No description available.

Emotional brand attachment has emerged as an important marketing concept that can strengthen a brand's performance. One way to create emotional bonds with consumers is to match the brand's personality with the consumer's self-concept (i.e. self-congruence). Nonetheless, research on brand attachment has a strong westernized focus leaving a vast majority of the world's population outside the frame of research, which limits our understanding of how consumers perception of self form emotional attachments to brands across cultures. We address this issue by developing the novel construct of ought self-congruence and test a conceptual model in two large scale studies including 810 respondents from Sweden and South Korea. The results showed similarities as well as unique cultural differences. Brand personalities in line with a consumer's actual self-view yield the strongest positive impact on emotional brand attachment in both cultures. However, an ideal self-congruent brand only showed a positive impact on Swedish consumers or when the self is sculpt independently from others. In contrast, South Koreans formed attachments to global brands that were congruent with an ought self-perception. A consumer's regulatory focus provides a theoretical explanation to the mixed results. Avenues for further research and managerial implications are also proposed.

Les informations négatives sur les produits et les entreprises auxquelles les consommateurs ont accès ne sont pas toujours fiables et claires. Cette thèse étudie comment l'orientation régulatrice des consommateurs influe sur leur réaction par rapport aux informations négatives comme une fonction de l'ambiguïté des informations. Nous suggérons que lorsque les informations négatives sont ambigües, les consommateurs avec une orientation prévention, par rapport à ceux avec une orientation promotion, seront beaucoup plus influencés par les informations et susceptibles de changer en conséquence vers le bas leur attitude envers la marque. En revanche, lorsque les informations négatives sont claires, à la fois les consommateurs orientés promotion et ceux orientés prévention seront très influencés et susceptibles de revoir leur attitude à la baisse par rapport à la marque en question. De plus, nous alléguons que la diagnosticité perçue des informations exerce un rôle médiateur sur les effets proposés. Plus particulièrement, en présence des informations négatives ambiguës, l'orientation prévention (par rapport à l'orientation promotion) a tendance à amplifier la diagnosticité perçue des informations qui, en retour, accentue les effets que les informations négatives auront sur la révision de l'attitude. Quatre études expérimentales ont testé et confirmé ces hypothèses à travers trois scénarios ambigus différents : (1) quand les informations négatives proviennent d'une source dont la crédibilité est incertaine (étude 1), (2) quand la raison pour laquelle un produit défectueux est ambiguë (étude 2) et (3) quand les évaluations de produit sont très contradictoires (études 3a et 3b). / Negative information about products or companies that consumers encounter in the marketplace is not always certain and clear-cut. This dissertation explores how consumers' regulatory focus orientation affects their response to negative information as a function of information ambiguity. We propose that under the situations where ambiguity is present in the negative information, prevention-focused compared to promotion-focused consumers will be more strongly persuaded and exhibit a large downward revision of their attitude toward the brand. In contrast, under the situations where the negative information is unambiguous, both promotion and prevention-focused consumers will be strongly persuaded and revise accordingly their attitude toward the brand. Moreover, we argue that perceived diagnosticity of the information mediates the proposed effect. Specifically, in the presence of ambiguity in negative information, a prevention focus (vs. a promotion focus) leads to an inflated perceived information diagnosticity, which, in turn, accentuates the impact of negative information on judgment revision. Four experimental studies tested and confirmed these propositions in three different ambiguous scenarios: (1) when negative product information comes from a source with uncertain credibility(Study 1); (2) when the cause of a reported product failure is ambiguous(Study2), and (3) when product reviews are highly conflicting (Study 3a and Study 3b).

No description available.

