Implemental Mindset Research Articles

Mind over minutes: The effect of task duration consideration on task delay

AbstractWould highlighting that a customer review can be completed in 3 min influence a customer's decision to either promptly submit their review or delay it, with the potential risk of forgetting it altogether? Despite the popular approach of using task duration to mitigate task delay, the empirical support for this method is scant. This study investigates the effect of considering task duration (i.e., how long a task may take) on task delay (i.e., postponing the task until later). Across four studies, we demonstrate that making task duration salient decreases the likelihood of postponing a short task that can be achieved in one sitting. This effect occurs because considering task duration strengthens the implemental mindset, but only when task duration information is more evaluable. The findings of this paper suggest an easily implementable method that could customer engagement. Finally, we propose a set of promising avenues for future research.

Eliciting deliberative and implemental mindsets in audit planning

AbstractThere is concern that rather than critically deliberating specific circumstances, auditors focus on selecting and documenting defensible audit positions. Currently, subordinate auditors perform tasks mindful that they will be accountable for their work both inside (e.g., partners) and outside (e.g., PCAOB) the firm and adopt “implementation intentions” based on previous review experiences to guide their performance. In the context of fraud‐detection planning, we consider an alternative approach in which subordinate auditors work under contingent reward agreements under which they will be compensated for effective fraud‐detection plans. Lacking an anticipated course of action, they invoke a “deliberative mindset” in order to create a task strategy. In an experiment, auditors completed a fraud‐detection planning task under contingent rewards, accountability, or anonymity. We find that auditors operating under contingent rewards used deliberative mindsets. They were better able to identify potential fraud, select more effective procedures, and plan more hours for effective procedures. Auditors under accountability completed the planning task based on implementation intentions. They focused on broadly increasing audit hours across procedures, including allocating significantly more hours to less effective procedures. Mediation analysis shows that improved planning performance resulted from the use of deliberative mindsets and not implementation intentions.

When the Clock Strikes: A Multimethod Investigation of On-the-Hour Effects in Online Learning

Online learners often experience a lack of sustained motivation given the self-paced nature of online learning, resulting in inefficiency and a high dropout rate. It is important to explore options that help users optimize their learning behavior and improve their learning performance. Using a multimethod approach, we show that (a) starting learning sessions at on-the-hour time points activates users’ implemental mindset, which supports them in building greater learning persistence and achieving better learning performance, and (b) social presence significantly attenuates the effects of on-the-hour time points in online learning. Based on our findings, we suggest that both learners and instructors on online learning platforms can leverage common temporal cues, such as on-the-hour time points, to schedule learning activities in order to motivate online learners, enhance their learning persistence, and improve their learning performance. Additionally, online learning platforms can also adopt designs that facilitate virtual connections among geographically separated users to enhance their learning productivity.

Entrepreneurial Mindset and SME Internationalisation: Empirical Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between Entrepreneurial Mindset and SME Internationalization in Uganda. The study conceptualized entrepreneurial mindset along three dimensions Deliberative mindsets, Implemental mindsets and Compulsive mindsets and each dimension was tested to see how it correlates with SME internationalization. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopted a correlation and cross-sectional research design targeting owners and managers on a sample of 197 exporting SMEs in Uganda. Hypotheses were tested using partial least squares- structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. Findings: The findings reveal that among the three dimensions of entrepreneurial mindset, it’s only the implemental mindsets that are positively and significantly related to SME Internationalisation. Practical implications: Successful SME internationalization in a developing country like Uganda can be achieved by managers and owners who have thoughts that are more inclined to putting into action the pre-conceived ideas. Originality/value: The study ventured into a less studied area in SME Internationalisation and uncovers the reality that among the sub-domains of entrepreneurial mindset, it’s only the implemental mindsets that strongly predict SME internationalization. Keywords: Entrepreneurial Mindset, Internationalisation, SMEs, Uganda.

Ten days (vs. May 10) make you rush: The effect of time descriptions on task scheduling

AbstractA time interval can be presented as a duration (e.g., 10 days) or a calendar date (e.g., May 10). This study examines the influence of time descriptions on task scheduling. Results of 10 studies (N = 2,129) present evidence that people tend to schedule their tasks earlier when the time interval is described as a duration than a date. This time description effect is accounted for by different mindsets. People tend to have an implemental mindset when time is described as a duration (vs. date) because of stronger feelings of being inside the time frame. This mindset affects decisions on scheduling when to initiate future tasks.

