Self-regulatory Focus Research Articles

Regulatory focus theory and sustainable entrepreneurship

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the role of regulatory focus in sustainable entrepreneurship processes to answer questions on how sustainable entrepreneurs pursue their goals and what motivates them. Knowledge about an entrepreneur’s motivational attribute is essential when trying to understand new venture creation processes. To determine an entrepreneur’s affiliation with one of the two self-regulatory systems, promotion focus and prevention focus, it is helpful to establish whether he or she is motivated by growth and development goals (promotion) or rather by responsibility and security goals (prevention).Design/methodology/approachIn a qualitative study of seven sustainable ventures, two semi-structured interview rounds with 14 founders were conducted. Archival data from internal and external sources were gathered, resulting in more than 80 text documents.FindingsFindings reveal that the self-regulatory focus of sustainable entrepreneurs changes during the entrepreneurial process with regard to the temporal dynamics of motivation. While conceiving ideas, sustainable entrepreneurs engage in a prevention-focused self-regulatory process because social or ecological problems induce them to direct their attention toward sustainable development goals. During rollout, in contrast, they increasingly engage in a promotion-focused self-regulatory process and concentrate more on venture growth goals.Practical implicationsThe results highlight the important role of a regulatory fit between key self-regulatory entrepreneurial behaviors and entrepreneurs’ regulatory orientation toward increased motivation and enjoyment when pursuing goals.Originality/valueThis study’s contributions extend and combine the theories of regulatory focus, entrepreneurial motivation, and entrepreneurial processes in the field of sustainable entrepreneurship. They are valuable for understanding the determinants of sustainable entrepreneurial action.

Regulatory Fit

Sport behavior may be regulated through a desire to win (promotion) or a desire to avoid losing (prevention), which differentially impacts cognitive tasks. Performance facilitation may also stem from a match between an individual’s self-regulatory focus and her chronic regulatory strategy, possibly due to “feeling right”. This notion of regulatory fit may impact pre-performance anxiety and arousal which may impact sport performance. PURPOSE: To determine the impact of regulatory fit on anxiety, arousal, and performance of college soccer players. METHODS: Twenty-five female soccer players were randomly assigned to a regulatory match (M) or mismatch (MM) condition. Participants received a task-framing phrase in which their performance goal either matched (M) or mismatched (MM) their chronic regulatory strategy. Anxiety, measured by the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 Revised (CSAI-2R) and arousal, measured by pre-ejection period (PEP), heart rate (HR), and heart rate variability (e.g. high frequency variability (HF), and the square root of the mean squared differences of successive NN intervals (RMSSD)) were determined pre- and post-manipulation. Performance, the number of successful penalty kicks out of 10, was measured post-manipulation. The impact of regulatory fit on performance and on anxiety and arousal variables were determined by ANOVA and RM ANOVA, respectively. RESULTS: There was no difference between M (3.0 + .95) and MM (2.5 + 1.8) on performance (p>0.05). Pre (32.6 + 4.8) to post (34.5 + 5.4) CSAI-2R for M was not different than MM pre (35.0 + 4.6) to post (35.4 + 6.3) (p>0.05). Arousal variables ln HF, HR, and ln RMSSD in M were not significantly different pre (6.2 + .99; 76.4 + 15.0 bpm; 3.6 + .54) to post (6.3 + .99; 75.1 + 17.5 bpm; 3.6 + .53) compared to MM pre (6.6 + 1.0; 75.3 + 12.3; 3.8 + .49) to post (6.9 + .85; 74.6 + 10.5; 4.0 + .36), respectively (p>0.05). There was an interaction effect for PEP (p<0.05). Post-hoc testing indicated M post (0.14 + 0.01 msec) was greater than pre (0.13 + 0.01 msec) (p<0.05) but MM did not change pre (0.15 + 0.02 msec) to post (0.15 + 0.02 msec) (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: PEP is an indicator of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), thus regulatory fit may impact pre-performance arousal through SNS activation. Supported by a Hollis Grant, ASPiRE program, Ball State University.

