Engineering nanoplatforms for autoimmune treatment: From synthetic strategies to bioinspired designs.

This study investigates the adoption of immersive technologies (ITs), including virtual, augmented, and mixed reality, in the hospitality and tourism sector. While traditional technology adoption models emphasize IT's relational factors, this research integrates experiential drivers, such as perceived immersion, enjoyment, and ease of interaction, and provides a comprehensive explanation of their motivational, psychological, experiential, and behavioral implications. A deductive, quantitative three-wave longitudinal survey design was employed. Data were collected from tourists visiting hotels, museums, heritage sites, and major tourist destinations at three-time intervals, enabling temporal separation of predictors, mediators, and outcomes. Findings reveal that immersive technology adoption significantly enhances perceived values (utilitarian, hedonic, and eudaimonic), which, in turn, foster subjective well-being (SWB) and brand evangelism (BE). Additionally, promotion-focused consumers exhibited stronger tendencies toward evangelism. This study contributes to the literature by, advancing technology adoption research through a theoretically integrated framework grounded in Service-Dominant Logic, Uses and Gratifications Theory, and Regulatory Focus Theory, tested using a longitudinal design in an emerging tourism context. Practically, it underscores the need for tourism marketers to create emotionally engaging experiences that not only enhance consumers' SWB but also cultivate long-term brand loyalty and turn them into evangelists.

• First application of Regulatory Focus Theory to examine citizen science engagement. • Self-reported motivations showed no variation among regulatory focus groups. • A significant skew toward prevention-focus was found in monitoring initiatives. • Higher regulatory focus intensity predicted shorter volunteer participation spans. • Solutions support SDGs 3, 11, and 13 via behaviorally-informed citizen science. Citizen science faces persistent challenges in sustaining engagement, and understanding drivers of volunteer participation, particularly in digital initiatives addressing environmental and public health concerns. The study offers a novel application of Regulatory Focus Theory to examine the impact of dispositional goal orientations among participants of Mosquito Alert, a transnational initiative tracking invasive disease-carrying mosquitoes. Using mixed-method analysis of survey data and in-platform behavioral metrics, a significant skew towards prevention-focused participants was found. A further discrepancy emerged between self-reported motivations and actual behavior. Notably, heightened dispositional regulatory focus correlated with shorter participation spans. The findings revealed critical gaps between perceived motivations and behavioral outcomes, underscored importance of further integrating psychological constructs into platform design to enable and maintain long-term volunteer participation. The study advances theoretical understanding of volunteer psychology in sustainability contexts offering actionable strategies for improving the efficacy of initiatives.

Purpose Drawing on regulatory focus theory and locus of control theory, this study contributes to the workplace gossip literature by developing and testing a novel theoretical framework that explains how and when negative gossip produces paradoxical consequences for targets. Design/methodology/approach We collaborated with a large internet company in Eastern China and employed a four-wave, two-source design (with a two-week interval) to match 461 employee-supervisor pairs. Time 1 measured negative workplace gossip and internal locus of control, Time 2 measured prevention-oriented cognitive crafting, Time 3 measured interaction avoidance, Time 4 had employees report relational satisfaction, and supervisors assessed problem exposure. Findings Negative gossip stimulates prevention-oriented cognitive crafting in targets, prompting them to adopt interaction-avoidance behaviors, which in turn reduce their interactions with colleagues and superiors, ultimately decreasing relational satisfaction and problem exposure. Internal locus of control plays a significant moderating role in this mechanism. Employees with a high internal locus of control effectively buffer the link between negative gossip and the adoption of prevention-oriented cognitive crafting, thus being less susceptible to this defensive cognitive spiral. Originality/value Departing from prior work focused on immediate affective or reputational impacts, our study reveals how the serial mediation of prevention-oriented cognitive crafting and interaction avoidance transmits negative workplace gossip to two longer-term outcomes: relational satisfaction and problem exposure. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this detrimental pathway is systematically buffered by an internal locus of control. Theoretically, our model integrates regulatory focus and individual differences within a goal–strategy–outcome framework. Methodologically, our four-wave, two-source design mitigates common-method bias.

