Fit or not? Bringing regulatory fit into the frame on health food preferences

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 1388-1404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuo-Shuan Kuo ◽  
Shih-Chieh Chuang ◽  
Molly Chien-jung Huang ◽  
Pei-ying Wu

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to facilitate the use of public communication in the development of healthy food plans for consumers. This research aims to investigate whether the influence of “fit” to individuals’ goal pursuit strategies on the effectiveness of advertisement frames can intensify persuasion to consume healthy (virtue) foods or restrain the consumption of unhealthy (vice) foods in health promotion.Design/methodology/approachTwo experiments were conducted to investigate how goal-framed messages for different food types affect consumer decision making by moderating regulatory focus.FindingsThe results demonstrate that the compatibility between the mere exposure to virtue (vice) food in a negative (positive) frame drives the effectiveness of a given goal framing. However, when additional regulatory focus is added, the fit in the vice/promotion and virtue/prevention condition causes the effect of framing to disappear. Moreover, the unfit in the virtue/promotion and vice/prevention condition suppresses the virtue (vice) preference in the positive (negative) frame.Research limitations/implicationsThese findings suggest that under different valence framing, advertising messages provide different amounts of persuasion in virtue/vice conditions and the moderation effect of regulatory fit on framing to influence virtue/vice food preference.Practical implicationsPublic policy executives and marketers can increase the likelihood that consumers will make healthy food choices by fitting goals to strengthen persuasion. The unfitted goal orientation between food and regulatory focus enhances the framing effect leading to food preference changes.Originality/valueThe framing effect disappears when additional regulatory fit the food type, but is enhanced when additional regulatory focus does not fit the food type. By bringing fit into the frame and the virtue/vice food type, this research extends the notion of regulatory fit into three pairs of given goal orientations on the persuasiveness of message framing to health-related communication. It provides a substantial explanation underlying persuasion to promote a greater understanding of virtue/vice food preferences.

2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (6) ◽  
pp. 1969-1982 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong-Jing Cui ◽  
Kim-Shyan Fam ◽  
Tai-Yang Zhao

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of regulatory focus on Chinese consumers’ intention to consume ethnic food, the mediating role of food neophobia and the moderating role of message framing with regard to regulatory focus and ethnic food consumption. Design/methodology/approach Lab experiments method was used in this paper, two studies were designed to test the relationship between regulatory focus, food neophobia, message framing and intention to eat ethnic food. Study 1 was to test the influence of regulatory focus on intention to eat ethnic food, and the mediation role of food neophobia. Study 2 was to test the moderation role of message framing. Findings Results indicated that consumers with promotion focus have higher intention to eat ethnic food than consumers with prevention focus. Prevention-focus consumers have higher food neophobia, which leads to lower intention to eat ethnic food. Food neophobia plays the mediating role in the relationship between regulatory focus and intention to eat ethnic food. Regulatory fit can increase consumers’ intention to eat ethnic food. Promotion-focus consumers show higher eating intention in gain-framing situation, while prevention-focus consumers show higher eating intention in loss-framing situation. Research limitations/implications The study was undertaken in China. Further studies should include respondents living in countries other than China. Practical implications This research provides a venue for marketers of destination tourism, especially for ethnic food marketers to introduce and advertise ethnic foods to tourists. Regulatory fit is important for destination tourism. To improve consumers’ eating intention, this research suggests that ethnic food marketers should pay attention to regulatory focus of consumers from different regions and cultural background, and design corresponding message framing for consumers with different regulatory focus to form regulatory fit. Originality/value First, this study has proposed and tested regulatory focus’ effect on intention to consumer ethnic food. Food neophobia is used to explain the mechanism of relation between regulatory focus and intention to eat ethnic food. Also, message framing is introduced to define the boundary of relation between regulatory focus and intention to eat ethnic food.


2014 ◽  
Vol 644-650 ◽  
pp. 6289-6292
Author(s):  
Li Chen

Regulatory fit theory is based on regulatory focus theory which was from hedonism and decision-making motives, explaining individual consumer’s decisions making processes from both psychological and mental point of views. Regulatory fit theory proposed consumers in the face of different forms of information representation will lead to match or mismatch of consumer wants. And the effect of adjusting the matching value will affect the perception of the product or service, thereby affecting the consumer’s buying wish.Framing effect is originated from prospect theory indicate that people will make different choices when they face the same, but different forms of expression scheme. This article tries to explore the inherent nature of impulsive buying behavior mechanisms, drawing on regulatory fit theory and framing effect theory.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Septianto ◽  
Gavin Northey ◽  
Scott Weaven

Purpose This paperaims to investigate a novel expectation by examining how framing a company as its constituent members (members frame) versus an organization (organization frame) can influence consumer evaluations of a product or service from this company. Design/methodology/approach Four studies were conducted examining the effectiveness of an organization (vs members) frame in a between-subjects experimental design (a pilot study, Studies 1a, 1b and 2). Study 2 also tested the moderating role of donation strategies (amount-focused vs frequency-focused). Findings Results show a members (vs organization) frame leads to a higher purchase likelihood of a product from a company engaging in corporate donations. Further, this framing effect is mediated by increased levels of consumers’ perceptions about how committed the company is to the cause and the emotion of moral elevation in response to the company’s corporate donations. Moreover, this effect is moderated when the company uses a frequency-based (vs amount-based) donation strategy. Research limitations/implications This research contributes to the literature on message framing by demonstrating how the same information about a company may lead to differential effects on consumer evaluations, depending on whether the company is framed as its constituent members versus an organization. Practical implications This paper presents significant managerial implications for small companies, in which the owner is the company, about how they can effectively communicate corporate donations to the consumers. Originality/value This research provides a novel perspective on how the same information about a company may lead to differential effects on consumer evaluations, particularly in the context of corporate donations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 1355-1381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Naletelich ◽  
Nancy Spears