A Randomized Controlled Pilot Intervention Study of a Mindfulness-Based Self-Leadership Training (MBSLT) on Stress and Performance

The present randomized pilot intervention study examines the effects of a mindfulness-based self-leadership training (MBSLT) specifically developed for academic achievement situations. Both mindfulness and self-leadership have a strong self-regulatory focus and are helpful in terms of stress resilience and performance enhancements. Based on several theoretical points of contact and a specific interplay between mindfulness and self-leadership, the authors developed an innovative intervention program that improves mood as well as performance in a real academic setting. The intervention was conducted as a randomized controlled study over 10 weeks. The purpose was to analyze the effects on perceived stress, test anxiety, academic self-efficacy, and the performance of students by comparing an intervention and control group (n = 109). Findings demonstrated significant effects on mindfulness, self-leadership, academic self-efficacy, and academic performance improvements in the intervention group. Results showed that the intervention group reached significantly better grade point averages than the control group. Moreover, the MBSLT over time led to a reduction of test anxiety in the intervention group compared to the control group. Furthermore, while participants of the control group showed an increase in stress over time, participants of the intervention group maintained constant stress levels over time. The combination of mindfulness and self-leadership addressed both positive effects on moods and on objective academic performance. The effects demonstrate the great potential of combining mindfulness with self-leadership to develop a healthy self-regulatory way of attaining achievement-related goals and succeeding in high-stress academic environments.

The Moderating Effect of Self-Regulatory Focus in Consumers' Advertising Attitude to Mobile Advertising 's Delivery Types

The Moderating Effect of Self-Regulatory Focus in Consumers' Advertising Attitude to Mobile Advertising 's Delivery Types

스토리텔링 광고가 광고효과에 미치는 영향에 있어 독특성 욕구 및 자기조절초점의 조절효과

스토리텔링 광고가 광고효과에 미치는 영향에 있어 독특성 욕구 및 자기조절초점의 조절효과

Effects of positive incentive and negative incentive in knowledge transfer: carrot and stick

PurposeEmployees play a central role in firms’ knowledge transferal, but knowledge-sharing brings significant costs for employees. Thus, this study aims to explore the components of firms’ incentive systems and how these influence employees’ knowledge-sharing, and also to test whether employees’ knowledge-sharing intentions transform into better knowledge transfer performance at the firm level.Design/methodology/approachThis study collected data in China, and 219 usable questionnaires were collected. Then, this study used a structure equation model by LISREL for hypotheses testing.FindingsThis study finds that positive economic incentives, positive relational incentives and negative relational incentives all increase employees’ knowledge-sharing intentions, contributing to firms’ improved knowledge-transfer performance. Thus, both positive and negative incentives and both economic and relational incentives exert influences on employees’ knowledge-sharing activities.Practical implicationsBecause employees have both material and emotional needs and always want to approach good things and avoid bad things, firms should take measures to make their incentive systems more comprehensive. Then, employees can be motivated to share their knowledge effectively.Originality/valueExisting studies have mainly explored the effects of positive economic incentives on knowledge transferal. Because individuals have both a promotion self-regulatory focus associated with an approach motivation and a prevention self-regulatory focus associated with an avoidance motivation, and because they have both material and emotional needs, this study classifies incentives into three types and confirms their effectiveness for motivating employees to share knowledge.

A Study on Differences in Attitudes and Memory Effects according to the Regulatory Focus Tendencies of Facebook Users and the Types of Message Appeals

Background/Objectives: This study aims to empirically determine differences in memory effects according to the individual tendencies of Facebook business page users with regard to regulatory focus (promotion/prevention) and types of Facebook message (rational/emotional appeal). Methods/Statistical Analysis: To test the aforementioned hypotheses, this study used a 2 X 2 between-subjects factorial design. The two factors are the self-regulatory focus (promotion/ prevention focus) of subjects, and (2) the types of message appeals (rational/emotional). Thus, this experiment used a 2 X 2 between-subjects factorial design according to the self-regulatory focus (promotion vs. prevention focus) of subjects and the types of message appeals (rational/emotional), and conducted the analysis using Two-Way MANOVA. It is considered more valid to conduct MANOVA than repeating ANOVA for each dependent variable since it is grounded on relationships among dependent variables. Findings: First, emotional messages generated greater brand attitudes and memory effects among promotion-focused Facebook users. Second, prevention-focused Facebook users showed relatively high brand attitudes, with no difference between rational and emotional appeals. However, the memory effect was greater for emotional messages. Third, promotion-focused Facebook users tended to remember evaluation-focused information more than attribute-focused information. Fourth, unlike promotion-focused users, prevention-focused Facebook users tended to remember attribute-focused information more than evaluation-focused information. These users engage in systematic or cognitive information processing. Since prevention-focused users protect themselves from negative consequences such as risk or loss and try to increase their safety, they are extremely careful in their decision-making process. This motivates them to closely examine the attributes of the experimental product and remember the functions and features to be used in decision making. Application/Improvements: Since such users perceive their surroundings positively and place a greater emphasis on the benefits or achievements that can be obtained from products, they prefer emotional aspects in processing information on advertising models or other elements related to products

