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Jordan F Etkin

Associate Professor of Business Administration
Fuqua School of Business

Selected Publications


Range goals as dual reference points

Journal Article Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes · September 1, 2024 Goals are an important motivational tool, and goal setting plays a critical role in both the process and outcomes of goal pursuit. But while the literature on goal setting has largely focused on specific goals, emphasizing their benefits relative to “do yo ... Full text Cite

Perceiving greater variety among past conflicts with a focal goal reduces expected goal conflict.

Journal Article Journal of personality and social psychology · March 2024 Many important personal goals, such as health, career, finances, and social relationships, entail repeatedly performing the same (or similar) actions over time (e.g., to exercise daily or save money weekly). When pursuing such ongoing goals, people are lik ... Full text Cite

Variety among Means: Advancing Understanding of Equifinality in Goal Systems

Chapter · January 1, 2023 Goals are pursued through their means to attainment, where means refers to the products, services, and behaviors that people buy, choose, or otherwise enact to advance a focal goal. Most goals are associated with multiple means, together referred to as the ... Full text Cite

Goal Conflict Encourages Work and Discourages Leisure

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Research · February 1, 2021 Leisure is desirable and beneficial, yet consumers frequently forgo leisure in favor of other activities-namely, work. Why? We propose that goal conflict plays an important role. Seven experiments demonstrate that perceiving greater goal conflict shapes ho ... Full text Cite

How can machine learning aid behavioral marketing research?

Journal Article Marketing Letters · December 1, 2020 Behavioral science and machine learning have rapidly progressed in recent years. As there is growing interest among behavioral scholars to leverage machine learning, we present strategies for how these methods that can be of value to behavioral scientists ... Full text Cite

Variety in Self-Expression Undermines Self-Continuity

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Research · December 1, 2019 From dating profiles and social media accounts to online streaming services, consumers are often asked to express who they are by constructing an assortment. Apple Music, for example, asks new users to indicate "two or more" of their favorite types of musi ... Full text Cite

Does time of day affect variety-seeking?

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Research · June 1, 2019 Variety-seeking is a fundamental aspect of choice. But given circadian rhythms in chronobiology, might variety-seeking vary by time of day? Four studies, including an empirical analysis of millions of purchases, demonstrate diurnal variation in variety-see ... Full text Cite

Time in relation to goals.

Journal Article Current opinion in psychology · April 2019 One of the most important aspects of goals is time. From how goals are set to the dynamics of goal pursuit, time plays an important and multifaceted role. Goals to walk 10000 steps per day or to call one's parents once a week, for example, are defined by t ... Full text Cite

Restricting choice freedom reduces post-choice goal disengagement

Journal Article Journal of the Association for Consumer Research · January 1, 2019 Consumerspursuegoalsbyselectingmeanstotheirattainment.Theymightpursueagoaltobehealthy, for instance, by choosing healthy snacks or standing rather than sitting at their desk. Making an initial goal-congruent choice, however, often leaves people less motiva ... Full text Cite

When Being in a Positive Mood Increases Choice Deferral

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Research · June 1, 2018 Consumers' choices are often accompanied by unrelated incidental moods. The positive mood caused by receiving a compliment, for example, may persist when one is choosing what service to book or which product to buy. How might being in a positive mood affec ... Full text Cite

How goal specificity shapes motivation: A reference points perspective

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Research · February 1, 2018 Consumers often pursue goals that lack specific end states, such as goals to lose as much weight as possible or to pay offas much debt as possible. Yet despite considerable interest in the consequences of setting nonspecific (vs. specific) goals, how goal ... Full text Cite

How winning changes motivation in multiphase competitions.

Journal Article Journal of personality and social psychology · June 2017 What drives motivation in multiphase competitions? Adopting a dynamic approach, this research examines how temporary standing-being ahead of (vs. behind) one's opponent-in a multiphase competition shapes subsequent motivation. Six competitions conducted in ... Full text Cite

Choosing variety for joint consumption

Journal Article Journal of Marketing Research · December 1, 2016 Consumers often make choices for joint consumption with committed relationship partners, and these choices may include more or less variety. When planning a weekend for oneself and one's spouse, for example, a person could choose more varied activities (e. ... Full text Cite

Does variety among activities increase happiness?

