Index of Paper Presentations for the Parallel Sessions - Academy of ...

2004; Lee, Keller, and Sternthal 2010). However, these studies usually operationalized regulatoryorientation as promotion versus prevention strategies. Yet, regulatory orientation, as the basicprinciple underlying distinct self-regulatory strategies and needs (Higgins 1997), may refer to anygoal-related psychological orientation (Aaker and Lee 2006). For example, it may involve eitherlong-term regulatory goals (e.g., family security) or short-term regulatory goals (e.g., winning aball game Aaker and Lee 2006). Responding to repeated calls for broadening the scope ofregulatory orientation (Aaker and Lee 2006), this research examines the regulatory orientationthat is focused on the long-term(short-term), the pursuit of distant rewards andachievement(immediate gains and returns),. Following the regulatory fit hypothesis, one mayexpect that when there is congruency between an individual‘s regulatory orientation (e.g., longtermversus shot-term) and communication message (e.g., abstract versus concrete messages), theideas conveyed in the message are conceptually more fluent, and hence are more effective.Prior research has also suggested distinct processing mechanisms by which it influences attitudeor behavioral intention. The mechanism that may help explain the congruency effect on consumerattitude is related to an ―it-just-feels-right‖ experience (Higgins et al. 2003). Such an experiencemay occur when an individual receives information or feedback that enables one to progresstoward achieving that goal. Consistent with this premise, Higgins and colleagues (2003) suggestthat people ―feel right‖ when the information they receive fits with their regulatory orientation.Further, this perception of feeling right can be transferred to the message argument as the resultof source confusion (Camacho, Higgins, and Luger 2003; Higgins et al. 2003), and in turn leadsto more favorable attitude toward the message.Flow is defined as an intrinsic fulfilling experience, in which there is a balance between anindividual‘s skills and challenges at hand, as such one is totally captivated by the ongoing activity(Csikszentmihalyi 2000; Hoffman and Novak 1996). Flow is believed to be one of the centralconstructs in online communication due to its impacts on website stickiness and future repeatedwebsite visits (Hoffman and Novak1996; Sicilia, Ruiz, and Munuera 2005; Smith and Sivakumar2004). Prior research suggests that the intrinsic fulfilling flow experience is conceptually similarto the regulatory fit experience of ―it just feel right‖ (Aaker and Lee 2006; Higgins et al. 2003).Investigations of regulation fit suggest that due to regulatory fit, every piece of information thatan individual receives tends to support and sustain one‘s goal, as a result, it leads to a balancebetween challenge and skills that characterizes flow (Aaker and Lee 2006). In summary, aregulatory fit between time orientation and communication message will lead to higherprocessing fluency, and more intense flow experience, and thereafter more favorable attitudetowards the message.Alternatively, the mechanism, by which congruency between regulatory orientation andcommunication message may lead to stronger behavioral intention, is related to an increase inperceived self-efficacy regarding the future behavioral change as a result of processing fluency(Aaker and Lee 2006). Most healthcare messages encourage behavioral changes that requiresignificant willpower (e.g., quitting smoking),.For the individuals who experience suchcongruency, those behaviors will seem easier to master. That is, congruency between regulatoryorientation and the message correlates with increased confidence and motivation inaccomplishing these behavioral goals (Aaker and Lee 2006).. Thus, a regulatory fit between timeorientation and communication message will enhance behavioral intention. Formally, wehypothesize that:H1: Congruency (versus incongruency) between primed temporal goal orientation (shortterm/long-term)and message concreteness (concrete/abstract) will lead to more positive attitudetoward the webpage and higher intention to avoid secondhand smoke.H2: Processing fluency and flow will jointly mediate the effects of congruency between messageconcreteness and primed temporal orientation on attitude toward the webpage.H3: Processing fluency alone will mediate the effects of congruency between messageconcreteness and primed temporal orientation on intention to avoid secondhand smoke.