A Review of Multilevel Regulatory Focus in Organizations

Journal of Management

Volumn 41, Issue 5, 2015, Pages 1501-1529

  Johnson, Paul D ^a   Smith, Mickey B ^b   Wallace, J Craig ^c   Hill, Aaron D ^c   Baron, Robert A ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI   (United States)

^c OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

collective motivation; multilevel; regulatory focus; self regulation

Indexed keywords

EID: 84930325124     PISSN: 01492063     EISSN: 15571211     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0149206315575552     Document Type: Review

References (118)

1. Arazy O.,Gellatly I. R.Corporate wikis: The effects of owners’ motivation and behavior on group members’ engagement.Journal of Management Information Systems. 2012;29 (3): 87-116
2. Baron R. A.Opportunity recognition as pattern recognition: How entrepreneurs “connect the dots” to identify new business opportunities.Academy of Management Perspectives. 2006;20 (1): 104-119
3. Baron R. A.Entrepreneurship: An evidence-based guide. Cheltenham, England: Elgar; 2012:
4. Baron R. A.,Franklin R. J.,Hmieleski K. M.Why entrepreneurs often experience low, not high, levels of stress: The joint effects of selection and psychological capital.Journal of Management. in press;:
5. Baron R. A.,Hmieleski K. M.,Henry R. A.Entrepreneurs’ dispositional positive affect: The potential benefits—and potential costs—of being “up.”.Journal of Business Venturing. 2012;27:310-324
6. Barringer B. R.Preparing effective business plans. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson; 2009:
7. Beersma B.,Homan A. C.,Van Kleef G. A.,De Dreu C. K.Outcome interdependence shapes the effects of prevention focus on team processes and performance.Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 2013;121:194-203
8. Benjamin L.,Flynn F. J.Leadership style and regulatory mode: Value from fit?.Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 2006;100:216-230
9. Bowlby J.Attachment: Attachment and loss Volume 1. New York: Basic Books; 1969:
10. BrainyQuote. n.d. Warren Buffet Quotes. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/warrenbuff149691.html. Accessed March 16, 2015.
11. Brockner J.,Higgins E. T.Regulatory focus theory: Implications for the study of emotions at work.Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 2001;86:35-66
12. Brockner J.,Higgins E. T.,Low M. B.Regulatory focus theory and the entrepreneurial process.Journal of Business Venturing. 2004;19:203-220
13. Brown M. E.,Treviño L. K.,Harrison D. A.Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing.Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 2005;97:117-134
14. Bullard O.,Manchanda R. V.Do sustainable products make us prevention focused?.Marketing Letters. 2013;24:177-189
15. Burt R. S.,Kilduff M.,Tasselli S.Social network analysis: Foundations and frontiers on advantage.Annual Review of Psychology. 2013;64:527-547
16. Cardon M. S.,Wincent J.,Singh J.,Drnovsek M.The nature and experience of entrepreneurial passion.Academy of Management Review. 2009;34:511-532
17. Carver C. S.,Scheier M. F.On the self-regulation of behavior. New York: Cambridge University Press; 1998:
18. Chen G.,Kanfer R.Toward a systems theory of motivated behavior in work teams.Research in Organizational Behavior. 2006;27:223-267
19. Chung C. M.,Tsai Q.The effects of regulatory focus and tie strength on word-of-mouth behaviour.Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics. 2009;21:329-341
20. Coan J. A.,Allen J. J.Frontal EEG asymmetry and the behavioral activation and inhibition systems.Psychophysiology. 2003;40:106-114
21. Crowe E.,Higgins E. T.Regulatory focus and strategic inclinations: Promotion and prevention in decision-making.Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 1997;69:117-132
22. Cycyota C. S.,Harrison D. A.What (not) to expect when surveying executives: A meta-analysis of top manager response rates and techniques over time.Organizational Research Methods. 2006;9:133-160