Leader opportunity versus threat verbal framing and nonverbal emotional expressions impact followers' creative performance

A core function of leadership is to motivate followers, yet little research describes mechanisms by which leaders impact their followers' motivation. The purpose of this paper is to present and test a novel theory of leaders' influence on follower creative performance based on approach-avoidance motivation theory (Carver & Scheier, 1998) and self-regulatory focus theory (Higgins, 2000). Two forms of leader approach-avoidance communication behavior, verbal framing and nonverbal emotional displays, are hypothesized to impact follower creative performance. Two experimental studies provide support for the theoretical model using distinct leadership stimuli and creative performance tasks.

Change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between a challenging dimension of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and self-regulatory focus in an academic work setting. Job performance indicators were included to assess the nomological validity of regulatory focus measures.Design/methodology/approachData were collected using a questionnaire conducted with 251 Spanish academic workers. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.FindingsResults reveal the existence of positive relationships between promotion focus and two of the outcomes: change-oriented OCB and research-oriented performance-enhancement intention. On the other hand, prevention focus had only a significant relationship with teacher-oriented performance-enhancement intention.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of this research are twofold: on the one hand, further research should overcome the methodological limitations related with data gathering, looking for third-party measures of performance and favoring longitudinal data collection designs. On the other hand, more research is needed on the malleability of regulatory focus, defining models when prevention and promotion focus act as mediating variables.Practical implicationsIndividuals with high levels of promotion focus will put their efforts on the tasks which are more valued in the processes of tenure, promotion and compensation. On the other hand, individuals with high levels of prevention focus will tend to meet the minimum of requirements and accomplish salient job duties. That can be taken into account when defining human resource policies, giving a high weight in the assessment of tenure and promotion programs to the tasks where the organization wants their promotion focus individuals to center their attention.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the first efforts of validating the Regulatory Focus at Work Scale in organizational and academic contexts different from the initial validation study. The study also contributes to research on the antecedents of change-oriented OCBs, and defines new measures of intentions to perform in specific working activities.

A Study on the Effects of Visual Expression Technique - Moderating role of involvement and self-regulatory focus and mediating role of distinctiveness cognition

A Study on the Effects of Visual Expression Technique - Moderating role of involvement and self-regulatory focus and mediating role of distinctiveness cognition

Firm reputation and investment decisions: The contingency role of analysts' recommendations

Moving beyond resource-based consequences of a firm’s reputation, we develop a behavioral perspective on the impact of corporate reputation. Although earlier research has extensively discussed favorable consequences in terms of gaining resource advantages, we apply theory on self-regulatory focus to suggest that highly reputable firms may have a tendency to have a prevention focus rather than a promotion focus in their investment strategies. This tendency will lead the firm to opt for short-term investments in the expense of long-term investments. Moreover, we develop a contingency model and argue that this tendency of reputable firms is further strengthened by favorable recommendations by financial analysts. We find support for all of our hypotheses. In doing so, we address emerging theories about potential negative consequences of a firm reputation and provide important implications for our theoretical understanding about the behavior of highly reputable firms.

The dual effects of leading for safety: The mediating role of employee regulatory focus.

This study examined the underlying mechanisms through which transformational and transactional leadership influence employee safety behaviors. Linking leadership theory with self-regulatory focus (SRF) theory, we examined a model of dual effects of leadership on safety initiative and safety compliance behaviors as mediated by promotion and prevention self-regulations. We conducted an experimental study (N = 107), an online study (N = 99) and a field study (N = 798 employees and 49 managers). Results demonstrated that followers' situational promotion focus mediated the positive relationship between transformational leadership and safety initiative behaviors. Through all 3 studies, transactional active leadership was positively associated with followers' situational prevention focus, however, the association between followers' prevention focus and safety compliance behaviors was inconsistent, showing the expected mediation relationships in the experimental setting, but not in the online and field studies. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of the findings.

