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This study aims to take a dual-process perspective and argues that peer influence on increasing impulse buying may also operate automatically. If-then plans, which can automate action control, may, thus, help regulate peer influence. This research extends existing literature explicating the deliberate influence of social norms.

Study 1 (N = 120) obtained causal evidence that forming an implementation intention (i.e. an if-then plan designed to automate action control) reduces peer impact on impulse buying in a laboratory experiment with young adults (students) selecting food items. Study 2 (N = 686) obtained correlational evidence for the role of norms, automaticity and implementation intentions in impulse buying using a large sample of high-school adolescents working on a vignette about clothes-shopping.

If-then plans reduced impulse purchases in the laboratory (Study 1). Both reported deliberation on peer norms and the reported automaticity of shopping with peers predicted impulse buying but an implementation intention to be thriftily reduced these links (Study 2).

This research highlights the role of automatic social processes in problematic consumer behaviour. Promising field studies and neuropsychological experiments are discussed.

Young consumers can gain control over automatic peer influence by using if-then plans, thereby reducing impulse buying.

This research helps understand new precursors of impulse buying in understudied European samples of young consumers.

Crises such as the Coronavirus pandemic pose extraordinary challenges to the decision making in management teams. Teams need to integrate available information quickly to make informed decisions on the spot and update their decisions as new information becomes available. Moreover, making good decisions is hard as it requires sacrifices for the common good, and finally, implementing the decisions made is not easy as it requires persistence in the face of strong counterproductive social pressures.

We provide a “psychology of action” perspective on making team-based management decisions in crisis by introducing collective implementation intentions (We-if-then plans) as a theory-based intervention tool to improve decision processes. We discuss our program of research on forming and acting on We-if-then plans in ad hoc teams facing challenging situations.

Teams with We-if-then plans consistently made more informed decisions when information was socially or temporally distributed, when decision makers had to make sacrifices for the common good, and when strong social pressures opposed acting on their decisions. Preliminary experimental evidence indicates that assigning simple We-if-then plans had similar positive effects as providing a leader to steer team processes.

Our analysis of self-regulated team decisions helps understand and improve how management teams can make and act on good decisions in crises such as the Coronavirus pandemic.

The present experiment aimed to test the impact of a self‐regulatory strategy of goal pursuit – called mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII) – on an integrative bargaining task.

Participants were randomly assigned to dyads and negotiated over the sale of a car. Before negotiating, participants were prompted to engage in MCII, or one or the other of its two component strategies: to contrast mentally achieving success in the integrative bargaining task with the reality standing in the way of this success (MC), to form implementation intentions on how to bargain (i.e. if‐then plans) (II), or both to contrast mentally and form implementation intentions (MCII).

The strategy of mental contrasting with implementation intentions led dyads to reach the largest joint agreements, compared to dyads that only used mental contrasting or if‐then plans. Moreover, participants who mentally contrasted formed more cooperative implementation intentions than participants who did not mentally contrast, mediating the effect of condition on joint gain.

The findings suggest that the self‐regulatory strategy of mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII) leads to higher joint gain, and that this effect is mediated by mental contrasting's promotion of cooperative planning. More research should be done to understand the specific negotiation behaviors engendered by MCII, as well as its applicability to other negotiation scenarios.

These findings have implications for both self‐regulation and negotiation research. The result that MCII fosters integrative solutions reflects its potential to help people form cooperative plans and reach high joint‐value agreements in integrative scenarios. For negotiation research, the paper identifies an effective self‐regulatory strategy for producing high‐quality agreements.

This paper aims to test the impact of several self‐regulatory strategies on an integrative bargaining task.

Participants were randomly assigned to dyads and negotiated over the sale of a car. Before negotiating, participants were prompted to engage in one of three self‐regulation strategies, based upon fantasy realization theory (FRT): to mentally contrast a successful future agreement with the reality of bargaining, to exclusively elaborate on successful future agreement, or to exclusively elaborate on the reality of bargaining. Those in the control condition merely began the negotiation.

Mentally contrasting a successful future agreement with the reality of bargaining leads dyads to reach the largest and most equitable joint agreements, compared to dyads that elaborate only on successful future agreement, or on the reality of bargaining.

Since it was found that mental contrasting promotes integrative agreement, it is important to learn more about the psychological processes that mediate and moderate this effect. Another related line of research would examine the application of the findings to other bargaining scenarios. One further future line of research should combine mental contrasting with planning strategies.

The findings of the paper have implications for both self‐regulation and negotiation research. The result that mental contrasting fosters integrative solutions reflects its potential to help negotiators effectively discriminate among feasible and unfeasible components of a multi‐faceted goal (integrative agreement). For negotiation research, the paper identifies an effective self‐regulatory strategy for producing high‐quality agreements.

Based on the self-determination theory and the model of action phases, the present study aims to provide insight into motivational factors that are important for training initiation. It investigates the relations between three types of motivation (intrinsic, extrinsic and amotivation) and training initiation: intention to initiate new training and plan formulation.

Data were collected from 155 employees using the Motivation for Training Initiation Scale and the Training Intention and Training Planning Scales.

The results of hierarchical regression analyses show that intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are positively, while amotivation is negatively, related to intention to start new training. Intrinsic motivation is a significant predictor of training plan formulation. The stronger is the intention, the more precise are plans to undertake training.

The cross-sectional study design limits causal conclusions concerning actual training action. This, therefore, encourages the validation of study hypotheses in a longitudinal manner.

The results offer suggestions on how to foster training initiation taking into account types of motivation.