23. De Cremer D.,Mayer D. M.,van Dijke M.,Schouten B. C.,Bardes M.When does self-sacrificial leadership motivate prosocial behavior? It depends on followers’ prevention focus.Journal of Applied Psychology. 2009;94:887-899
24. Devers C. E.,Cannella A. A.,Reilly G. P.,Yoder M. E.Executive compensation: A multidisciplinary review of recent developments.Journal of Management. 2007;33:1016-1072
25. Dimotakis N.,Davison R. B.,Hollenbeck J.Team structure and regulatory focus: The impact of regulatory fit on team dynamic.Journal of Applied Psychology. 2012;97:421-434
26. Felin T.,Foss N. J.Strategic organization: A field in search of micro-foundations.Strategic Organization. 2005;3:441-455
27. Finkelstein S.,Hambrick D.,Cannella A. A.Strategic leadership: Theory and research on executives, top management teams, and boards. New York: Oxford University Press; 2009:
28. Fitzsimmons J. R.,Douglas E. J.Interaction between feasibility and desirability in the formation of entrepreneurial intentions.Journal of Business Venturing. 2011;26:431-440
29. Förster J.,Higgins E. T.,Idson L. C.Approach and avoidance strength during goal attainment: Regulatory focus and the “goal looms larger” effect.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1998;75:1115-1131
30. Frese M.,Gielnik M. M.The psychology of entrepreneurship.Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior. 2014;1:413-438
31. Friedman R. S.,Förster J.The effects of promotion and prevention cues on creativity.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2001;81:1001-1013
32. Motivated to acquire? The impact of CEO regulatory focus on firm acquisitions.Academy of Management Journal. in press;:
33. George J. M.Emotions and leadership: The role of emotional intelligence.Human Relations. 2000;53:1027-1055
34. Gorman C. A.,Meriac J. P.,Overstreet B. L.,Apodaca S.,McIntyre A. L.,Park P.,Godbey J. N.A meta-analysis of the regulatory focus nomological network: Work-related antecedents and consequences.Journal of Vocational Behavior. 2012;80:160-172
35. Hambrick D. C.,Mason P. A.Upper echelons: The organization as a reflection of its top managers.Academy of Management Review. 1984;9:193-206
36. Hamstra M. R.,Van Yperen N. W.,Wisse B.,Sassenberg K.Transformational-transactional leadership styles and followers’ regulatory focus.Journal of Personnel Psychology. 2011;10 (4): 182-186
37. Hamstra M. R.,Van Yperen N. W.,Wisse B.,Sassenberg K.On the perceived effectiveness of transformational–transactional leadership: The role of encouraged strategies and followers’ regulatory focus.European Journal of Social Psychology. 2014;44:643-656
38. Higgins E. T.Beyond pleasure and pain.American Psychologist. 1997;52:1280-1300
39. Higgins E. T.Advances in experimental social psychology. Zanna M. P., ed. New York: Academic Press; 1998:1-46.
40. Higgins E. T.Making a good decision: Value from fit.American Psychologist. 2000;55:1217-1230
41. Higgins E. T.Value from hedonic experience and engagement.Psychological Review. 2006;113:439-460
42. Higgins E. T.,Friedman R. S.,Harlow R. E.,Idson L. C.,Ayduk O. N.,Taylor A.Achievement orientations from subjective histories of success: Promotion pride versus prevention pride.European Journal of Social Psychology. 2001;31:3-23
43. Hill A. D.,White M. A.,Wallace J. C.Unobtrusive measurement of psychological constructs in organizational research.Organizational Psychology Review. 2014;4:147-173
44. Hillman A. J.,Dalziel T.Boards of directors and firm performance: Integrating agency and resource dependence perspectives.Academy of Management Review. 2003;28:383-396
45. Hmieleski K. M.,Baron R. A.Regulatory focus and new venture performance: A study of entrepreneurial opportunity exploitation under conditions of risk versus uncertainty.Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. 2008;2:285-299
46. Hmieleski K. M.,Baron R. A.Entrepreneurs’ optimism and new venture performance: A social cognitive perspective.Academy of Management Journal. 2009;52:473-488
47. Holler M.,Hoelzl E.,Kirchler E.,Leder S.,Mannetti L.Framing of information on the use of public finances, regulatory fit of recipients and tax compliance.Journal of Economic Psychology. 2008;29:597-611