Abstract This study represents the novel effort to apply regulatory focus theory within the context of Internet gaming disorder (IGD), incorporating the often-neglected external environmental factor of parental expectation stress and the internal psychological mechanisms of emotion regulation/coping. A sample of 998 Chinese senior secondary students completed a battery of structured questionnaires. To scrutinize a sequential mediational model—from parental expectation stress through regulatory focus to IGD—we conducted a multiple-group structural equation modeling analysis, elucidating the distinct emotion regulation/coping mechanisms operating in male and female students. Results revealed an intriguing gender difference in the proposed regulatory focus and emotion regulation/coping model. We found that IGD symptoms in boys were primarily explained by regulatory focus systems (β prevention focus = 0.044, 95%CI = [0.021, 0.076], mediation proportion = 35.4%; β promotion focus = -0.018, 95%CI = [-0.035, -0.008], mediation proportion = 14.5%), whereas IGD symptoms in girls were primarily explained by emotion regulation/coping systems (β rumination = 0.015, 95%CI = [0.004, 0.028], mediation proportion = 13.3%; β blaming others = 0.015, 95%CI = [0.001, 0.018], mediation proportion = 13.3%). For both genders, parental academic expectation stress was associated with IGD directly and indirectly via prevention focus and rumination (β boys = 0.005, 95%CI = [0.002, 0.011], mediation proportion = 4.0%; β girls = 0.007, 95%CI = [0.002, 0.013]; mediation proportion = 6.2%). Our findings suggest that boys’ problematic gaming behaviors might be more influenced by the motivational system (i.e., regulatory focus), whereas girls are more influenced by maladaptive emotion regulation/coping mechanisms. These insights enhance the understanding of how environmental, motivational, and emotion regulation/coping systems synergistically impact on IGD, informing clinical implications for the prevention and treatment of adolescent IGD.

Purpose Drawing on the job demands-resources (JD-R) theory, this study examines how AI usage affects employees' workplace well-being acts simultaneously as a job resource (enhancing autonomy) and a job demand (triggering insecurity). Furthermore, regulatory focus theory was integrated to explore how employees' motivational orientations moderate these effects. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 366 full-time employees in China by three-waves who utilize AI tools. Hierarchical regression and the instantaneous indirect effect method were used to test the linear, curvilinear and moderated mediation hypotheses. Findings AI usage has a positive indirect effect on workplace well-being by increasing AI-supported job autonomy. AI usage exhibits an inverted U-shaped relationship with job insecurity which subsequently diminishes well-being. Prevention focuses weakened AI's positive effect on autonomy. Regulatory focus did not moderate the AI-insecurity relationship. Originality/value This study links AI's contradictory resource/demand roles and reveals a novel inverted U-shaped AI-insecurity relationship. The results suggest that manager should treat AI not merely as a tool, but as a strategic opportunity for job redesign.

The benefits of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) increase citizenship pressure in organizations. However, the relationships between citizenship pressure and organizational citizenship behaviors and compulsory citizenship behavior (CCB) remain controversial. Inspired by regulatory focus theory and “stressor-work regulatory focus-outcomes” framework, the purpose of this study is to examine how citizenship pressure is related to OCB and CCB through promotion and prevention work regulatory focus as well as the moderating role of individual’s polychronicity in these relationships. Three waves of time-lagged data were collected from 241 full-time employees in China to test the hypotheses. Citizenship pressure is positively related to both OCB and CCB. In addition, promotion and prevention work regulatory focus play opposing mediating roles in the relationships between citizenship pressure and these two types of citizenship behavior, and the mediating role of promotion work regulatory focus is enhanced when individuals exhibit higher polychronicity; however, the mediating role of prevention work regulatory focus is enhanced when individuals exhibit lower polychronicity. Organizations may help employees develop a promotion rather than prevention work regulatory focus by assigning employees with higher polychronicity to positions characterized by citizenship pressure or by providing training to enhance employees’ polychronicity, thereby increasing the likelihood that citizenship pressure will yield beneficial outcomes. Our findings provide new perspectives into the benefits and costs of citizenship pressure via regulatory focus theory and address the controversy over the relationship between citizenship pressure and citizenship behaviors by considering OCB and CCB simultaneously.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-026-48076-3.