Mental conversion: a customer service strategy impacting shopping experiences

PurposeThis study aims to provide a practical strategy for customer service and salesforce from the basis of behavioral economics. When customers thought they missed a discount but eventually could get the deal, they perceived that they had obtained more value. This research defines such a conversion effect between gain and loss accounts, demonstrates its impact in marketing settings and provides the salesforce a tactic to increase sales and quality of customer service to improve the consumer experience in the social customer journey.Design/methodology/approachThree experiments were conducted in a behavioral lab and online setting. Participants were randomly assigned to 2 (gain vs loss) × 2 (converted vs simple) between-subjects designs in the first two experiments and 2 (gain vs loss) × 2 (converted vs simple) × 2 (high price vs low price) in the third experiment. Analysis of variance was conducted to analyze the data. Mediation and moderation analyses were also conducted to identify the mediator and moderator in the model.FindingsThe conversion between gain and loss mental accounts exists, and the converted gains are more likely to lead consumers to make purchases with a once-lost discount than simple gains. This conversion effect is mediated by consumers’ implemental mindset activated by the conversion and moderated by price.Originality/valueThis research shows that mental accounts of gains and losses can be dynamically converted to one another. It provides a managerial tactic for salesforces and customer service to lead consumers to make a purchase decision right away. This is especially important when they aim to enhance the consumer experience in the social customer journey.

Improving Performance on Low-Level Audit Tasks: The Interactive Effect of Regulatory Fit and Professional Identity

ABSTRACTAuditing standards vary in their degree of prescriptive language—for example, stating that auditors “could” versus “should” do certain procedures. We posit that more prescriptive language primes an implemental mindset, thereby creating a feeling of regulatory fit with objective verification tasks and improving auditors' performance on these tasks. In an experiment with audit students, we find that participants who apply a more (versus less) prescriptive auditing standard perform better on a subsequent, unrelated ticking-and-tying task, and this effect is larger for participants who identify less with the audit profession. Theory-consistent evidence indicates that the interaction of regulatory fit and professional identity improves performance via increased motivation. Our study provides evidence that features of the audit environment prime mindsets, that these primed mindsets can affect performance on low-level tasks, and that the effect of regulatory fit for low-level tasks is particularly important for those who identify less with the audit profession.

I implement, they deliberate: The matching effects of point of view and mindset on consumer attitudes

Companies can choose to depict images and develop narratives in their marketing communications from the first-person or the third-person point of view (POV). Prior research is equivocal on which POV is more effective. The present research examines the interaction effect between consumers’ cognitive mindset and POV on their product attitude. Studies 1 and 2 focus on visual POV and show that consumers with an implemental (deliberative) mindset have more favorable product attitude when the first-person (third-person) perspective is used. The matching effect can be explained by consumers’ higher engagement with the message. Study 3 shows that the effect between mindset and POV on product attitude also extends to narrative POV, and the effect is weakened when the advertised target is a search product rather than an experience product. These findings contribute to the literatures on ad processing, mindset, and marketing communication effectiveness, besides having important practical implications.

The role of sensory processing sensitivity and analytic mind-set in ethical decision-making

ABSTRACT Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS) is an individual difference that affects people’s thinking and behavior. People who are high in SPS, Highly Sensitive People (HSPs), are more sensitive to stimuli and prefer to take their time in thinking through problems. This study examined the effects of SPS and analytic mind-set on ethical decision-making. Mind-Set was manipulated by instructing participants to either think thoroughly through the ethical problem (deliberation) or focus on finding a concrete, practical solution when solving the problems (implementation). HSPs performed better in the deliberative mind-set, allowing them to solve the problem using their natural problem-solving approach. People low in SPS performed better in the implementation mind-set. Results suggest that ethics interventions should not be “one size fits all,” and should consider a person’s natural problem-solving tendencies.

Entrepreneurial Mindset: Examining the Contribution of Deliberative and Implemental Mindsets to SME Internationalization

The purpose of this study was to establish the contribution of deliberative mindset and implemental mindset to SME (small and medium enterprises) internationalization. This study employed cross-sectional and correlational research designs. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of exporting SME owners and managers. Data was analyzed with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and SmartPLS. Results suggest that implemental mindset significantly contributes to variances in SME internationalization unlike deliberative mindset. The findings in this study imply that increased levels of internationalization among SMEs in a developing country like Uganda can be achieved by those managers and owners who possess an implemental mindset. This study provides initial empirical evidence of the contribution of deliberative and implemental mindsets to SME internationalization using evidence from Uganda – a developing country.