48. Idson L. C.,Liberman N.,Higgins E. T.Distinguishing gains from nonlosses and losses from nongains: A regulatory focus perspective on hedonic intensity.Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 2000;36:252-274
49. Janis I. L.Victims of groupthink: A psychological study of foreign-policy decisions and fiascoes. Oxford, England: Houghton Mifflin; 1972:
50. Jaskiewicz P.,Luchak A. A.Explaining performance differences between family firms with family and nonfamily CEOs: It’s the nature of the tie to the family that counts!.Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. 2013;37:1361-1367
51. Jensen M. C.,Meckling W. H.Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure.Journal of Financial Economics. 1976;3:305-360
52. Johnson P. D.,Wallace J. C.Increasing individual and team performance in an organizational setting through the situational adaptation of regulatory focus.Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research. 2011;63:190-201
53. Johnson R. E.,Steinman L.Use of implicit measures for organizational research: An empirical example.Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science. 2009;41:202-212
54. Johnson S. G.,Schnatterly K.,Hill A. D.Board composition beyond independence: Social capital, human capital, and demographics.Journal of Management. 2013;39:232-262
55. Kammerlander N.,Burger D.,Fust A.,Fueglistaller U.Exploration and exploitation in established small and medium-sized enterprises: The effect of CEOs’ regulatory focus.Journal of Business Venturing. in press;:
56. Kark R.,Van Dijk D.Motivation to lead, motivation to follow: The role of the self-regulatory focus in leadership processes.Academy of Management Review. 2007;32:500-528
57. Keller J.,Hurst M.,Uskul A.Prevention-focused self-regulation and aggressiveness.Journal of Research in Personality. 2008;42:800-820
58. Ketchen D. J.,Snow C. C.,Hoover V. L.Research on competitive dynamics: Recent accomplishments and future challenges.Journal of Management. 2004;30:779-804
59. Kristof-Brown A. L.,Zimmerman R. D.,Johnson E. C.Consequences of individuals’ fit at work: A meta-analysis of person-job, person-organization, person-group, and person-supervisor fit.Personnel Psychology. 2005;58:281-342
60. Kröper M.,Fay D.,Lindberg T.,Meinel C.Design creativity. Taura T.Nagai Y., ed. New York: Springer; 2011:97-104.
61. Kuenzi M.,Schminke M.Assembling fragments into a lens: A review, critique, and proposed research agenda for the organizational work climate literature.Journal of Management. 2009;35:634-717
62. Kuhn K. M.Selecting the good vs. rejecting the bad: Regulatory focus effects on staffing decision making.Human Resource Management. 2015;54:131-150
63. Lanaj K.,Chang C.,Johnson R. E.Regulatory focus and work-related outcomes: A review and meta-analysis.Psychological Bulletin. 2012;138:998-1034
64. Lee A.,Aaker J.Bringing the frame into focus: The influence of regulatory fit on processing fluency and persuasion.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2004;86:205-218
65. Levine J. M.,Higgins E. T.,Choi H.Development of strategic norms in groups.Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 2000;82:88-101
66. Li A.,Evans J.,Christian M. S.,Gilliand S. W.,Kausel E. E.,Stein J. H.The effects of managerial regulatory fit priming on reactions to explanations.Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 2011;115:268-282
67. Lippman S. A.,Rumelt R. P.A bargaining perspective on resource advantage.Strategic Management Journal. 2003a;24:1069-1086
68. Lippman S. A.,Rumelt R. P.The payments perspective: Micro-foundations of resource analysis.Strategic Management Journal. 2003b;24:903-927
69. Locke E. A.,Latham G. P.A theory of goal setting and task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall; 1990:
70. Lockwood P.,Jordan C. H.,Kunda Z.Motivation by positive or negative role models: Regulatory focus determines who will best inspire us.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2002;83:854-864
71. Lockwood P.,Sadler P.,Fyman K.,Tuck S.To do or not to do: Using positive and negative role models to harness motivation.Social Cognition. 2004;22:422-450