Purpose New product development (NPD) is increasingly being delegated to consumers, yet little research has investigated consumer-centric factors that may influence this delegation. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to uniquely combine regulatory focus and analogical reasoning to investigate new product ideation and downstream consumer-brand responses. Design/methodology/approach A series of experiments were undertaken. Findings Study 1 revealed that promotion-focused consumers (as opposed to prevention-focused consumers) have significantly greater purchase intentions if given an analogical reasoning task before engaging in new product ideation due to their cognitive flexibility. Study 2 tested the effects of near vs far analogies and found that promotion-focused consumers use analogical thinking to a greater extent and have significantly higher purchase intentions if primed with far analogies because regulatory fit is enhanced. However, analogical thinking and purchase intentions significantly drop if primed with near analogies. In contrast, prevention-focused consumers use analogical thinking to a greater extent and have significantly higher purchase intentions if shown near analogies, compared to far analogies, because of improved regulatory fit. Both studies confirm a serial mediation chain involving task engagement, self-brand connection, and brand sincerity. Research limitations/implications This research extends current understanding regarding the role of creative tasks within consumer NPD. It also uniquely links regulatory focus and consumer task engagement in NPD to increase favorable brand responses. Practical implications Findings offer managerial insights that can positively increase consumer-brand outcomes during NPD. Originality/value This is one of the first studies to demonstrate the importance of analogical thinking and consumer-centric factors (i.e., regulatory focus) during the NPD process. This avenue of research is important, as most studies have neglected ways in which to increase consumer NPD task engagement, leaving resources unutilized.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 511-528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vikas Gupta ◽  
Kavita Khanna ◽  
Raj Kumar Gupta

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and analyse the street food preferences of foreign tourists in Delhi. It will also try to find out the reasons for the selection of these foods by the tourists. Design/methodology/approach The data collection was done from 670 foreign tourists at the departure gates of Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. This study involved location intercept technique through face-to-face interviews and filling of structured questionnaire for taking the responses. The street food preference of the tourists is analysed using analytical hierarchy process model. Findings This study identified 17 street foods which were amongst the most preferred by the foreign tourist, with chicken tikka being the most favoured and paddu being least preferred. It was also found that tourists usually prefer street foods which are mild in taste and are hygienically prepared. Practical implications This study suggests that Indian street food presents a huge market for the foreign tourists that needs to be nurtured. It will help the stakeholders in the street food businesses in Delhi to devise strategies to promote food tourism, modify and align tourism products, enhance farming techniques and ultimately improve the destination image and branding of the place. Originality/value This is the first attempt to try to explore tourists’ street food preference and will help in maximising the influx of foreign tourists, as the concept of culinary tourism is on rise in India.


2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 491-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongwon Choi ◽  
Minyoung Cheong ◽  
Jihye Lee

Purpose While the Ohio State leadership approach had been forgotten for several decades, scholars in the field of leadership have begun revisiting the validity and the role of leader consideration and initiating structure. Building on self-expansion theory, this study suggest the effects of leader consideration and initiating structure on employee task performance. Also, integrating self-expansion theory and regulatory fit theory, the purpose of this paper is to propose and examine the moderating role of employee regulatory focus on the relationship between the Ohio State leadership behaviors and employee task performance, which was mediated by emloyees’ creative behavior as well as citizenship behavior. Design/methodology/approach To test the hypothesized model of this study, cross-sectional data were collected using questionnaires. Pairs of survey packages, which included group-member surveys and a group-leader survey, were handed out to employees in organizations. The authors collected data from 47 groups and 143 group members in 25 private companies in the Republic of Korea, including from financial, technology, manufacturing, and research and development organizations. Findings The results showed that leader consideration exerts significant effects on employee task performance. Also, the authors found the moderating role of employee regulatory promotion focus on the relationship between leader consideration/initiating structure and employee task performance, which were mediated by creative behavior and citizenship behavior. Originality/value This study contributes to the advancement of the Ohio State leadership approach by integrating self-expansion theory and regulatory fit theory to investigate the distinct mechanisms and boundary conditions of its leadership process. The current study also contributes to the literature on extra-role behavior that the Ohio State leadership behavioral dimensions can be considered as one of the antecedents of employees’ creative and citizenship behavior.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pilar Ester Arroyo ◽  
Javier Liñan ◽  
Jorge Vera Martínez

PurposeWhen selecting manufactured foods, customers consider several product features. Given the contemporary trends of food consumption, the purpose of this paper is to determine the influence that some demographic and psychographic key variables have on the chances of a consumer belonging to a market segment characterised by health-related food preferences.Design/methodology/approachThe food choice scale is revised to develop a multidimensional measure of the factors underlying consumer food choices. Data of 288 sampled consumers were used to validate the scale and to group consumers into four segments based on the value assigned to several food-product meta-attributes. Depending on these food choice values, the study identified four dissimilar clusters: utilitarian, protecting, toning and highly demanding.FindingsConsumers use multiple attributes when choosing food products. However, emerging segments tend to prefer health-related attributes over utilitarian or conventional attributes, such as price, flavour or accessibility. The consumers of these segments tend to be older, more health conscious and more prone to psychological health risks.Originality/valueDemographic and psychographic traits tend to drive trade-offs between health- and non-health-related attributes when considering food products. Several multivariate methodologies were innovatively coupled to characterize consumers based on their healthy food preferences and individual traits.


2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 698-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Grappi ◽  
Simona Romani ◽  
Richard P Bagozzi

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.


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