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Regulatory Orientation, Message Framing and Influences of Fit On REGULATORY ORIENTATION, MESSAGE FRAMING AND INFLUENCES OF FIT ON CUSTOMER BEHAVIORS Trang Phuc Tran, BA, MBA Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS August 2012 APPROVED: Audhesh Paswan, Major Professor Charles Blankson, Committee Member Francisco Guzman, Committee Member Robert Pavur, Committee Member Jeff Sager, Chair of the Department of Marketing and Logistics Finley Graves, Dean of the College of Business Mark Wardell, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Tran, Trang Phuc. Regulatory Orientation, Message Framing and Influences of Fit on Customer Behaviors. Doctor of Philosophy (Marketing), August 2012, 118 pp., 16 tables, 10 figures, references, 124 titles. Existing literature on consumer behavior has argued that an individual’s regulatory orientation interacts with message framing. If there is a match between regulatory orientation (promotion versus prevention) and message framing, this results in positive attitudes toward a given advertisement. Conversely, if there is a mismatch, the effect is opposite, i.e., attitudes toward that advertisement are less positive and less favorable. This research extends the term of compatibility by examining how regulatory focus moderates the impact of two aspects of message framing (attribute framing and risky choice framing) on customer perceptions. It also examines whether regulatory fit is created when there are interactions between individuals’ regulatory orientation and message framing and how the fit changes customer perceptions about a message. Specifically, this dissertation provides answers to the following questions: (1) does regulatory fit take place when regulatory focus is compatible with two aspects of message framing (attribute and risky choice)?; (2) does regulatory fit take place when one aspect of message framing (attribute) is compatible with the other (risky choice)?; and (3) how do customer perceptions change if customers experience regulatory fit? The results show that the effects of utilitarian attributes and national brands are dominating and that both promotion- and prevention-oriented customers have higher perceptions of these attributes and brands. The findings of this study have both theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, this study should enhance our understanding of regulatory focus theory. Practically, the results should provide marketers with more insights into the correlation between message framing and regulatory orientation and the effect of fit on message persuasion, enabling them to develop more effective marketing strategies. Copyright 2012 By Trang Phuc Tran ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Professor Audhesh Paswan, Chair of Dissertation Committee, for his continuous support, encouragement and guidance throughout the entire process of my dissertation. He is a great advisor and mentor who encouraged me go through each stage of the dissertation process and helped me complete it successfully. I want also to express my deep attitude to Professors Charles Blankson, Francisco Guzman and Robert Pavur for serving on my dissertation committee. Their advice on a variety of topics such as model, hypotheses development, writing, brand selection, data analysis, etc. was extremely invaluable.. They were the ones who were always available when I needed and who provided me with a great source of motivation to work through my journey. Also I want to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Joseph Oppong, Associate Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School for the Dissertation Boot Camp. Three days during the camp were a precious experience that enabled me to develop a similar schedule to work alone on my solidary pathway. Especially, I am deeply appreciative of my beloved wife, Ha Tran, for the love and compassion that she has shared with me for years, particularly four years of my doctoral program. I also want to thank my children, Quang and Minh, for the wonderful time that we enjoy together – the precious time that helped me balance between personal life and academic life. And I wholeheartedly thank my mom who has sacrificed tremendously to set the path of my life the way it is today. Finally, I would like to express deep appreciation to friends, colleagues, staff and administrators for their support and assistance which enabled me to overcome challenges I faced during the program. More importantly, they were the wonderful people that made my office the second home. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENT .................... 6 Message Framing ................................................................................................................ 6 Regulatory Focus Theory .................................................................................................. 17 Regulatory Focus Influences............................................................................................. 20 Chronic Regulatory Focus Measurement.......................................................................... 25 Regulatory Focus Manipulation ........................................................................................ 28 Regulatory Fit ................................................................................................................... 30 Hypotheses Development ................................................................................................. 35 Regulatory Focus and Attribute Framing ............................................................. 36 Regulatory Focus and Brand Types ...................................................................... 37 Brand Types and Attribute Framing ..................................................................... 39 Regulatory Focus, Brand Types, and Attribute Framings .................................... 40 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................. 42 Measurement Scales.......................................................................................................... 42 Product Selection .............................................................................................................. 43 Study 1 .............................................................................................................................. 46 Design ................................................................................................................... 46 Procedures and Participants .................................................................................. 46 Demographics ....................................................................................................... 48 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 49 Regulatory Focus and Attribute Framing ............................................................. 51 Study 2 .............................................................................................................................. 52 Procedures and Participants .................................................................................. 52 Demographics ....................................................................................................... 53 iv Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 54 Regulatory Focus and Attribute Framing ............................................................. 56 Final Study ........................................................................................................................ 57 Design ................................................................................................................... 57 Procedures and Participants .................................................................................. 57 CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS .................................................................... 60 Measurement Assessment ................................................................................................. 60 Final Study ........................................................................................................................ 63 Demographics ....................................................................................................... 63 Manipulation Check .............................................................................................. 66 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 69 Test of Hypotheses ................................................................................................ 71 CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION ......................................................................................................... 86 Theoretical Implications ................................................................................................... 89 Managerial
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