72. March J. G.Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning.Organization Science. 1991;2:71-87
73. Marks M. A.,Mathieu J. E.,Zaccaro S. J.A temporally based framework and taxonomy of team processes.Academy of Management Review. 2001;26:356-376
74. Mayer J. D.,Salovey P.Emotional intelligence and the construction and regulation of feelings.Applied and Preventive Psychology. 1995;4:197-208
75. McMullen J.,Shepherd D..Paper presented at the Babson-Kauffman Entrepreneurship Research Conference; 2002Boulder, CO; 2002.
76. McMullen J. S.,Shepherd D. A.,Patzelt H.Managerial (in)attention to competitive threats.Journal of Management Studies. 2009;46:157-181
77. Morgeson F. P.,Hofmann D. A.The structure and function of collective constructs: Implications for multilevel research and theory development.Academy of Management Review. 1999;24:249-265
78. Nambisan S.,Baron R. A.Entrepreneurship in innovation ecosystems: Entrepreneurs’ self-regulatory processes and their implications for new venture success.Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. 2013;37:1071-1097
79. Neubert M. J.,Kacmar K. M.,Carlson D. S.,Chonko L. B.,Roberts J. A.Regulatory focus as a mediator of the influence of initiating structure and servant leadership on employee behavior.Journal of Applied Psychology. 2008;93:1220-1233
80. O’Leary-Kelly A. M.,Martocchio J. J.,Frink D. D.A review of the influence of group goals on group performance.Academy of Management Journal. 1994;37:1285-1301
81. Pennington G. L.,Roese N. J.Regulatory focus and temporal distance.Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 2003;39:563-576
82. Pollack J. M.,Forster W. R.,Johnson P. D.,Coy A.,Molden D. C.Promotion-and prevention-focused networking and its consequences for entrepreneurial success.Social Psychological and Personality Science. 2015;6:3-12
83. Preston-WernerT. 2008. How I turned down $300,000 from Microsoft to go full-time on GitHub. http://tom.preston-werner.com/2008/10/18/how-i-turned-down-300k.html. Accessed March 16, 2015.
84. Rhee E. Y.,Fiss P. C.Framing controversial actions: Regulatory focus, source credibility, and stock market reaction to poison pill adoption.Academy of Management Journal. 2014;57:1734-1758
85. Rietzschel E. F.Collective regulatory focus predicts specific aspects of team innovation.Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. 2011;14:337-345
86. Righetti F.,Finkenauer C.,Rusbult C.The benefits of interpersonal regulatory fit for individual goal pursuit.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2011;101:720-736
87. Sacramento C. A.,Fay D.,West M. A.Workplace duties or opportunities? Challenge stressors, regulatory focus, and creativity.Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 2013;121:141-157
88. Scholer A. A.,Higgins E. T.Handbook of approach and avoidance motivation. Elliot A. J., ed. New York: Psychology Press; 2008:489-503.
89. Scholer A.,Zou X.,Fujita K.,Stroessner S.,Higgins E.When risk seeking becomes a motivational necessity.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2010;99:215-231
90. Semin G. R.,Higgins E. T.,de Montes L. G.,Estourget Y.,Valencia J. F.Linguistic signatures of regulatory focus: How abstraction fits promotion more than prevention.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2005;89:36-45
91. Shah J.,Higgins E. T.,Friedman R. S.Performance incentives and means: How regulatory focus influences goal attainment.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1998;74:285-293
92. Shane S.Reflections on the 2010 AMR decade award: Delivering on the promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research.Academy of Management Review. 2012;37:10-20
93. Shin Y.,Kim M. S.,Choi J. N.,Kim M.,Oh W. K.Does leader-follower regulatory fit matter? The role of regulatory fit in followers’ organizational citizenship behavior.Journal of Management. in press;:
94. Sirmon D. G.,Hitt M. A.,Ireland R. D.Managing firm resources in dynamic environments to create value: Looking inside the black box.Academy of Management Review. 2007;32:273-292
