a price premium. Additionally, sensory innovativeness moderated the relationship between value-expressive function and fantasy, and maximization moderated the relationship between fantasy and willingness to pay a price premium. Given these findings, valuable theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Keywords: Luxury cruise, the functional theory of attitudes, fantasy, willingness to pay a price premium, sensory innovativeness, and maximization