Negative Returns on Positive Emotions: The Influence of Pride and Self‐Regulatory Goals on Repurchase Decisions

Abstract

Contrary to the common assumption that positive emotions generally lead to favorable behavioral intentions, feelings of pride can decrease consumers' repurchase intentions. Results from three experimental studies demonstrate that the impact of pride on repurchase intentions is contingent on consumers' self-regulatory goals but that this is so only among consumers with high levels of pride. Specifically, consumers with high prevention pride are less likely to repurchase than those with high promotion pride, whereas no difference arises between consumers with low promotion pride and those with low prevention pride. These effects generalize across situational and chronic differences in self-regulatory goals and are accompanied by differences in consumers' information requirements.