Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Applying regulatory fit theory and cultural values orientation to predict effectiveness of public service advertising appeals

  • Original Article
  • Published:
International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

While there is support for regulatory fit theory in predicting the communication effectiveness of promotion-framed and prevention-framed messages in advertisements, it is not certain if the theory can be extended to predict the effectiveness of promotion-oriented and prevention-oriented advertising appeals. This study examines the interplay of regulatory focus as well as the endorsement of collectivism and individualism among adolescents in predicting the perceived effectiveness of promotion-oriented and prevention-oriented public service advertising appeals. Data was collected from a convenience sample of 407 Chinese secondary school students aged 12 to 19 in Hong Kong. Results support the regulatory fit theory. Among the respondents, vertical collectivism was not a significant predictor for the perceived effectiveness of either promotion- or prevention-oriented appeals. Horizontal individualism was a significant predictor for the perceived effectiveness of the loss avoidance PSA appeal. Respondents’ horizontal collectivism scores were positive predictors for the perceived effectiveness of both promotion and prevention-oriented appeals.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Babin, B. J., & Griffin, M. (1998). The nature of satisfaction: an updated examination and analysis. Journal of Business Research, 41(2), 127–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brockner, J., Paruchuri, S., Idson, L. C., & Higgins, E. (2002). Regulatory focus and the probability estimates of conjunctive and disjunctive events. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 87(1), 5–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan, K., Prendergast, G., Gronhoj, A., & Bech-Larsen, T. (2009). Communicating healthy eating to adolescents. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 26(1), 6–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan, K. (2010). Youth and Consumption. City University of Hong Kong Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chan, K., Prendergast, G., Grønhøj, A., & Bech-Larsen, T. (2011). Danish and Chinese adolescents perceptions of healthy eating and attitudes toward regulatory measures. Young Consumers, 12(3), 216–228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan, K., & Huang, A. (2015). Understanding of public service advertisements among Chinese children. In W. D. Evans (Ed.), Social Marketing: Global Perspectives, Strategies and Effects on Consumer Behavior. (pp. 109–120). Nova Science Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, Y. S. A., & Bei, L. T. (2017). Reviewing regulatory focus based on four regulatory forms. Review of General Psychology, 21(4), 354–371

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Churchill, G. A., Jr. (1979). A paradigm for developing better measures of marketing constructs. Journal of Marketing Research, 16(1), 64–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Census and Statistics Department. (2017). Housing characteristics of Hong Kong population. Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong SAR government. https://www.bycensus2016.gov.hk/tc/bc-mt.html .Accessed 12 February 2020.

  • Census and Statistics Department. (2020). Mid-year population by age group and sex. Hong Kong Annual Digest of Statistics. Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong SAR government. https://www.statistics.gov.hk/pub/B10100032020AN20B0100.pdf. Accessed 26 January 2021.

  • Elliot, A. J., Chirkov, V. I., Kim, Y., & Sheldon, K. M. (2001). A cross-cultural analysis of avoidance (relative to approach) personal goals. Psychological Science, 12(6), 505–510

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenfield, P. M., Keller, H., Fuligni, A., & Maynard, A. (2003). Cultural pathways through universal development. Annual Review of Psychology, 54(1), 461–490

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haws, K. L., Dholakia, U. M., & Bearden, W. O. (2010). An assessment of chronic regulatory focus measures. Journal of Marketing Research, 47(5), 967–982

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, E. T. (1997). Beyond pleasure and pain. American Psychologist, 52(12), 1280–1300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, E. T. (1998). Promotion and Prevention: Regulatory Focus as A Motivational Principle. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 30, 1–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, E. T. (2000). Making a good decision: Value from fit. American Psychologist, 55(11), 1217–1230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, E. T., Friedman, R. S., Harlow, R. E., Idson, L. C., Ayduk, O. N., & Taylor, A. (2001). Achievement orientations from subjective histories of success: promotion pride versus prevention pride. European Journal of Social Psychology, 31(1), 3–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, E. T. (2002). How self-regulation creates distinct values: the case of promotion and prevention decision making. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 12(3), 177–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, E. T. (2008). Culture and personality: variability across universal motives as the missing link. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2(2), 608–634

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jarvis, J. W., Gainforth, H. L., & Latimer-Cheung, A. E. (2014). Investigating the effect of message framing on parents’ engagement with advertisements promoting child physical activity. International Review of Public and Nonprofit Marketing, 11, 115–127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kapetanaki, A. B., Brennan, D. R., & Caraher, M. (2014). Social marketing and healthy eating: findings from young people in Greece. International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, 11(2), 161–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khatri, N., Tsang, E. W., & Begley, T. M. (2006). Cronyism: A cross-cultural analysis. Journal of International Business Studies, 37(1), 61–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kurman, J., & Hui, C. M. (2011). Promotion, prevention or both: Regulatory focus and culture revisited. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 5(3). https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1109