The effects of pre-intervention mindset induction on a brief intervention to increase risk perception and reduce alcohol use among university students: A pilot randomized controlled trial

Brief interventions based on personalized feedback have shown promising results in reducing risky alcohol use among university students. We investigated the effects of activating deliberative (predecisional) or implemental (postdecisional) mindsets on the effectiveness of a standardized brief intervention, the ASSIST-linked Brief Intervention. This intervention comprises a personalized feedback and a decisional balance exercise. We hypothesized that participants in a deliberative mindset should show better outcomes related to risk perception and behavior than participants in an implemental mindset. A sample of 257 students provided baseline measures on risk perception, readiness to change, and alcohol use. Of those, 64 students with risky alcohol use were randomly allocated to one of two mindset induction conditions-deliberative or implemental mindset. Thereafter, they received the ASSIST-linked Brief Intervention and completed self-report questionnaires on changes in risk perception, alcohol use, and readiness to change at post-intervention and four-week follow-up. In contrast to our hypotheses, the four-weeks follow-up revealed that participants in the implemental mindset consumed significantly less alcohol than participants in a deliberative mindset did. The former decreased and the latter increased their alcohol intake; resistance to the brief intervention was stronger in the latter condition. However, neither deliberative nor implemental mindset participants showed any changes in risk perceptions or in their readiness to change alcohol consumption. These findings suggest that mindset induction is a powerful moderator of the effects of the ASSIST-linked Brief Intervention. We argue that systematic research on mindset effects on brief intervention techniques aimed to reduce risky alcohol use is highly needed in order to identify the processes involved with commitment and resistance being the main candidates.

When the Clock Strikes: Exploring the Mindset Effects of Temporal Cues in Gamified Online Learning Systems

Gamification has been widely employed in online learning systems to enhance users’ gratification and to retain them from dropping out. Compared with core learning modules, gamification modules provide more hedonic value, which increases user engagement in the short term but these modules may also cause distraction and impede learning performance. Thus, time management and self-control are crucial for users of online learning systems. Our study proposes that users tend to treat on-the-hour time points (i.e., the strike of the traditional clock) as temporal cues, which substantially influence their interactions with the core learning versus gamification modules, as well as both the instrumental and experiential outcomes of these interactions. Through a set of three multi-method studies that focus on the sharp clock-striking time points, we find that i) users are more (versus less) likely to begin using core learning modules (versus gamification modules) after clock-striking time points; ii) beginning the use of core learning modules at clock-striking time points has a positive relationship with learning persistence and learning performance; iii) beginning the use of gamification modules at clock-striking time points results in a lower level of perceived enjoyment than beginning at random time points. Further, the results of studies 2 and 3 indicate that clock-striking time points can activate users’ implemental mindset, which supports them in building a longer learning persistence and achieving better learning performance. Our findings add to the design of online learning systems by understanding the mindset effects of temporal cues in user-system interactions of gamified learning systems, based on which notification and reminder systems can be implemented to further facilitate the effectiveness of online learning.

Revising Audit Plans to Address Fraud Risk: A Case of “Do as I Advise, Not as I Do”?*

ABSTRACTPrior research documents that auditors fail to revise audit plans to effectively address identified fraud cues. While auditors may understand what evidence would address such cues, we propose that auditors fail to apply this understanding because they use implemental mindsets when making decisions for themselves (i.e., deciding). However, we also propose that auditors use deliberative mindsets when advising. To test our predictions, we assign auditors to a decider or an advisor role in a realistic case that contains seeded fraud cues and asks them to consider revising last year's plan. We also manipulate whether the case prompts auditors to revise the plan unconventionally. Results indicate decider‐condition auditors use implemental mindsets: Prompted deciders follow the unconventional plan without regard to underlying fraud risk and unprompted deciders stick with the same‐as‐last‐year plan. Advisor‐condition auditors use more deliberative mindsets: In the prompt and no prompt conditions, they identify plans that are strongly linked to their own fraud risk assessments and that better align with experts' recommended plan for effectively addressing the seeded fraud cues. Supplemental analyses suggest deciding and advising auditors both follow the experts' plan when they believe in its potential effectiveness but, after controlling for the influence of perceived effectiveness, deciding auditors follow it to a greater extent simply because they believe the PCAOB wants it. By contrast, advising auditors do not exhibit signs of excessive PCAOB influence. Our findings provide evidence that seeking informal advice (or thinking like an advisor) helps auditors to effectively revise audit plans in response to identified fraud risk—it helps when a prompt is present or not, suggesting it complements rather than merely substitutes for interventions meant to improve auditors' judgment and decision making.