Self-regulatory focus and advertising effectiveness

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the dynamics of self-regulatory focus (SRF) in the context of advertising effectiveness pertaining to rational vs emotional appeals. Past research has dichotomized self-regulatory (SR) foci (i.e. prevention or promotion) on the basis of an individual’s so-called “chronic” orientation, i.e. high or low prevention focus; high or low promotion focus. However, psychological theorists purport that SRF is orthogonal and, thus, various combinations of both foci are evident in any given population. Design/methodology/approach – A two (rational appeal vs emotional appeal)×two (utilitarian product vs hedonic product) experimental design was used. Data was collected via an online survey instrument which included the stimulus advertisements (experimental manipulations) and the relevant independent (SRF) and dependent measures (advertising effectiveness). Findings – The findings of this study support application of regulatory focus theory (RFT) as an appropriate framework to study consumer behaviour and as a mechanism by which to segment consumers. However, past advertising research has predominantly examined consumer’s “chronic” foci (i.e. prevention and promotion). This study found that consumers can adopt various combinations of information processing styles and goal orientations and cannot be boxed into dichotomous categories based on either a prevention of promotion focus. As such, the findings reveal very different conclusions in contrast to previous advertising and marketing research in the SRF area. Originality/value – This study is the first to approach SRF from a quadratic perspective (i.e. involving all SRF combinations). In calling to question the validity of previous findings, this study paves the way for numerous future research opportunities.

Consumer responses to corporate offshoring practices

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumer responses to company communication of offshoring strategies and tries to discover which psychological mechanisms govern these responses. To do these, the authors examine offshoring strategy communication from the point of view of Regulatory Focus Theory. Design/methodology/approach – The authors tested the hypotheses in two different studies. Study 1 examines the associations between company offshoring motives and consumer’s prevention or promotion inferences about the company’s practices. Study 2 tests if and how the interaction effect between respondents’ self-regulatory focus and the company offshoring motive affects respondents’ attitude toward the offshoring company. Findings – The study demonstrated that each of three offshoring motives activates unique self-regulatory orientations (promotion or prevention focus) in consumers, and regulatory fit positively affects consumer attitudes toward the offshoring company. Practical implications – Results suggest how to communicate company offshoring decisions to consumers. By trying to instill a particular regulatory focus in the public with their communication tools, companies can create a better match in the public eye, gaining more positive consumer evaluations. Originality/value – This research shows the mechanisms through which consumers respond differently to specific offshoring motives communicated by a company. By building on psychology theory, the study gains insights into the consumer reactions to company offshoring and, to the knowledge, no research to date has examined these mechanisms.

“Give Me Happiness” or “Take Away My Pain”: Explaining consumer responses to prescription drug advertising

AbstractWe examine how consumers react to direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) by investigating the role of goal compatibility between motivation to process advertisements and consumer self-concept. Specifically, we examine the interaction between self-regulatory (prevention versus promotion) focus and self-construal orientation (independent versus interdependent) and find that prevention (versus promotion) focused consumers form stronger intentions to speak with physicians and are more likely to discuss an advertised drug, when the ad uses an interdependence self-construal theme, whereas promotion (versus prevention) focused consumers form stronger intentions to speak with physicians and are more likely to discuss an advertised drug, when the ad uses an independent self-construal theme. The above two-way interaction was further found to be governed by attitudes toward DTCA. Under goal compatibility, consumers who had positive or neutral attitudes toward DTCA (versus negative) had stronger (a) intentions...

An Examination of the Effects of Self-Regulatory Focus on the Perception of the Media Richness: The Case of E-Mail

Communication is a key element in organizations’ business success. The media richness theory and the channel expansion theory are two of the most influential theories regarding the selection and use of communication media in organizations; however, literature has focused little on the effects of self-regulation by managers and employees in these theories. To analyze these topics, this study develops an empirical investigation by gathering data from 600 managers and employees using a questionnaire. The results suggest that the perception of media richness is positively affected when the individual shows a promotion focus or strategy.

Grades in formative workplace-based assessment: a study of what works for whom and why.

Grades are commonly used in formative workplace-based assessment (WBA) in medical education and training, but may draw attention away from feedback about the task. A dilemma arises because the self-regulatory focus of a trainee must include self-awareness relative to agreed standards, which implies grading. In this study we aimed to understand the meaning which medical students construct from WBA feedback with and without grades, and what influences this. Year 3 students were invited to take part in a randomised crossover study in which each student served as his or her own control. Each student undertook one WBA with and one without grades, and then chose whether or not to be given grades in a third WBA. These preferences were explored in semi-structured interviews. A realist approach to analysis was used to gain understanding of student preferences and the impact of feedback with and without grades. Of 83 students who were given feedback with and without grades, 65 (78%) then chose to have feedback with grades and 18 (22%) without grades in their third WBA. A total of 24 students were interviewed. Students described how grades locate their performance and calibrate their self-assessment. For some, low grades focused attention and effort. Satisfactory and high grades enhanced self-efficacy. Grades are concrete, powerful and blunt, can be harmful and need to be explained to help students create helpful meaning from them. Low grades risk reducing self-efficacy in some and may encourage others to focus on proving their ability rather than on improvement. A metaphor of the semi-permeable membrane is introduced to elucidate how students reduced potential negative effects and enhanced the positive effects of feedback with grades by selective filtering and pumping. This study illuminates the complexity of the processing of feedback by its recipients, and informs the use of grading in the provision of more effective, tailored feedback.