The present study assesses the effect of financial services advertising on investors’ decision-making by adopting a two-sided approach: a stimulus-side analysis to document the nature and prevalence of advertising strategies and advertising disclosures being used and a response-side investigation to examine the investors’ processing of and receptiveness to financial services advertising. By performing a content analysis of recently published financial services magazine advertisements, this study provides a contemporary look at whether and how financial services companies inform, persuade, and communicate with average investors. Results from this content analysis method is also used as a foundation to help design realistic test ads in the subsequent experimental design as a response-side approach. Combined with stimulus-side data, a between-group experimental design allows an empirical test of how the interaction between investors’ exposures to different advertising practices (i.e., advertising strategies and advertising disclosures) and individual regulatory focus might affect the ways investors perceive and evaluate the advertised financial product. In this stage, the likely processing and persuasive differences between advertising strategies and advertising disclosures and the potential moderating role of investors’ regulatory focus form the basis of the response-side approach to complement the content analysis phase. Results from the content analysis show that financial services companies increased informational advertising strategies and presented more advertising information during the three-year (2007-2009) period of interest. Findings indicate that financial services companies might play a role in enhancing the role of communication, information, and advertising in the marketplace for financial literacy. However, in order to adequately evaluate the range of investor’s response to advertising strategies and advertising disclosures, this study employs a two advertising strategies (information versus transformational) x two advertising disclosures (complete disclosure versus non-disclosure) x two regulatory focus (promotion-focused versus prevention-focused) between-subject, randomized, experimental design. Findings from the experimental design reveal that investors’ financial decision-making may be affected by internal characteristics (i.e., regulatory focus) as well as external information (i.e., advertising strategies and advertising disclosures). Especially, regulatory focus was found to be function as a moderating variable that can influence the direction and strength of relationship between different financial services advertising practices and the outcome variables of financial decision-making such as risk perceptions, product attitudes, and purchase intentions. Finally, theoretical, managerial, and policy implications are discussed and opportunities for the future research are identified.

Part one of the thesis studies differential diagnosticity towards substantive extrinsic information available in the environment. This research tests the interaction between regulatory focus and availability of extrinsic-substantive information such as consensus information, on the range of acceptable price. Prior research on regulatory focus led us to two divergent predictions. Our findings lend support to the asymmetric-elaboration account. Under this account, only prevention-oriented consumers are likely to change their acceptable price range if combinations of favorable-and-unfavorable consensus information are available in the environment, while promotion-oriented consumers disregard such information. We find that this difference is due to the differences in the level of difficulty experienced in specifying acceptable price range across the two regulatory foci. Further, we also undertake random-parameters regression models that provide unique general findings. For example, we find that for promotion-oriented consumers it is their high-level product construal, while for prevention-oriented consumers it is their low-level product construal that influences their respective acceptable price ranges, irrespective of level of external information available. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Rock climbing has become a popular adventure activity, yet it poses a threat to the environment, particularly to the rare species that inhabit the lower vegetation density of rock faces. To address this concern, effective evironmental communication is necessary to provoke environmentally responsible behavior among climbers. This study explores what the most effective form of environmental communication is, that elicits a positive response from rock climbers. Regulatory Focus Theory as well as the nature values distinction (intrinsic, instrumental, and relational) are employed to assess the effect of value-based messages on rock climbers' environmental behavior. Moreover, this research investigates how personal values of rock climbers (biospheric, altruistic, and egoistic) impact their response to messages that highlight different nature values. Environmental messaging that resonates with the personal values of rock climbers can influence their response positively. Thus, crafting messages that are aligned with the target audience's environmental dispositions is essential for effective environmental communication. While the findings did not yield definitive results, the study indicates that messages emphasizing the instrinsic value of nature coupled with prevention-oriented foucus may be more effective for rock climbers. Moreover, altruistic and biospheric values significantly moderated climbers' response to environmental messages framed with nature values. Regulatory focus was not found to significantly influence rock climbers' environmental behavior. The study also shows that demographic characteristics such as age and gender can influence the environmental behavior of rock climbers. The study's insights provide a baseline for future research in persuasive messaging for adventure tourists. The research opens up new directions in tourism studies and identifies environmental values most relevant to the rock climbing community, providing guidance to climbing area managers and other stakeholders invested in safeguarding natural habitats. By shedding light on possible environmental communication strategies for the promotion of pro-environmental behavior among rock climbers, this research offers an important contribution to the protection of vulnerable ecosystems and the preservation of natural habitats.

