Examining the Effect of Expressing a Quantitative Goal on Consumer Savings

We examine the effectiveness of implementation intention plans for achieving regular savings with small-scale, exploratory field research. A series of surveys required participants in a community-based savings campaign to form implementation intentions concerning timing, mode, amount, and source of income for savings during the next month. Baseline and two follow-up responses from treatment and control groups showed implementation plans that require individuals to express discretionary quantitative savings goals are less effective than those that require a generalized, nonquantitative commitment to save. This result has implications for savings programs, many of which consider an expressed quantitative goal to be crucial for success.     

Family firms and the interests of non‐family stakeholders: The influence of family managers' affective commitment and family salience in terms of power

The goal of this research is to analyze the heterogeneity of family firms in the normative attention to their non‐family stakeholders. With this aim, we suggest that the psychological process of top family managers in terms of individual affective commitment to their firms is a key variable to explain that heterogeneity. However, we also suggest a moderator effect of the family stakeholder salience in the relationship between the managers' affective commitment to the firm and the establishment of firm goals toward non‐family stakeholders. The results of a hierarchical regression analysis on data obtained from 207 family executives show a significant positive influence of managers' affective commitment on the establishment of goals related both to internal (employees) and external (customers and community) non‐family stakeholders. In addition, we can observe a negative moderator effect of the family utilitarian power—as an indicator of the family stakeholder salience—on the relationship between the family managers' affective commitment and the goals related to non‐family employees.     

Consumer responses to the depth and minimum claimed savings of “Scratch and Save (SAS)” promotions

This study examines consumers' responses to advertisements employing “Scratch and Save” (SAS) type promotions, which are emerging store‐level promotional tools. Due to SAS promotions' “gambling” characteristics, they offer the possibility of high savings levels, however, they also confront the consumer with uncertainty about the value of the discount at the point of purchase. Particular attention is paid to the depth of the claimed savings, and its effect on regular price believability and consumers' expected savings, as well as perceived value and shopping intentions. The depth of the advertised SAS promotions was observed to not affect consumer believability of the regular price in SAS advertisements. In addition, the disjunction effect is made applicable through showing that the minimum claimed saving information enhances the level of savings expectation. The results also report the positive impact of expected savings on offer value and, in turn, shopping intentions. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Motivation for emergency and retirement saving: an examination of Regulatory Focus Theory

Can Regulatory Focus Theory be used to better understand consumers' saving attitudes and behaviours? The theory posits that prevention‐ and promotion‐oriented personality traits may influence financial decision making. Using secondary and experimental survey data, two research questions were examined: (1) Are promotion‐ and prevention‐related saving goals, in combination with promotion‐ and prevention‐oriented personality traits, related to attitudes towards saving behaviour? (2) To what extent does the match between these goals and traits affect actual saving behaviour? Findings confirmed that promotion‐oriented consumers were less likely to save for prevention goals, while the opposite was true for prevention‐oriented individuals. Further, consumers' saving goal and personality trait‐based regulatory focus were found to influence cognitive attitudes towards saving. The discussion focuses on how these findings and theoretical perspectives may predict and influence consumers' financial decision making.     

When consumers struggle: Action crisis and its effects on problematic goal pursuit

When pursuing goals, consumers often face setbacks that force them to reevaluate their goals. Yet, current goal theory offers limited explanations for how people respond to recurring challenges and disengage from their goals. Through five experiments investigating three primary theoretical aims, this research extends the field's understanding of action crisis, a possible goal pursuit stage marked by internal conflict over whether or not to continue, and investigates it in consumption contexts such as patient–physician relationships, weight loss diets, and environmentally friendly purchasing. Experiments 1A–1C show that consumer action crisis encourages more disengagement‐related and less continuation‐supportive cost–benefit thinking than nonproblematic action phase. Experiment 2 replicates this cognitive shift, and connects action crisis to diminished goal‐related evaluations and weakened commitment. Experiment 3 further clarifies action crisis’ influence on consumer goal pursuit by revealing decreased cognitive and behavioral engagement that does not involve a shift in construal level when compared to action phase consumers. Extending understanding of action crisis as a possible mindset and action phase, these five experiments advance goal disengagement theory by connecting changes in cognition, motivation, and behavior to action crisis.     