Emotion emphasis effects in moral judgment are moderated by mindsets

In two studies, emotion emphasis effects on moral judgment are demonstrated. The studies indicate that emphasizing negative consequences in trolley-type dilemmas with emotional language produces more utilitarian responses if such emphasis is on the consequences of the deontological option, and more deontological responses if it is on the consequences of the utilitarian option. This effect was moderated by action-phase related mindsets. Individuals in an implemental mindset were less susceptible to the emotion emphasis effect than individuals in a deliberative mindset (Studies 1, 2). By also using an eye-tracking task in Study 2, we demonstrated that our implemental mindset participants’ visual attention was more focused—in particular on goal-directed means—than that of the deliberative mindset participants.

The “Ought-Is” Problem: An Implementation Science Framework for Translating Ethical Norms Into Practice

We argue that once a normative claim is developed, there is an imperative to effect changes based on this norm. As such, ethicists should adopt an “implementation mindset” when formulating norms, and collaborate with others who have the expertise needed to implement policies and practices. To guide this translation of norms into practice, we propose a framework that incorporates implementation science into ethics. Implementation science is a discipline dedicated to supporting the sustained enactment of interventions. We further argue that implementation principles should be integrated into the development of specific normative claims as well as the enactment of these norms. Ethicists formulating a specific norm should consider whether that norm can feasibly be enacted because the resultant specific norm will directly affect the types of interventions subsequently developed. To inform this argument, we will describe the fundamental principles of implementation science, using informed consent to research participation as an illustration.

How mindset and store familiarity impact online stockout responses

PurposeEffects of stockouts on purchase decisions have been examined from a variety of perspectives; little is yet known about how consumers react to stockouts in online shopping contexts. The present study investigates how stockout reactions depend on a consumer's mindset and familiarity with a website and investigates the role of negative affect in determining a consumer's stockout reaction.Design/methodology/approachShopping mindsets (deliberative vs. implemental) and website familiarity (high vs. low) were manipulated in an online experiment consisting of a simulated shopping task at an existing website which next was presented as having a stockout. The study observed the participants' switching responses and measured their negative affect.FindingsFindings indicate that when encountering an online stockout, consumers in an implemental mindset are more likely to switch away from the website than those in a deliberative mindset and are more likely to search for additional items at a competing site. Consumers who are more familiar with the website where they encounter the stockout display a higher likelihood of defecting to a competing site; however, when they are in an implemental mindset, their inclination to defect decreases. The study also shows that the strength of negative emotions affects OOS responses in that buyers that experience more negative emotions are more likely to defect from the site.Practical implicationsThe study's findings provide suggestions as to how retailers can manage and minimize defection behaviours associated with online stockouts. In designing operational and marketing strategies retailers need to pay close attention to how consumers' individual mindsets may vary by trait or circumstance and how they hence may respond differently to stockouts.Originality/valueThe authors introduce a novel perspective to the literature on stockout induced reactions and contribute by furthering investigation into previously unexplored specific consumer characteristics and intricacies of stockouts that drive particular stockout reactions.

Revising Audit Plans to Address Fraud Risk: A Case of Do as I Advise, Not as I Doo?

Prior research documents that auditors fail to revise audit plans to effectively address identified fraud cues. While auditors may understand what evidence would address such cues, we propose that auditors fail to apply this understanding because they use implemental mindsets when making decisions for themselves (i.e., deciding). However, we also propose that auditors use deliberative mindsets when advising. To test our predictions, we assign auditors to a decider or an advisor role in a realistic case that contains seeded fraud cues and asks them to consider revising last year’s plan. We also manipulate whether the case prompts auditors to revise the plan unconventionally. Results indicate decider-condition auditors use implemental mindsets: Prompted deciders follow the unconventional plan without regard to underlying fraud risk and unprompted deciders stick with the same-as-last-year (SALY) plan. Advisor-condition auditors use more deliberative mindsets: In the prompt and no prompt conditions, they identify plans that are strongly linked to their own fraud risk assessments and that better align with experts’ recommended plan for effectively addressing the seeded fraud cues. Supplemental analyses suggest deciding and advising auditors both follow experts’ plan when they believe in its potential effectiveness but, after controlling for the influence of perceived effectiveness, deciding auditors follow it to a greater extent simply because they believe the PCAOB wants it. By contrast, advising auditors do not exhibit signs of excessive PCAOB influence. Our findings provide evidence that seeking informal advice (or thinking like an advisor) helps auditors to effectively revise audit plans in response to identified fraud risk – it helps when a prompt is present or not, suggesting it complements rather than merely substitutes for interventions meant to improve auditors’ judgment and decision-making.