本論文は，個人の目標志向性を2種類—予防焦点 (prevention focus) と促進焦点 (promotion focus)—に大別する制御焦点理論 (Regulatory focus theory) を基礎に，制御焦点の差異と課題に対する粘り強さの関係性について明らかにすることを目的とした。研究1から研究6までの各研究をとおして制御焦点理論に関する先行研究の追試可能性，制御焦点理論の視座に立って研究を行うことの意義，そして制御焦点の差異が創造性課題や自由再生課題に対する粘り強さに与える影響について検討を行った。 / 博士(心理学) / Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University

近年來，行銷領域所探討之調節焦點理論與調節配適理論，是有關於消費者心理的研宄，主要是強調，當消費者本身的長期目標導向和所採取的手段方法達到配適時，可以使消費者「感覺對了」，因而產生好的態度反應。同理，當廣告所傳遞的訊息焦點和消費者本身的長期目標導向配適時，也就能使消費者對標的物產生好的態度反應。 本研究以調節焦點理論與調節配適理論為基礎，觀察台灣和日本的消費者，旨在探討文化背景的不同，是否會影響消費者的長期目標導向？對調節配適的效果又會有怎樣的影響？而消費者自我監控程度的不同，又會對調節配適效果發生怎樣的調節作用？ 而本研究結果顯示： 一、 在促進廣告訊息焦點下，當消費者長期促進導向程度越高，越能提升消費者的態度反應，然而在預防廣告訊息焦點下，消費者長期預防導向程度越高時，則無法看出較佳的態度反應。 二、 日本的男、女消費者在預防長期目標導向程度上的差距，大於台灣的男、女消費者差距。 三、 在促進廣告訊息焦點下，消費者的促進導向程度越高，越能提升好的態度反應，此效果在日本的消費者上更明顯 四、 在促進（預防）廣告訊息焦點下，消費者的長期促進（預防）導向程度越高，對產品態度和廣告態度有正向（負向）的提升效果，然而當消費者自我監控程度越高會越弱化該效果。 / Regulatory focus theory and regulatory fit theory are talking about research of consumer’s behaviour in marketing related field in recent years. Two theories emphasise that when consumer’s long-term goal orientation fits methods they take, consumer would feel “that is right” and then positive attitude reaction is made. Meanwhile, when messages from advertisement fit consumer’s long-term goal orientation, consumer would have positive attitude toward the object of advertisements. This research is based on regulatory focus theory and regulatory fit theory to observe consumers in Taiwan and Japan. It discusses does differences of culture background affect consumer’s long-term goal orientation or not. How does culture background influences outcomes of regulatory fit theory? What kind of results based on regulatory fit theory would be made according to differences of consumer’s self-monitoring? The results of the research are in the following: First, in promotion focus advertisement, when the extent of consumer’s chronic promotion goal orientation is higher, the consumer attitude toward the object of the advertisement is more positive. However, in prevention focus advertisement, though the extent of consumer’s chronic prevention goal orientation is higher, consumer did not show more positive attitude toward the object of advertisement. Second, the difference in prevention goal orientation between male and female consumer in Japan is bigger than the difference in prevention goal orientation between male and female consumer in Taiwan. Third, in promotion focus advertisement, when the extent of consumer’s chronic promotion goal orientation is higher, the consumer attitude toward the object is more positive. This situation is more obviously in Japan’s consumer than in Taiwan’s consumer. Finally, in promotion (prevention) focus advertisement, when the extent of consumer’s chronic promotion (prevention) goal orientation is higher, the consumer attitude toward the object is more positive (negative). However, this result will be more unobvious when the extent of consumer’s self-monitoring is higher.

進入21世紀，公司對履行企業社會責任的概念越來越重視。然而，先前的研究較少注重於何種因素驅使公司朝永續企業發展，本研究從心理學調節焦點的角度探討公司執行長的心理特質是否對社會責任的履行有重要影響，而調節焦點把一般人區分為促進焦點與防禦焦點。 本文依據S&P1500中4714個樣本觀察值，利用各公司致股東報告書裡的關鍵字衡量樣本公司執行長的調節焦點強度。實證結果發現，擁有高促進焦點的執行長與企業社會責任的缺失有負向關係，而高防禦焦點的執行長則會降低公司社會責任的優勢並產生較多缺失。這些結果代表不同心理特質的執行長，由於對達成目標的方式也不同，進而影響到實際公司的策略結果。本研究結果對公司董事會、提名委員會及其他利關係人在選任高階經理人以推行企業社會責任時具有重要意涵。