New insights into emotion valence and loyalty intentions in relational exchanges

This research examines how emotion valence and future intentions arising from relational exchanges with a service firm depend on a consumer's level of goal attainment and locus of causality (firm vs. self) of relational outcomes. Drawing on the theories of goal‐directed behavior and agency of causation, this study hypothesizes that levels of goal attainment and locus of causality influence the generation of positive emotions (gratitude), negative emotions (grudge and guilt), relational mediators (trust and commitment), and subsequent future intentions to remain loyal to the firm. Based on a controlled experiment with 284 subjects in a consumer‐determined relationship setting, the research finds that emotion valence and future loyalty intentions are contingent upon the fulfillment of relational objectives of individual consumers and the agency of causation for the outcome of the relational exchanges. In doing so, this study delineates the conditioning mechanism that directs how emotion valence influences behavioral intentions. The study contributes to the consumer behavior and services marketing literatures on consumption‐based emotions and has significant practice implications for relational behaviors.     

The effects of anticipated goal‐inconsistent behavior on present goal choices

Prior work has examined how, in the pursuit of long‐term goals, past goal behavior influences present goal choices. Instead, the present work focuses on how anticipating future goal behavior, specifically future goal‐inconsistent behavior, influences present goal choices. For example, how anticipating overspending on an upcoming vacation influences current spending behavior. The authors propose that the effect of anticipated goal‐inconsistent behavior on present goal choice is moderated by the perceived changeability of the future behavior. When future goal‐inconsistent behavior is perceived as changeable, consumers tend to imagine it away, and it has no systematic effect on present goal choices. However, when future goal‐inconsistent behavior is perceived as unchangeable, consumers accept it as a matter of fact, and systematic effects occur. Specifically, some consumers not only fail to buffer against future goal‐inconsistent behavior's negative consequences, but tend to exacerbate those consequences by increasing their goal‐inconsistent behavior in the present. Four studies examine this surprising behavior, using an individual difference (the response‐to‐failure scale) to identify when and for whom it occurs. The studies demonstrate the role of perceived changeability using various manipulations across multiple critical goal domains such as spending, eating, and academics.     

Responsible Personal Finance: The Role of Conscientiousness in Bank and Pension Savings in Chile

We investigate the role of trait conscientiousness, from the Big Five personality traits, in explaining individual saving behavior. Conscientiousness is a disposition to be responsible and pursue non‐immediate goals; thus, we expect this trait to positively predict saving behavior. Using a nationally representative survey from Chile, we find the expected effect of conscientiousness on pension and bank savings.     

When impediments make you jump rather than stumble: Regulatory nonfit, implementation intentions, and goal attainment

This paper examines the relative effectiveness of forming implementation intentions (i.e., making specific plans regarding how to go about achieving a goal) for increasing goal attainment under regulatory fit vs. nonfit. We discuss and empirically test the proposition that regulatory nonfit increases the effectiveness of implementation intentions. Extant research contrasts goals of differing difficulty (e.g., buying a textbook vs. finding an apartment) in order to test the relative effectiveness of implementation intentions. In contrast, the present study focuses on identifying the change in implementation intention effectiveness for the same goal (i.e., collecting and turning in receipts for a reward) under conditions of fit vs. nonfit. We empirically demonstrate that when faced with the same goal, people who experience regulatory nonfit perceive the task to be more difficult to complete than people who experience regulatory fit. In turn, when the task is perceived as being more difficult, implementation intentions prove more effective to enhance goal attainment. Our study provides insight into the interaction between regulatory fit and implementation intentions and subsequent effects on goal attainment.     

The impact of money attitudes and global life satisfaction on the maladaptive pursuit of consumption

The goal of this research was to examine how money attitudes and global life satisfaction relate to and predict compulsive buying among young adults. Using a Prolific Academic sample, 265 adults between the ages 18 and 25 completed the Money Attitudes Scale, Money Ethics Scale, Spendthrift‐Tightwad Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Richmond Compulsive‐Buying Scale. As expected, motives toward saving and spending money as assessed by the Money Attitude Scale and pain of paying as assessed by the Spendthrift‐Tightwad Scale were correlated and predicted compulsive buying. However, these findings are qualified by an interaction effect such that those who held negative attitudes toward saving money and experienced little pain of paying were compulsive buyers. Theoretical and practical implications for maladaptive purchasing behavior among young adults are discussed.     

