Feedback information and consumer motivation: The moderating role of positive and negative reference values in self-regulation

Abstract

Purpose: Marketers spend considerable resources to motivate people to consume their products and services as a means of goal attainment. Why people change their consumption behaviour is based largely on these goals; many products and services are used by consumers in an effort to attain hoped-for selves and/or to avoid feared selves. Despite the importance for marketers in understanding how current performance influences a consumer's future efforts, this topic has received little attention in marketing research. The aim of this paper is to fill some of the gaps. Design/methodology/approach: The paper provides a theoretical framework and uses two studies to test this. Study 1, of 203 women, aged 27-65, examines the predictions in the context of women and visible signs of skin aging. Feedback information is measured and approach and avoidance regulatory systems are manipulated by priming hoped-for and feared possible selves. Study 2, of 281 undergraduate men and women, replicates the findings of Study 1 with manipulated feedback, using a different context (gym training) and a sample of both male and females. Findings: The research shows that when consumers pursue a hoped-for self, it is expectations of success that most strongly drive their motivation. It also shows why doing badly when trying to avoid a feared self is more motivating than doing well. Practical implications: The findings have important implications as they reveal how managers can motivate customers to keep using a product or service. Originality/value: The paper makes several contributions to the consumer goal research literature since little is known about how positive (hoped-for selves) and negative (feared selves) reference points in self-regulation differentially influence consumer goal-directed behaviour. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.