Consumers as time travellers: the moderating effects of risk perception and construal level on consumers’ responses to temporal framing

Abstract

This study investigated the conditions under which temporal framing is more effective in explaining consumers’ responses to ads. Two experiments were conducted with a 2 (temporal framing: near-future vs. distant-future benefits) × 2 (perceived risk: high vs. low) × 2 (construal level: high vs. low) between-subjects factorial design. In Experiment 1, the two-way interaction effect of temporal framing and perceived risk on ad attitudes and purchase intention was found, such that the near-future benefit frame generated more favourable responses to the ad under the high-risk condition. Incorporating construal level theory, the three-way interaction effect was found, with the temporal framing × perceived risk interaction appearing more pronounced for low construal consumers only. Experiment 1 also discovered that information diagnosticity mediated the interaction effect of temporal framing and perceived risk on ad attitudes and purchase intention and this mediating process appeared stronger for low construal consumers. Experiment 2 replicated the two-way and three-way interaction effects on purchase intention, providing evidence of the validity of the findings. Theoretical and managerial implications were discussed for researchers and practitioners.

Keywords:

• Temporal framing
• perceived risk
• construal level
• perceived diagnosticity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hyuksoo Kim

Hyuksoo Kim (Ph.D., University of Alabama) is an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism at Ball State University in Muncie, IN. Prior to joining academia, he worked as an assistant product manager of marketing for General Motors in Korea. Dr. Kim’s primary areas of research interest are consumer psychology and advertising effectiveness, with a focus on message framing. His publications appear in the Journal of Advertising Research, International Journal of Advertising, CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, Computers in Human Behavior, and Journal of Marketing Communications, among others.

Seounmi Youn

Seounmi Youn (Ph.D., University of Minnesota) is an associate professor in the Department of Marketing Communication at Emerson College in Boston, MA. Her research interests focus on consumers’ information processing of marketing communication, social media advertising, and youth and digital media. She has published papers in Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Journal of Advertising Research, International Journal of Advertising, Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, and Communication Research, among others.