Exploring the role of goal theory in understanding training motivation

A model to test conceptions from goal theory within an existing framework of training motivation was developed and tested with employees participating in training in a non‐profit organization. It was hypothesized that goal orientation ('distal factors’) along with self‐efficacy, expectancy and valence (‘proximal factors’) would predict goal intentions as well as training outcomes such as affective responses to training, perceptions of training utility and intention to transfer or use the training provided. Results revealed that goal orientation predicted a significant proportion of variance in the proximal antecedents (valence (33 per cent), expectancy (39 per cent) and self‐efficacy (31 per cent)) whereas the proximal antecedents explained 43 per cent of the variance in goal intentions. In turn, goal intentions were related to training outcomes (affect (b = 0.7), utility (b = 0.6) and transfer intention (b = 0.5)). Goal intentions mediated the relationship between proximal antecedents and training outcomes, providing evidence that goal intentions play a pivotal role in the causal path from proximal factors to training outcomes. Valence alone was found to be a significant mediator of the relationship between goal orientation and goal intentions.     

Buying a sponsor's brand: the role of affective commitment to the sponsored team

Sponsorship is increasingly important in a firm's communication mix. Research to date has focused on the impact of sponsorship on brand awareness and its subsequent consequences for image congruency and consumer attitudes towards sponsors' brands. A lesser studied area is the effect of sponsorship on consumers' purchase intentions and behaviours. We argue that existing models of sponsorship driven purchase behaviour fail to account for affective commitment, which mediates relationship between affiliation with the team and social identification with the team. We propose a modified framework describing the effect of sponsorship on purchase intentions in the context of low and high performing sports teams. The framework is tested using structural equations modelling; employing PLS estimation and data collected via online survey of AFL chat room participants. Results confirm the role of affective commitment in sport sponsorship purchase intentions and indicate that team success has a significant influence on fans' purchase behaviours.     

How the Temporal Framing of Energy Savings Influences Consumer Product Evaluations and Choice

Consumer interest in behavior that is good for the environment is increasing, but actual behavior consistent with this objective has not risen accordingly. This may in part be due to consumers not realizing that their environmentally protective behaviors may have tangible future benefits for them. These studies examine the influence of message frames and a consumer's propensity to think about the future for products that have future benefits. More specifically, these studies examine how consumers respond to temporal frames of savings on product packaging for energy efficient products. Two studies suggest that the temporal framing of savings can influence product choice, purchase intentions, attitudes, and perceptions of savings. The results indicate that future‐oriented consumers are likely to have more positive evaluations when savings are framed in the distant future compared to the near future. In addition, there is a mediating effect of perception of savings. These experiments provide information of interest to marketers and researchers regarding the influence of temporal frames and a consumer's temporal orientation on products that have future benefits.     

With the best of intentions: a large sample test of the intention‐behaviour gap in pro‐environmental consumer behaviour

Many consumers intend to make pro‐environmental purchases; however, this is not always what occurs. A gap exists between consumer intentions to purchase environmentally friendly products and their actual purchase behaviour. The current study uses a large sample of Australian consumers (N = 772) to test Carrington, Neville and Whitwell's (2010) conceptual model of the intention‐behaviour gap. Responses showed that implementation intentions mediated the relationship between intention and pro‐environmental consumer behaviour. Behavioural control and environmental involvement were found to moderate the relationship between implementation intentions and behaviour. Shopping context was found to moderate the relationship between intention and implementation intentions. The findings have theoretical implications for furthering understanding of pro‐environmental consumer behaviour, and practical implications regarding how to generate socially beneficial behaviours.     

Gender differences in financial socialization in the home—An exploratory study

Recent literature has stressed the need for research examining the causes of females in general having lower levels of financial literacy than males. This article uses social cognitive theory of gender development as a framework to propose differing financial socialization of children in the home by gender as a possible cause of gender differences later in life. Evidence is found of gender based differences in the financial socialization of eleven and twelve year olds. Findings include more frequent parent‐child discussions being correlated to more positive financial attitudes, but not to saving behaviour. Saving behaviour of children is influenced by attitudes to money along with the presence of parents when spending, which is subject to a same sex gender bias for girls, with large effect sizes. Girls are over 200% more likely to state they save some of their pocket money if their mother is present when they spend their pocket money, compared to having no parent present. This difference does not exist for male children. When a boy is with both parents when spending, they are 245% more likely to report saving some of their pocket money then when neither parent is present. Having a father present when spending does not yield significantly different results to when no parent is present. These findings of gender biased financial socialization in the home are important considerations for the design of school‐based financial literacy programmes. Specifically, these programmes should consider a goal of encouraging discussion and questioning gender based attitudes and roles in the home. They are also important findings in terms of going some way to explaining the existence of a gender difference in financial knowledge in adulthood.     

