Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future: Influences of regulatory focus on consumers’ moral self-regulation

Moral decisions in the marketplace largely depend on consumers’ own behavioral history. Psychology literature distinguishes two possible routes for consumers’ sequential moral decision making: moral balancing and moral consistency. Moral balancing refers to consumers’ deviation from the moral stance reflected in their past decisions; moral consistency implies that consumers repeat their prior moral and immoral decisions. Drawing on regulatory focus theory, four experimental studies affirm that balancing effects occur for consumers with a strong promotion focus, but consistency is more pronounced for prevention-focused consumers; the studies also elucidate the processes underlying these effects. In addition, the promotion-balancing effect, but not the prevention-repetition effect, disappears if the second decision is unambiguously moral or immoral. These findings contribute to a better understanding of morality in the marketplace by showing that the prevention-repetition effect from psychology literature arises in consumption situations, and the promotion-balancing effect emerges as a new consumer behavior phenomenon.