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Consumer Self-Control Strategies: An Empirical Study of Their Structure and Determinants

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Abstract

People use self-control strategies to overcome time-inconsistent preferences. In the present study one aim was to test a two-factor model of consumer self-control strategies that divides them into desire-reducing and willpower strategies. Another aim was to explore what may determine the use of such strategies. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses gave support for the two-factor model of self-control. A positive attitude toward risk taking as well as the intention to reduce consumption in response to economic impairment predicted a decrease in the use of both strategies. Financial situation, age, and sex were found to influence the use of desire reduction and willpower in different directions. Income was not a predictor of the use of self-control strategies.

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Karlsson, N. Consumer Self-Control Strategies: An Empirical Study of Their Structure and Determinants. Journal of Consumer Policy 26, 23–41 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022631106077

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