The purpose of this study is to examine how 3D self-avatar virtual try-on (VTO) influences consumer decision-making in online apparel shopping compared to standard model imagery. Specifically, it investigates assessment orientation (AO) as a moderator and tests the mediating roles of self-presence and shopping immersion in shaping purchase intention. Results from two experiments demonstrate that consumer responses to 3D self-avatar VTO are contingent on AO. Regulatory fit between evaluative orientation and virtual model type shapes self-presence and shopping immersion, which in turn differentially influence purchase intention. These findings extend VTO research by shifting attention from appearance-based traits and technology acceptance toward motivational orientations and by identifying the psychological processes underlying consumer engagement with hyperpersonalized VTO technologies. The study also offers practical insights for retailers adopting self-avatar technologies to design more effective VTO experiences.

Purpose Drawing upon the behavioral theory of the firm (BTOF) and regulatory focus theory (RFT), this study investigates whether firms adjust their supply bases in response to environmental performance feedback (EPF) and how the two regulatory foci (i.e. prevention focus and promotion focus) moderate their responses. Design/methodology/approach To test our hypotheses, we analyze a panel dataset of 2,641 manufacturing firms from 2009 to 2023 using fixed-effects regression models. Findings We find that negative EPF leads firms to stabilize their supply bases, whereas positive EPF drives them to reduce stability. Furthermore, a prevention focus encourages supply base adjustments under negative EPF, while a promotion focus accelerates supply base dynamics under positive EPF. Originality/value This study extends the BTOF literature by uncovering the distinctive influences of EPF on supply chain decisions. By complementing the BTOF with RFT, we introduce a comprehensive framework to better understand firm behaviors in reaction to EPF.

Purpose Personal information management (PIM) in the workplace refers to how employees collect, process, store and reuse information in the course of their work. However, the rapid advancement of information technologies and the exponential growth of data have led to an emerging concern – digital hoarding behavior, which undermines the efficiency of PIM behavior. This study aims to investigate the underlying mechanisms of digital hoarding behavior in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach Using the proximal–distal framework, this study presents a model that examines how proximal psychological factors (i.e. fear of missing out [FoMO] and rumination) and distal organizational factors (i.e. time pressure and upward social comparison) influence employees' digital hoarding behavior in the workplace. Guided by regulatory focus theory, we also investigate how leaders' promotion and prevention focus moderates these relationships. To test the proposed model, survey data from 347 full-time employees were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings The results reveal that FoMO strongly predicts digital hoarding behavior, and this effect is amplified by promotion- and prevention-focused leadership. Rumination also contributes to digital hoarding behavior, but a promotion-focused leader weakens this association. Furthermore, time pressure and upward social comparison significantly increase FoMO and rumination, and these mediating factors fully account for their influence on digital hoarding behavior. Originality/value These findings advance the theoretical understanding of workplace problematic information behaviors, offering practical insights for organizations seeking to design more effective PIM strategies.

Drawing on social facilitation theory and regulatory focus theory, we propose and test a moderated mediation model in which being observed promotes employees' innovative behavior through willingness to share knowledge, with regulatory focus serving as a key boundary condition. We tested the model in two complementary studies: a field experiment (N = 223) and a two-wave survey (N = 103). Across both studies, being observed was positively related to willingness to share knowledge, which in turn predicted innovative behavior. In the survey study, prevention focus (an individual's orientation toward fulfilling duties, responsibilities, and avoiding negative outcomes) strengthened the positive effect of being observed on willingness to share knowledge and magnified the resulting indirect effect on innovative behavior. By contrast, promotion focus (an individual's orientation toward pursuing aspirations, personal growth, and attaining positive outcomes) attenuated the link between being observed and willingness to share knowledge, although the conditional indirect effect did not reach significance. These findings contribute to the social facilitation literature by specifying the knowledge sharing mechanism and the regulatory-focus boundary conditions through which social attention translates into innovative behavior in organizational field settings.