95. Spanjol J.,Tam L.,Qualls W. J.,Bohlmann J. D.New product team decision making: Regulatory focus effects on number, type, and timing decisions.Journal of Product Innovation Management. 2011;28:623-640
96. Sparrowe R. T.,Liden R. C.Process and structure in leader-member exchange.Academy of Management Review. 1997;22:522-552
97. Stam D.,van Knippenberg D.,Wisse B.Focusing on followers: The role of regulatory focus and possible selves in visionary leadership.The Leadership Quarterly. 2010;21:457-468
98. StamD.van KnippenbergD.WisseB.NederveenP. A.2014. Motivation in words: Promotion and prevention-oriented leadership during uncertainty. Manuscript submitted for publication.
99. Tang J.,Kacmar K. M.,Busenitz L.Entrepreneurial alertness in the pursuit of new opportunities.Journal of Business Venturing. 2012;27:77-94
100. Taylor-Bianco A.,Schermerhorn J.Self-regulation, strategic leadership and paradox in organizational change.Journal of Organizational Change Management. 2006;19:457-470
101. Tumasjan A.,Braun R.In the eye of the beholder: How regulatory focus and self-efficacy interact in influencing opportunity recognition.Journal of Business Venturing. 2012;27:622-636
102. Van Dijk D.,Kluger A. N.Feedback sign effect on motivation: Is it moderated by regulatory focus?.Applied Psychology. 2004;53:113-135
103. Van Dijk D.,Kluger A. N.Task type as a moderator of positive/negative feedback effects on motivation and performance: A regulatory focus perspective.Journal of Organizational Behavior. 2011;32:1084-1105
104. Venus M.,Stam D.,van Knippenberg D.Leader emotion as a catalyst of effective leader communication of visions, value-laden messages, and goals.Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 2013;122:53-68
105. Vohs K. D.,Baumeister R. F.Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications. 2011. Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.New York: Guilford Press; 2011:
106. Vroom V. H.Work and motivation. New York: Wiley; 1964:
107. Wallace J. C.,Butts M. M.,Johnson P. D.,Stevens F. G.,Smith M. B.A multilevel model of employee innovation: Understanding the effects of regulatory focus, thriving, and employee involvement climate.Journal of Management. in press;:
108. Wallace J. C.,Chen G.A multilevel integration of personality, climate, self-regulation, and performance.Personnel Psychology. 2006;59:529-557
109. Wallace J. C.,Johnson P. D.,Frazier M. L.An examination of the factorial, construct, and predictive validity and utility of the Regulatory Focus at Work Scale.Journal of Organizational Behavior. 2009;30:805-831
110. Wallace J. C.,Little L. M.,Hill A. D.,Ridge J. W.CEO regulatory foci, environmental dynamism, and small firm performance.Journal of Small Business Management. 2010;48:580-604
111. Wallace J. C.,Little L. M.,Shull A.The moderating effects of task complexity on the relationship between regulatory foci and safety and production performance.Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. 2008;13:95-104
112. Weber L.,Mayer K. J.Designing effective contracts: Exploring the influence of framing and expectations.Academy of Management Review. 2011;36:53-75
113. Wowak A. J.,Hambrick D. C.A model of person-pay interaction: How executives vary in responses to compensation arrangements.Strategic Management Journal. 2010;31:803-821
114. Yen C.,Chao S.,Lin C.Field testing of regulatory focus theory.Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 2011;41:1565-1581
115. Yoon Y.,Sarial-Abi G.,Gürhan-Canli Z.Effect of regulatory focus on selective information processing.Journal of Consumer Research. 2012;39:93-110
116. Zhang S.,Higgins E. T.,Chen G.Managing others like you were managed: How prevention focus motivates copying interpersonal norms.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2011;100:647-663
117. Zhao H.,Seibert S. E.The Big Five personality dimensions and entrepreneurial status: A meta-analytical review.Journal of Applied Psychology. 2006;91:259-271
118. Zhao H.,Seibert S. E.,Lumpkin G. T.The relationship of personality to entrepreneurial intentions and performance: A meta-analytic review.Journal of Management. 2010;36:381-404