  • Lee, A. Y., Aaker, J. L., & Gardner, W. L. (2000). The pleasures and pains of distinct self-construals: The role of interdependence in regulatory focus. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(6), 1122–1134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lockwood, P., Marshall, T. C., & Sadler, P. (2005). Promoting success or preventing failure: cultural differences in motivation by positive and negative role models. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31(3), 379–392

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nicolini, V., Cassia, F., & Bellotto, M. (2017). Children perceptions of emotional and rational appeals in social advertisements. Young Consumers, 18(3), 261–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen. (2017). TV remains as top media channel in Hong Kong. Retrieved from https://www.nielsen.com/hk/en/press-room/2017/tv-remains-as-top-media-channel-in-hong-kong.html. Accessed 12 February 2020.

  • Rahman, S. U. (2019). Differences in horizontally individualist and vertically collectivist consumers’ environmental behaviour: a regulatory focus perspective. International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets, 11(1), 73–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, S. H. (2009). Culture matters: National value cultures, sources, and consequences. In R. S. Wyer, C. Chiu, & Y. Hong (Eds.), Understanding Culture: Theory, Research, and Application. (pp. 127–150). Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singelis, T. M., Triandis, H. C., Bhawuk, D. P. S., & Gelfand, M. J. (1995). Horizontal and vertical dimensions of individualism and collectivism: A theoretical and measurement refinement. Cross-Cultural Research, 29, 240–275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sivadas, E., Bruvold, N. T., & Nelson, M. R. (2008). A reduced version of the horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism scale: A four-country assessment. Journal of Business Research, 61(3), 201–210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Srikandath, S. (1991). Cultural values depicted in Indian television advertising. Gazette: The International Journal for Mass Communication Studies, 48(3), 165–176.

  • Triandis, H. C., & Gelfand, M. J. (1998). Converging measurement of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(1), 118–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tse, D. K., Belk, R. W., & Zhou, N. (1989). Becoming a consumer society: A longitudinal and cross-cultural content analysis of print ads from Hong Kong, the People’s Republic of China, and Taiwan. Journal of Consumer Research, 15(4), 457–472

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, N., Rindfleisch, A., & Burroughs, J. E. (2003). Do reverse-worded items confound measures in cross-cultural consumer research? The case of the material values scale. Journal of Consumer Research, 30(1), 72–91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu, D. Y. (1996). Parental control: Psychocultural interpretations of Chinese patterns of socialization. In S. Lau (Ed.), Growing up the Chinese Way: Chinese Child and Adolescent Development. (pp. 1–28). The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang, D. J. (2018). Exploring the communication effects of message framing of smoking cessation advertising on smokers’ mental processes. International Review of Public and Nonprofit Marketing, 15, 315–332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhan, Y. (2018). Measure the effectiveness of fear appeal in health communication: A regulatory fit model approach. Unpublished PhD dissertation, Hong Kong Baptist University.

  • Zhao, G., & Pechmann, C. (2007). The impact of regulatory focus on adolescents’ response to antismoking advertising campaigns. Journal of Marketing Research, 44(4), 671–687

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This research is fully funded by the School of Communication Faculty Research Grant 2018/19 (CFRG 18–19/01), Hong Kong Baptist University.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University , Hong Kong, China

    Kara Chan & Jingyuan Shi

  2. Department of Marketing and Strategy, School of Economics, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Luisa Agante

  3. Department of Media and Communication, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands

    Suzanna J. Opree

  4. Department of Mass Communication, Faculty of Creative Industries, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kajang, Malaysia

    Thanaseelen Rajasakran

Authors
  1. Kara Chan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jingyuan Shi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Luisa Agante
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Suzanna J. Opree
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Thanaseelen Rajasakran
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and research design. Data collection and analysis were performed by Kara Chan and Jingyuan Zhi. The first draft of the manuscript and the subsequent revisions were prepared by Kara Chan. All authors commented on the original and the revised versions of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kara Chan.

Ethics declarations

Conflicts of interest

We have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chan, K., Shi, J., Agante, L. et al. Applying regulatory fit theory and cultural values orientation to predict effectiveness of public service advertising appeals. Int Rev Public Nonprofit Mark 19, 37–51 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-021-00291-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-021-00291-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation