Regulatory Focus Theory Perspective in Consumer Behavior

Year 2023, Volume: 2 Issue: 1, 64 - 83, 30.06.2023

Burcu Keskin Aypar Uslu

Abstract

In order to increase the effectiveness of marketing activities and act proactively in a strategic manner to understand the individual behavior in the field of consumption, understanding the consumer's inner world - the way of thinking gained importance as well as understanding the external environmental factors, in recent years. The concept of relationship marketing and the issue of bonding with consumers - which came to the fore especially in the 90s - have led to the attention of motivation and attitude-oriented studies on how consumers decide on purchasing. One of the many theories that guide researchers in the field of marketing from the field of behavioral psychology is the Regulatory Focus Theory. The Regulatory Focus Theory, which sets out with the philosophy that a positive and a negative stimulus can lead to a result at the same time, is a theory that offers important results in measuring consumer shopping behavior in different marketing channels. The dimensions of regulatory focus, promotion focus and prevention focus, reflect the cognitive state of the consumer and affect his/her attitude towards purchasing. The issue of motivation, which is another issue that is effective on the cognitive and affective state, and its hedonic and utilitarian components influence the outcome in the consumer decision-making process, directly and through various mediating factors. It has been demonstrated in various studies that hedonic and utilitarian motivation can determine purchase intention through regulatory focuses. In this study, firstly, after sharing information from literature review on the hedonic and utilitarian components of motivation, basic information about the regulatory focus theory, the concepts of promotion focus and prevention focus, their reflections in the field of marketing and the variables that researchers - who have worked in the field of regulatory focus – focus on will be discussed.

Keywords

Consumer Behavior, Regulatory Focus, Hedonic Motivation, Utilitarian Motivation, Decision-Making Process

Düzenleyici Odak Kuramının Tüketici Davranışındaki Yeri

Abstract

Pazarlama faaliyetlerinin etkinliğini arttırabilmek ve stratejik olarak proaktif davranabilmek adına, tüketim alanında birey davranışını anlamak için dış çevresel etkilerin yanında tüketicinin iç dünyasını – düşünme şeklini anlamak son yıllarda önem kazanmıştır. Özellikle 90’lı yıllarda gündeme gelen ilişkisel pazarlama kavramı ve tüketiciler ile bağ kurma hususu, tüketicilerin satın alma konusunda nasıl karar verdiklerine ilişkin güdülenme ve tutum odaklı çalışmaların dikkat çekmesine vesile olmuştur. Davranışsal psikoloji alanından pazarlama alanına araştırmacılara yön veren pek çok kuramdan birisi Düzenleyici Odak Kuramıdır. Bireyin bir hedefi gerçekleştirmesi yolunda pozitif ve negatif uyaranların aynı anda kendisini sonuca ulaştırabileceği felsefesi ile yola çıkan Düzenleyici Odak Kuramı, farklı pazarlama mecralarındaki tüketici alışveriş davranışını anlamaya yönelik ölçümlemelerde önemli sonuçlar sunan bir teoridir. Düzenleyici odağın boyutları olan yönelimci odak ve kaçınmacı odak tüketicinin bilişsel durumunu yansıtmakta ve satın almaya yönelik tavrını etkilemektedir. Bilişsel ve duyuşsal durum üzerinde etkili olan bir başka husus olan güdülenmenin ve onun hazcı ve faydacı bileşenlerinin tüketici karar verme sürecinde, sonuç üzerinde doğrudan ve çeşitli aracı faktörler üzerinden etkisi bulunmaktadır. Hazcı ve faydacı güdülenmenin düzenleyici odaklar aracılığı ile satın alma niyetini belirleyebileceği çeşitli çalışmalarda ortaya konmuştur. Bu çalışmada, öncelikli olarak güdülenmenin hazcı ve faydacı bileşenleri ile ilgili literatür araştırmasının sonuçları paylaşıldıktan sonra düzenleyici odak kuramı ile ilgili temel bilgiye, yönelimci odak ve kaçınmacı odak kavramlarına ve pazarlama alanındaki yansımalarına ve düzenleyici odak alanında çalışmış olan araştırmacıların merkez aldıkları değişkenlere yer verilecektir.

Keywords

Tüketici Davranışı, Düzenleyici Odak, Hazcı Güdülenme, Faydacı Güdülenme, Karar Alma Süreci

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