A regulatory fit explanation of financial and environmental performance

Purpose Frontline employees’ service adaptive behavior is pivotal for restaurants to effectively meet customers’ dynamic demands. Grounded in regulatory focus theory, this study aims to investigate the impact of inclusive leadership on employees’ service adaptive behavior, the mediating roles of promotion and prevention foci in this relationship and the moderating role of organizational learning climate. Design/methodology/approach The data was collected using a three-wave survey with 357 frontline service employees in 19 full-service restaurants. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to analyze the data. Findings Results show that inclusive leadership promotes employees’ service adaptive behavior through promotion and prevention foci. Additionally, the organizational learning climate amplifies the impacts of inclusive leadership on promotion and prevention foci. Research limitations/implications The findings offer practical value for service organizations by showing that fostering inclusive leadership and a strong organizational learning climate can jointly promote frontline employees’ service adaptive behavior. Originality/value This study adopts a regulatory focus perspective to explain the effect of inclusive leadership on service adaptive behavior, revealing the mediating roles of promotion and prevention foci and the moderating role of organizational learning climate, thereby offering valuable insights into the motivational processes underlying this relationship.

Integrating the person-environment fit theory with the regulatory focus theory, this research examined why and when perceived overqualification related to knowledge behaviors. Recruiting 791 employees as participants, a scenario experiment with a 2 (overqualified vs. not overqualified) × 2 (promotion focus vs. prevention focus) between-subjects design was carried out in Study 1. Study 2 was a time-lagged survey, and data were collected from 622 employees. The results showed that perceived overqualification increased negative and decreased positive emotions, thereby leading to less knowledge sharing and more knowledge hiding behaviors. Emotions caused by perceived overqualification were contingent on employees’ regulatory focus and Mianzi. A prevention focus attenuated the relationship between perceived overqualification and negative emotions, as well as the mediating role of negative emotions in the associations between perceived overqualification and knowledge behaviors. Similarly, when exhibiting a promotion focus, perceived overqualification was less likely to influence positive emotions and weaken its mediating effect in the relationships between perceived overqualification and knowledge behaviors. Furthermore, Mianzi, a cultural value orientation, contributed to mitigating the decline in positive emotions associated with perceived overqualification. The obtained findings emphasize individual differences and protective mechanisms that shape emotional responses to perceived overqualification.

While extensive research has investigated the consequences of humble leadership, its formation remains understudied. Integrating power dependence theory and regulatory focus theory, we propose a model in which supervisor outcome dependence serves as a mediator and supervisor prevention focus works as a moderator in the relationship between supervisor future orientation and subordinates' perceptions of humble leadership. Our results from a multiwave, multisource field study indicate that supervisor future orientation positively influences humble leadership perceptions through supervisor outcome dependence. Moreover, this indirect effect is stronger among supervisors with high prevention focus. This study concludes by discussing the theoretical and practical implications for leadership development.

Purpose Despite global governmental efforts to promote entrepreneurship and create opportunities, many individuals remain hesitant to seize these opportunities. This study employs a configurational approach to examine key features that contribute to entrepreneurial hesitation. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the Regulatory Focus theory, the study analyzes data from 1,458 individuals in the United Arab Emirates sourced from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor database, focusing on five features: innovativeness, long-term career planning, pessimism, fear of failure, and entrepreneurial skills and knowledge. Findings The analysis identifies three distinct profiles of individuals associated with high entrepreneurial hesitation, labelled as “Innovative Bystanders”, “Sceptical Planners” and “Disillusioned Innovators.” Practical implications Understanding these profiles provides a foundation for developing diagnostic tools aimed at customizing government support and guidance, moving away from a one-size-fits-all strategy. Originality/value This study examines the complexities of entrepreneurial hesitation and offers new insights into the intricate profiles of individuals who exhibit a high level of hesitation.