Stylistic properties and regulatory fit: Examining the role of self-regulatory focus in the effectiveness of an actor's vs. observer's visual perspective

Building on regulatory focus research, we investigate how certain visual elements of an advertising message, such as stylistic properties, contribute to regulatory fit and persuasion. Across three experiments, we examine how the visual perspective (actor's vs. observer's) through which a product is depicted in an ad affects product evaluations among participants with different regulatory foci (promotion- vs. prevention-focused). Specifically, we find that when an actor's perspective is used in an ad to portray a product, regulatory fit occurs among promotion-focused (vs. prevention-focused) participants and they report more favorable product evaluations; conversely, when an observer's perspective is used, regulatory fit occurs among prevention-focused (vs. promotion-focused) participants and they evaluate the product more favorably. An analysis of internal vs. external evaluation thoughts helps explain the persuasion effects.

소유와 유인가의 득과 실이 경쟁할 때 자기조절초점이 손실회피에 미치는 효과

소유와 유인가의 득과 실이 경쟁할 때 자기조절초점이 손실회피에 미치는 효과

Having champagne without celebration?

Purpose – This research aims to analyze whether the self-regulatory focus, a consumer variable, moderates the impact of incongruity on consumer evaluations. A congruity or typicality arises when a product (e.g. champagne) is consistently consumed in certain occasions or is used in conjunction with other specific products. This typicality may remind people of the product with regard to specific contexts but may limit the product’s overall versatility. In line with the moderate incongruity effect, there may be an opportunity to extend a product usage to situations associated with moderate incongruity or atypicality. Design/methodology/approach – Study 1 is a 2 (self-regulatory focus: promotion/prevention) × 3 (atypicality of product usage context: typical/moderately atypical/highly atypical) between-subject experimental design. Study 2 replicated Study 1 with a sample of different age, three different champagne usage contexts and a manipulation of self-regulatory focus. Study 3 is a 2 (self-regulatory focus: promotion/prevention) × 3 (atypicality of product usage context: typical/moderately atypical/highly atypical) × 2 (product replicates: red wine/pearl jewelry) mixed design with self-regulatory focus and atypicality as between-subjects factors and product replicates as a within-subject variable. Findings – Promotion-focus consumers’ product evaluations for the moderate incongruity or atypicality are higher than those for congruity and extreme incongruity. The relationship takes an inverted-U shape. Prevention-focus consumers’ product evaluations decrease monotonically as congruity decreases. Moreover, compared with prevention-focus individuals, promotion-focus ones evaluate moderate incongruity more favorably. Research limitations/implications – There are some limitations to this research. First, it only investigates the moderate incongruity effect with regard to product use occasions and complementary products. To increase the external validity of self-regulatory focus as a moderator of incongruity-evaluation relationships, it remains to future research to extend the research setting to products which have been tightly bonded to specific users, locations, seasons or times. Second, although the experimental designs are similar to previous ones, the scenarios are nevertheless imaginary. Therefore, participants’ involvement levels in all manipulated situations, as well as the quality of their answers, remain unknown. Practical implications – First, brand managers should target only promotion-focus customers to obtain the moderate incongruity effect, but should maintain a consistent marketing strategy for prevention-focus customers. Second, because both promotion- and prevention-focus individuals have unfavorable evaluations of extreme incongruity, drastic changes in marketing strategies should be avoided. Third, people from a Western (Eastern) culture exhibit more promotion (prevention) focus orientation. Therefore, the type of culture can serve as an indicator of regulatory orientation. Fourth, a gain-framed appeal is recommended for realizing the moderate incongruity effect from promotion-focus consumers. Finally, promotion-focus (vs prevention-focus) consumers will welcome a moderately nonalignable than alignable product upgrade. Originality/value – Most prior research on goal orientation has found that promotion-focus (vs. prevention-focus) individuals are more inclined to adopt new products, but both types of people are unlikely to purchase new products when the associated risks become salient, while the research related to schema incongruity has suggested that the moderate incongruity effect may not exist when consumers perceive high risks. By combining both schema congruity and self-regulatory focus theories, this research provides a more precise picture of how and why a person’s goal orientation influences the relative salience of risks and benefits with an increase in incongruity.