Always best or good enough? The effect of ‘mind-set’ on preference consistency over time in tourist decision making

Qiuyun Li; Chunxiao (Spring) Li; Scott McCabe; Hong Xu

doi:10.1016/j.annals.2019.01.003

Always best or good enough? The effect of ‘mind-set’ on preference consistency over time in tourist decision making

Qiuyun Li, Chunxiao (Spring) Li^*, Scott McCabe, Hong Xu

^*Corresponding author for this work

Marketing

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Where a lengthy period is available for the choice of tourist destination, people's tendency to change their minds can be pronounced. This makes the investigation of preference (in)consistency of great interest. Here, we integrate construal level theory (CLT) with mind-set theory, for the first time, to explore the moderating effect of an internal factor (i.e. mind-set) on preference shifts from desirable to feasible attributes over time. The results of four choice experiments suggest that, compared with people with a satisficing mind-set, people with a maximizing mind-set are reluctant to sacrifice desirability for feasibility, which counters the inclination to alter preferences as the decision time approaches. Furthermore, we found that different preference patterns between maximizers and satisficers are not connected to desirability but result from maximizers’ consistency in placing less importance on feasibility. Implications for future studies and destination marketers are outlined.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	186-201
Number of pages	16
Journal	Annals of Tourism Research
Volume	75
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2019.01.003
Publication status	Published - Mar 2019

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Science Foundation of Ministry of Education of China [number 17YJC630054 ], Chinese National Natural Science Foundation [number 71702081 ] (to Chunxiao Li) and Chinese National Natural Science Foundation [number 71672089 ] (to Hong Xu).

Funding Information:
This research was also generously supported by Dr. Zengxiang Chen from International School of Business & Finance, Sun Yat-sen University.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

Construal level theory
Destination choice
Satisfying and maximizing mind-set
Temporal distance

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Development
Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management

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10.1016/j.annals.2019.01.003

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title = "Always best or good enough? The effect of {\textquoteleft}mind-set{\textquoteright} on preference consistency over time in tourist decision making",

abstract = "Where a lengthy period is available for the choice of tourist destination, people's tendency to change their minds can be pronounced. This makes the investigation of preference (in)consistency of great interest. Here, we integrate construal level theory (CLT) with mind-set theory, for the first time, to explore the moderating effect of an internal factor (i.e. mind-set) on preference shifts from desirable to feasible attributes over time. The results of four choice experiments suggest that, compared with people with a satisficing mind-set, people with a maximizing mind-set are reluctant to sacrifice desirability for feasibility, which counters the inclination to alter preferences as the decision time approaches. Furthermore, we found that different preference patterns between maximizers and satisficers are not connected to desirability but result from maximizers{\textquoteright} consistency in placing less importance on feasibility. Implications for future studies and destination marketers are outlined.",

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doi = "10.1016/j.annals.2019.01.003",

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AU - Li, Chunxiao (Spring)

AU - McCabe, Scott

AU - Xu, Hong

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Always best or good enough? The effect of ‘mind-set’ on preference consistency over time in tourist decision making

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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