Broad-minded planning and narrow-minded action

Purpose Existing studies of shopping momentum effect show that an initial purchase causes the consumer to switch from a deliberative mindset to an implemental mindset, thereby leading to buy subsequent items based on Gollwitzer’s Rubicon model. Since purchase activity goes through the actional phase which has not been studied yet, the purpose of this paper is to explore the characteristics of the actional mindset compared with those of the planning and deliberative mindsets. Design/methodology/approach This study conducts three experiments to examine whether the implemental mindset can be differentiated from the actional mindset via recalls and perceptual processing measures. Findings The findings provide evidences that the actional mindset is different from the implemental mindset, and the planning phase is associated more with broad-mindedness, whereas the actional phase is with narrow-mindedness. Research limitations/implications Manipulation of the actional mindset can be extended to real purchases in physical shopping spaces, and various choice objects could be tested with a larger number of participants. Practical implications To boost the shopping momentum effect, marketers should put customers into an actional mindset by leading them to show their decisions such as carrying a shopping bag and uploading their purchased items. To avoid overbuying, customers should stay in planning mindsets without verbalizing their decisions. Putting goods into virtual shopping baskets in online shopping could be a good way to avoid overbuying. Originality/value The paper empirically explores the characteristics of actional mindset in terms of cognitive and perceptual processing and suggest meaningful implication in online shopping situation.

The role of motivation and volition in economic decisions: Evidence from eye movements and pupillometry

AbstractEconomic decisions usually involve high stakes, real consequences, and some degree of personal risk. This article explores the impact of motivational and volitional states on economic decision processes in an incentivized lottery choice task. We investigated the patterns of decision time, choice, information search, and pupil dilation dependent on an experimental manipulation of motivation and volition, that is, the deliberative and the implemental mindset. The results indicated that choice preferences in economic decisions were robust and remained unaffected by motivational and volitional states, but decision processes were notably impacted. Decision makers in a deliberative state of mind searched for information more extensively and made slower decisions than the baseline. The implemental mindset was associated with more attention paid to the probability attributes of the gambles relative to the deliberative mindset. Furthermore, we observed that gamble outcomes that entailed no win at all (i.e., zero outcomes) played an important role for information search. These outcomes were largely disregarded in terms of predecisional information search but elicited pupillary responses similar to very high outcome lotteries. These results inform the current debate about the zero effect in risky choice. We also discuss the potential of eye‐tracking studies of risky choice to dissolve ambiguities concerning the contributions of effort and arousal to modulating pupillary response. Implications for theoretical advances in decision research are discussed.

Can mindsets influence college students’ motivation to learn? Findings from the United States and the United Arab Emirates

Changing mindsets may influence college students’ motivation to learn, which in turn affects how they engage in learning activities. Based on mindset theory (Gollwitzer 1990; Gollwitzer 2012), this study explored the extent to which the concepts of the deliberative and implemental mindset are value-laden, and hence, might have different effects for individuals from different cultural backgrounds. More specifically, we investigated if these types of mindsets have a positive or negative effect on college students’ motivation to learn in the context of higher education in two different countries, the United States (US) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Participants were 327 college students: 205 from the UAE and 122 from the US. Students were randomly assigned to one of four conditions (neutral, deliberative or implemental mindset, or control). Questionnaires assessed their motivation to learn, defined as attitudes, values, and goals on academic tasks, and self-regulatory strategies to complete them. Results suggested that differences in the consequences of being in a deliberative mindset for college students’ motivation to learn for students from the US and the UAE; only students in the US sample were disadvantaged, whereas no such effect was found for students from the UAE. Being in an implemental mindset did not benefit students’ motivation to learn. Cultural factors that may explain the results are discussed. The findings reinforce the need to examine motivation and possible interventions aimed at strengthening motivation in the context of higher education across individuals from different cultural background.