The study for the first time combines the model of action phases with the self-determination theory.

Entrepreneurial trait and behaviour approaches are used to identify differing entrepreneurial profiles. Specifically, this study aims to determine which entrepreneurial competencies (ECs) can predict entrepreneurial action (EA) for distinct profiles, such as male versus female, start-up versus established and for entrepreneurs within different age groups and educational levels.

The research was conducted using a survey method on a large sample of 1,150 South African entrepreneurs. Chi-squared automatic interaction detection (CHAID) algorithms were used to build decision trees to illustrate distinct entrepreneurial profiles.

Each profile has a different set of ECs that predict EA, with a growth mindset being the most significant predictor of action. Therefore, this study confirms that a “one-size-fits-all” approach cannot be applied when profiling entrepreneurs.

From a pedagogical standpoint, different combinations of these ECs for each profile provide priority information for identification of appropriate candidates (e.g. the highest potential for success) and training initiatives, effective pedagogies and programme design (e.g. which individual ECs should be trained and how should they be trained).

Previous work has mostly focused on demographic variables and included a single sample to profile entrepreneurs. This study maintains much wider applicability in terms of examining profiles in a systematic way. The large sample size supports quantitative analysis of the comparisons between different entrepreneurial profiles using unconventional analyses. Furthermore, as far as can be determined, this represents the first CHAID conducted in a developing country context, especially South Africa, focusing on individual ECs predicting EA.

This study aims to provide a practical strategy for customer service and salesforce from the basis of behavioral economics. When customers thought they missed a discount but eventually could get the deal, they perceived that they had obtained more value. This research defines such a conversion effect between gain and loss accounts, demonstrates its impact in marketing settings and provides the salesforce a tactic to increase sales and quality of customer service to improve the consumer experience in the social customer journey.

Three experiments were conducted in a behavioral lab and online setting. Participants were randomly assigned to 2 (gain vs loss) × 2 (converted vs simple) between-subjects designs in the first two experiments and 2 (gain vs loss) × 2 (converted vs simple) × 2 (high price vs low price) in the third experiment. Analysis of variance was conducted to analyze the data. Mediation and moderation analyses were also conducted to identify the mediator and moderator in the model.

The conversion between gain and loss mental accounts exists, and the converted gains are more likely to lead consumers to make purchases with a once-lost discount than simple gains. This conversion effect is mediated by consumers’ implemental mindset activated by the conversion and moderated by price.

This research shows that mental accounts of gains and losses can be dynamically converted to one another. It provides a managerial tactic for salesforces and customer service to lead consumers to make a purchase decision right away. This is especially important when they aim to enhance the consumer experience in the social customer journey.

To advance the learning of professional practices in teacher education and medical education, this conceptual paper aims to introduce the idea of representational scaffolding for digital simulations in higher education.

This study outlines the ideas of core practices in two important fields of higher education, namely, teacher and medical education. To facilitate future professionals’ learning of relevant practices, using digital simulations for the approximation of practice offers multiple options for selecting and adjusting representations of practice situations. Adjusting the demands of the learning task in simulations by selecting and modifying representations of practice to match relevant learner characteristics can be characterized as representational scaffolding. Building on research on problem-solving and scientific reasoning, this article identifies leverage points for employing representational scaffolding.

The four suggested sets of representational scaffolds that target relevant features of practice situations in simulations are: informational complexity, typicality, required agency and situation dynamics. Representational scaffolds might be implemented in a strategy for approximating practice that involves the media design, sequencing and adaptation of representational scaffolding.

The outlined conceptualization of representational scaffolding can systematize the design and adaptation of digital simulations in higher education and might contribute to the advancement of future professionals’ learning to further engage in professional practices. This conceptual paper offers a necessary foundation and terminology for approaching related future research.

This study aims to explore the influence of appearance comparison on fitness intention. Specifically, it analyzes the mediating effect of appearance-based exercise motivation and perceived behavioral control between appearance comparison and fitness intention.

434 samples were obtained by the network survey in China. Hierarchical regression analysis and the Hayes' SPSS PROCESS macro were used to verify the hypotheses.

Appearance comparison has a positive influence on fitness intention. Appearance-based exercise motivation mediates appearance comparison and fitness intention. Appearance comparison can produce a positive effect on fitness intention via appearance-based exercise motivation and perceived behavioral control in sequence.

The findings have some practical implications for both individuals and fitness center managers. First, people can view appearance comparison rationally, understand the process of its transformation into fitness intention and enhance fitness intention. Second, fitness center managers can make some reasonable marketing plans according to this study.

This study explores the positive effects of appearance comparison combining social comparison theory, social cognitive theory and the theory of planned behavior. It contributes to extant literatures about appearance comparison and fitness intention by promoting the understanding of the influence mechanism of fitness intention.

This study of rockclimbers and outdoor leisure consumers, manufacturers and retailers, sets out to discover the nature and outcomes of the consumer/producer relationship centred around the retail setting. Initial theoretical views on the self, participant role, performance and communitas are explored as a background to the discussion. Data collection involved participant observation, in‐depth interviews and a study of both commercially and consumer generated secondary materials (climbing club literature for example). The researchers identified an environment in which temporary leisure identities were supported and at times modified by the retail relationships and were embedded in a rich sub‐cultural narrative. Postmodern concepts pertaining to the consumption of place and space corresponded with the observational data, to the extent that recommendations for retailers are less overtly managerial, and more about facilitating the consumer’s ownership of the spaces and relationships within them.