›› 2017, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (6): 177-188.

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The Effect of Regulatory Mode on the Likelihood to Buy a Less Attractive Offering after Missing an Initial Attractive One

Xu Lan, Zhao Shuangshuang, Cui Nan, Xie Wenting, Lu Kaili   

  1. Economics and Management School, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072
  • Received:2015-04-16 Online:2017-06-28 Published:2017-06-23

Abstract:

Previous researches indicate that individuals are inclined to forgo a less attractive opportunity after missing an initial attractive one.However,some researchers proposed the opposite opinion that individuals have motivations to take actions when encountering the subsequent opportunity.In this paper,we confirm that it is possible for some kind of people to take actions even when they have missed the first attractive opportunity.Based on the literature regarding regulatory mode,we proposed that people with different regulatory modes vary in revaluating the product when missing the first attractive opportunity,which influences the likelihood to take the second less attractive opportunity.Specifically,individuals with high locomotion mode are more likely to take actions than individuals with high assessment mode when a less attractive opportunity is presented again after the first attractive one is missed.Furthermore,revaluation of the product mediates the effect of regulatory mode on the likelihood to buy.After missing the initial opportunity,individuals with high locomotion mode tend to anchor the initial price,while individuals with high assessment mode tend to anchor the most attractive price in the first opportunity.This leads individuals with high locomotion mode to revaluate the product at a higher value than those with high assessment mode.We test the hypotheses through two experiments.The results of Experiment 1 show that individuals ranked high in locomotion mode revaluate the product at a higher value and tend to be more likely to buy in the second opportunity than those ranked high in assessment mode.We examined the moderating effect of time interval in Experiment 2.When the initial opportunity is missed just a moment before rather than for a long time,individuals ranked high in locomotion mode are more likely to revaluate the product at a higher value than those ranked high in assessment mode and thus are more likely to buy when facing a less attractive opportunity.

Key words: regulatory mode, likelihood to buy, revaluation, time interval