The Effects of Power on Consumer Decision Strategies: The Mediating Role of Behavioral Approach-Inhibition Tendency and the Moderating Role of Gender

Abstract

Purpose

Previous studies on consumer decision strategies have focused on the process or outcomes of decision-making using different decision strategies. Relatively little is known about the factors (especially decision makers’ characteristics) influencing the use of different decision strategies. This study examined the effects of power on consumer decision strategies and the underlying mechanisms.

Methods

Studies 1 (N = 128) and 2 (N = 130) examined multiple- and binary-option situations, respectively. Participants’ power was manipulated with a writing task and their consumer decision strategies were assessed through the selection tasks of restaurants and beach resorts. Study 3 (N = 326) further explored the mediator of approach-inhibition tendency and the moderator of gender in the relationship between power and consumer decision strategies. Participants’ chronic sense of power, approach-inhibition tendency, and purchasing strategies were measured using questionnaires.

Results

Powerful (vs powerless) individuals prefer to use a direct selection (vs exclusion) strategy, regardless of whether they face multiple or binary choices. An increased approach (vs inhibition) tendency explains why elevated power promotes the use of the direct selection strategy. Moreover, gender plays a moderating role. Specifically, the mediation effect of approach (vs inhibition) tendency on the relationship between power and the preference for the direct selection (vs exclusion) strategy is stronger for males than for females.

Conclusion

This study extends previous research on power and consumer decision strategies by clarifying that the effects of power on consumer decision strategies are primarily driven by high power (but not by low power). Furthermore, by examining the mediator of approach-inhibition tendency and the moderator of gender, this study promotes a deeper understanding of how power affects consumer decision strategies and for whom the effect is more salient. Besides, the present research has contributions to the approach-inhibition theory of power and the literature on gender differences in consumer behavior, and has practical implications for business marketing.

Keywords:

• power
• consumer decision strategy
• decision-making strategy
• behavioral approach
• behavioral inhibition
• gender difference

Data Sharing Statement

The data of the present study supporting the conclusions will be made available on request by the first or corresponding authors.

Ethics Statement

This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Shanghai Normal University. Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in this study.

Disclosure

The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the National Science Foundation of China (grant number: 31900780) and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (grant number: 2019M661575).