Every Saint has a Past, and Every Sinner has a Future: Influences of Regulatory Focus on Consumers’ Moral Self-Regulation

Abstract

Moral decisions in the marketplace largely depend on consumers’ own behavioral history. Psychology literature distinguishes two possible routes for consumers’ sequential moral decision making: moral balancing and moral consistency. Moral balancing refers to consumers’ deviation from the moral stance reflected in their past decisions; moral consistency implies that consumers repeat their prior moral and immoral decisions. Drawing on regulatory focus theory, four experimental studies affirm that balancing effects occur for consumers with a strong promotion focus, but consistency is more pronounced for prevention‐focused consumers; the studies also elucidate the processes underlying these effects. In addition, the promotion‐balancing effect, but not the prevention‐repetition effect, disappears if the second decision is unambiguously moral or immoral. These findings contribute to a better understanding of morality in the marketplace by showing that the prevention‐repetition effect from psychology literature arises in consumption situations, and the promotion‐balancing effect emerges as a new consumer behavior phenomenon.