Integrating prospect theory and regulatory focus theory, we study newcomer LMX trajectories during organizational entry and develop a reference-dependent self-regulation framework that links LMX change to newcomer socialization. We propose that the positive relationship between LMX change and socialization outcomes (role clarity, task performance, and perceived organizational insider status) is mediated by promotion focus and prevention focus. In addition, drawing on the value function of prospect theory, we argue that negative LMX change will have a stronger influence on the relationship between LMX change magnitude and regulatory focus, yielding a first-stage moderated mediation model. We tested the model in a four-wave longitudinal study of recent bachelor’s graduates in China (all employed with an assigned immediate supervisor; N = 126). Empirical evidence from SEM tests finds two mediation pathways where promotion focus mediated the positive relationships between LMX change and newcomer role clarity and task performance, whereas prevention focus mediated the positive relationships between LMX change and newcomer task performance and perceived organizational insider status. In both pathways, the first-stage relationship was stronger when LMX change direction was negative. These findings enrich a nuanced understanding of when and how dynamic LMX trajectories are translated into newcomer adjustment strategies and demonstrate how reference dependence and loss–gain asymmetry from the value function of prospect theory can be employed in human resource management research.

ABSTRACT This study examined how Indian dating app users perceive risks in their online interactions and the strategies they employed to mitigate deception, privacy concerns, and protect their sexual health, framed by Regulatory Focus Theory (RFT) assumptions. Semi-structured, audio-recorded interviews (N = 10) were conducted with heterosexual (n = 4) and queer (n = 6) urban Indian dating app users. Interviews explored participants’ risk-related decision-making regarding matching, meeting, and engaging in sexual activity with a potential partner, and methods used to mitigate risks. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Three major themes were identified, with risk mitigation strategies related to: (i) deception – pertaining to the idea of ‘trust’ and safety’ while interacting with other users, (ii) privacy or identity maintenance – unique to queer individuals wherein they used a range of strategies (e.g. anonymising identity), and (iii) sexual health protection – participants tried to establish trust and engaged in condom negotiation. Aligned with RFT, these findings demonstrate that dating app users oscillate between prevention-focused (avoiding deception and protecting privacy) and promotion-focused (pursuing intimacy and maintaining sexual health) strategies. Overall, this study highlights a need for improving access to sexual health clinics, nesting safety/security measures within dating apps, and designing interventions to address users’ diverse motives in dating app use.

Purpose Warehouse operations are rapidly becoming more robotized to increase performance and reduce costs. A key innovation in the field is human–robot collaboration (HRC). Despite the essential role of human behavior in operational performance, human factors in HRC are still understudied in Operations Management literature. To address this gap, we conducted a unique real-effort experiment in a warehouse especially erected for this study and ground our analysis in Self-Determination Theory, Leader-Member Exchange Theory and Regulatory Focus Theory. Design/methodology/approach The experiment compares the objective outcomes of collaborative productivity, collaborative accuracy and human pick time between a configuration with the human leading the robot and a configuration with the human following the robot. Additionally, we investigate the behavioral mechanism governing human reactions to the novel collaboration with robots. Findings We find that human leading allows for superior collaborative order picking productivity, while human following allows for greater collaborative order picking accuracy. Especially when picking involves traveling between locations, human leading results in shorter pick times. We additionally establish a prevention focus as the factor that allows workers to bridge the productivity gap between the two setups. Research limitations/implications A limitation of the lab experiment is its short duration, which necessitates follow-up research in field experiments. Originality/value These insights will help warehousing service providers to tailor collaborative robotic solutions based on quantifiable trade-offs between system speed and accuracy.

Abstract Traditional leadership theories often portray influence as stable traits or behaviors, yet complex organizations require leadership to be understood as an emergent, feedback-driven process that co-evolves with contextual demands and follower motivation. This study conceptualizes servant leadership as a nonlinear, adaptive process rather than a fixed style, integrating Complexity Leadership Theory with the Job Demands Resources model and Regulatory Focus Theory. Servant leadership is theorized as an enabling mechanism through which shifting job demands and resources are translated into employees’ promotion and prevention orientations, shaping person-job fit, satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, initiative, and experienced responsibility. Using a two-phase longitudinal design, Phase 1 tested simple and serial mediation with structural equation modeling, and Phase 2 employed a cross-lagged panel model to examine reciprocal feedback dynamics. Results support a four-path process in which servant leadership differentially activates promotion and prevention focus and participates in ongoing feedback loops.