Consumer Goals and the Service Encounter: Evaluating Goal Importance and the Moderating Effect of Goal Progress on Satisfaction Formation

2009 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Breffni M. Noone ◽  
Anna S. Mattila
Keyword(s):  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Service Encounter ◽  
Goal Progress ◽  
Consumer Goals ◽  
Goal Importance

Construal Matching in Online Search: Applying Text Analysis to Illuminate the Consumer Decision Journey

2020 ◽  
pp. 002224372094069 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashlee Humphreys ◽  
Mathew S. Isaac ◽  
Rebecca Jen-Hui Wang
Keyword(s):  
Textual Analysis ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Consumer Search ◽  
Online Search ◽  
Matching Effect ◽  
Goal Progress ◽  
Search Queries ◽  
Mental Construal ◽  
Consumer Goals ◽  
Concrete Language

As consumers move through their decision journey, they adopt different goals (e.g., transactional vs. informational). In this research, the authors propose that consumer goals can be detected through textual analysis of online search queries and that both marketers and consumers can benefit when paid search results and advertisements match consumer search–related goals. In bridging construal level theory and textual analysis, the authors show that consumers at different stages of the decision journey tend to assume different levels of mental construal, or mindsets (i.e., abstract vs. concrete). They find evidence of a fluency-driven matching effect in online search such that when consumer mindsets are more abstract (more concrete), consumers generate textual search queries that use more abstract (more concrete) language. Furthermore, they are more likely to click on search engine results and ad content that matches their mindset, thereby experiencing more search satisfaction and perceiving greater goal progress. Six empirical studies, including a pilot study, a survey, three lab experiments, and a field experiment involving over 128,000 ad impressions provide support for this construal matching effect in online search.

scholarly journals Goal Cycle: Antecedents and Consequences of Goal Progress

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewa Szumowska ◽  
Katarzyna Jasko ◽  
Karolina Dukała ◽  
Paulina Górska
Keyword(s):  
Self Regulation ◽  
Goal Pursuit ◽  
Cyclic Process ◽  
Goal Progress ◽  
Reciprocal Relationships ◽  
Goal Importance ◽  
Antecedents And Consequences ◽  
Person Centered Approach ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Level Of Analysis

Even though goal pursuit is often conceptualized as a linear phenomenon, it consists of feedback loops and reciprocal relationships between its crucial components. To investigate this aspect, we tested relationships between goal properties (goal importance and expectancy of success) as well as goal-related emotions and goal progress over time. Across three waves, 389 participants, and 3,150 unique goals, we found that goal progress was positively predicted by goal expectancy and, less consistently, by the importance attached to the goal. Furthermore, it was also positively predicted by goal-related satisfaction and, to a lesser extent, stress. Moreover, goal progress positively predicted future progress on the same goal via increased importance, increased expectancy, and increased satisfaction and negatively via decreased stress. These results provide insight into the mechanisms of goal-pursuit viewed as a cyclic process. Moreover, given that we have found much greater variability at the goal (compared to the person) level of analysis, the results suggest a goal- rather than person-centered approach to studying self-regulation.

How Goal Specificity Shapes Motivation: A Reference Points Perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 1033-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott G Wallace ◽  
Jordan Etkin
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Goal Pursuit ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Financial Health ◽  
Initial State ◽  
Goal Progress ◽  
Consumer Goals ◽  
Goal Specificity ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Consumers often pursue goals that lack specific end states, such as goals to lose as much weight as possible or to pay off as much debt as possible. Yet despite considerable interest in the consequences of setting nonspecific (vs. specific) goals, how goal specificity affects motivation throughout goal pursuit is less well understood. The current research explores the role of reference points in shaping goal specificity’s effects. We propose that goal specificity alters what reference point consumers spontaneously adopt during goal pursuit: for specific goals, the end state tends to be more salient, but for nonspecific goals, the initial state should be more salient. Five studies investigate how this difference in focal reference points shapes (1) the relationship between goal progress and motivation, (2) when (i.e., at what level of goal progress) goal specificity produces the greatest difference in motivation, and (3) the underlying process driving these effects. Our findings advance understanding of the relationship between goal specificity, goal progress, and motivation, and in doing so, underscore the critical role that reference points play in goal-directed behavior. In addition, the findings offer practical insight into how best to set important financial, health, and other consumer goals to enhance motivation.

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