Converging vs diverging: The effect of visual representation of goal structure on financial decisions

Financial decisions often entail choices between multiple options, and the presence of multiple options can increase decision difficulty. The present work introduces an intervention to visually represent the dynamic relation between a financial goal and its associated options with either a converging diagram (in which multiple subordinate options visually flow inward and converge into a superordinate goal) or a diverging diagram (in which a superordinate goal visually flows outward and diverges into multiple subordinate options). Drawing on the visual-congruence literature, we propose that each diagram can increase processing fluency and facilitate goal intention when it enables a match with the monetary flow embedded in the financial goal. Specifically, for financial goals involving an inward monetary flow (e.g., saving or earning), a converging diagram provides a match and increases goal intention. In contrast, for goals involving an outward monetary flow (e.g., spending or donating), a diverging diagram provides a match, leading to greater goal intention. Implications for financial decisions are discussed.     

Impact of the Community Reinvestment Act on New Business Start‐Ups and Economic Growth in Local Markets*

Economic growth in the United States has historically bypassed many minorities and low‐income communities. Some researchers and community advocates assert that the deterioration of these communities is in part caused by financial institutions' redlining and neglect. To rectify the situation, the government introduced the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) for the purpose of encouraging banks and saving institutions to become more socially responsible and help meet the credit needs of communities in which they are located. The CRA was the government's response to bank lending discrimination. However, when passing the Act, Congress was equally concerned with reversing or at least halting disinvestment from inner‐city communities and in turn revitalizing local economies. Many believe that the availability of credit to establish, refinance, and improve small businesses is critical to the well‐being of local communities. Therefore, through the provision of small business loans, the CRA could be envisioned as a catalyst toward achieving that goal. Thus the aim of this paper is to investigate potential relationship between banks' CRA lending activities, and new business start‐ups and economic growth in local markets. The paper proposes that new start‐ups will have spillover effects that will consequently contribute to community development. After controlling for several potential variables that could have an impact on business start‐ups and community developments, the study found a strong positive effect. Beside its social and economic implications, the study also considered policy implications associated with the CRA regulation as a welfare improving initiative in low‐income communities. It offers ground for certain government intervention in the loan market.     

Disengagement of Nascent Entrepreneurs from the Start‐Up Process

This study examines the roles of entrepreneur motivation and a potentially adverse founding condition in disengagement of nascent entrepreneurs from the start‐up process. Specifically, measures of goal commitment, self‐efficacy, and perceived competition intensity from 943 nascent entrepreneurs are employed to predict disengagement as reported one year later. Results indicate that high perceived competition intensity renders the otherwise strong negative main effect of goal commitment on disengagement, not significant. The even stronger negative main effect of self‐efficacy on disengagement, however, is not contingent on perceived competition intensity. Further, perceived competition intensity by itself does not appear to influence nascent entrepreneurs' disengagement.     

Antecedents of organizational citizenship behaviours among part-time employees of service organizations in Korea

This study investigates the antecedents of organizational citizenship behaviours by using data consisting of 196 part-time instructors drawn from six sport centres in the Republic of Korea. The results of a structural equation analysis suggest that job satisfaction has a positive effect on organizational and occupational commitment, occupational satisfaction has a positive effect on organizational and occupational commitment, organizational commitment has a positive effect on organizational citizenship behaviours (OCBs) and a negative effect on turnover intentions, and turnover intentions has a negative effect on OCBs. The effect of occupational commitment on both turnover intentions and OCBs was not significant. This research addresses a number of important issues in the management of human resources (i.e. part-time workers) in service organizations; that is, this study examines how part-time employees' satisfaction and commitment with respect to their jobs, occupations or organizations are related to their OCBs; this relationship is arguably one the most important issues facing service organizations today.     

Behavioral Interventions to Increase Tax‐Time Saving: Evidence from a National Randomized Trial

We provide new large‐scale experimental evidence on policies that aim to boost household saving out of income tax refunds. Households that filed income tax returns with an online tax preparer and chose to receive their refund electronically were randomized into eight treatment groups, which received different combinations of motivational saving prompts and suggested shares of the refund to save—25% and 75%—and a control group, which received neither. In treatment conditions where they were presented, motivational prompts focused on various savings goals: general, retirement, or emergency. Analysis reveals that higher suggested that allocations generated increased allocations of the refund to savings but that prompts for different reasons to save did not. These interventions, which draw on lessons from behavioral economics, represent potentially low‐cost, scalable tools for policy makers interested in helping low‐ and moderate‐income households build savings.