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Research · August 1, 2016 Does variety increase happiness? Eight studies examine how the variety among the activities that fill people's day-to-day lives affects subsequent happiness. The studies demonstrate that whether variety increases or decreases happiness depends on the perce ... Full text Cite

The hidden cost of personal quantification

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Research · April 19, 2016 From sleep and energy use to exercise and health, consumers have access to more information about their behavior than ever before. The appeal of personal quantification seems clear. By better understanding our behavior, we can make the necessary changes to ... Full text Cite

How experience variety shapes postpurchase product evaluation

Journal Article Journal of Marketing Research · February 1, 2016 Product usage experiences have a significant impact on postpurchase evaluation and subsequent behavior. Consumers look to their own experiences, as well as those of others, when deciding what to buy and what to recommend. Contrary to the intuition that var ... Full text Cite

Pressed for time? Goal conflict shapes how time is perceived, spent, and valued

Journal Article Journal of Marketing Research · June 1, 2015 Why do consumers often feel pressed for time? This research provides a novel answer to this question: consumers' subjective perceptions of goal conflict. The authors show that beyond the number of goals competing for consumers' time, perceived conflict bet ... Full text Cite

Two birds, one stone? Positive mood makes products seem less useful for multiple-goal pursuit

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Psychology · January 1, 2015 Negotiating the pursuit of multiple goals often requires making difficult trade-offs between goals. In these situations, consumers can benefit from using products that help them pursue several goals at the same time. But do consumers always prefer these mu ... Full text Cite

Goal pursuit, now and later: Temporal compatibility of different versus similar means

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Research · February 1, 2013 Compatibility between the degree of similarity among means to goal attainment and the anticipated timing of goal pursuit increases goal-directed motivation. Six studies demonstrate that consumers are more motivated and willing to pay for means to goal atta ... Full text Cite

The dynamics of consumer behavior: A goal systemic perspective

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Psychology · April 1, 2012 Like most behavior, consumer behavior too is goal driven. In turn, goals constitute cognitive constructs that can be chronically active as well as primed by features of the environment. Goal systems theory outlines the principles that characterize the dyna ... Full text Cite

Range goals as dual reference points

Journal Article Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes · September 1, 2024 Goals are an important motivational tool, and goal setting plays a critical role in both the process and outcomes of goal pursuit. But while the literature on goal setting has largely focused on specific goals, emphasizing their benefits relative to “do yo ... Full text Cite

Perceiving greater variety among past conflicts with a focal goal reduces expected goal conflict.

Journal Article Journal of personality and social psychology · March 2024 Many important personal goals, such as health, career, finances, and social relationships, entail repeatedly performing the same (or similar) actions over time (e.g., to exercise daily or save money weekly). When pursuing such ongoing goals, people are lik ... Full text Cite

Variety among Means: Advancing Understanding of Equifinality in Goal Systems

Chapter · January 1, 2023 Goals are pursued through their means to attainment, where means refers to the products, services, and behaviors that people buy, choose, or otherwise enact to advance a focal goal. Most goals are associated with multiple means, together referred to as the ... Full text Cite

Goal Conflict Encourages Work and Discourages Leisure

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Research · February 1, 2021 Leisure is desirable and beneficial, yet consumers frequently forgo leisure in favor of other activities-namely, work. Why? We propose that goal conflict plays an important role. Seven experiments demonstrate that perceiving greater goal conflict shapes ho ... Full text Cite

How can machine learning aid behavioral marketing research?

Journal Article Marketing Letters · December 1, 2020 Behavioral science and machine learning have rapidly progressed in recent years. As there is growing interest among behavioral scholars to leverage machine learning, we present strategies for how these methods that can be of value to behavioral scientists ... Full text Cite

Variety in Self-Expression Undermines Self-Continuity

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Research · December 1, 2019 From dating profiles and social media accounts to online streaming services, consumers are often asked to express who they are by constructing an assortment. Apple Music, for example, asks new users to indicate "two or more" of their favorite types of musi ... Full text Cite

Does time of day affect variety-seeking?

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Research · June 1, 2019 Variety-seeking is a fundamental aspect of choice. But given circadian rhythms in chronobiology, might variety-seeking vary by time of day? Four studies, including an empirical analysis of millions of purchases, demonstrate diurnal variation in variety-see ... Full text Cite

Time in relation to goals.

Journal Article Current opinion in psychology · April 2019 One of the most important aspects of goals is time. From how goals are set to the dynamics of goal pursuit, time plays an important and multifaceted role. Goals to walk 10000 steps per day or to call one's parents once a week, for example, are defined by t ... Full text Cite

Restricting choice freedom reduces post-choice goal disengagement

Journal Article Journal of the Association for Consumer Research · January 1, 2019 Consumerspursuegoalsbyselectingmeanstotheirattainment.Theymightpursueagoaltobehealthy, for instance, by choosing healthy snacks or standing rather than sitting at their desk. Making an initial goal-congruent choice, however, often leaves people less motiva ... Full text Cite

When Being in a Positive Mood Increases Choice Deferral

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Research · June 1, 2018 Consumers' choices are often accompanied by unrelated incidental moods. The positive mood caused by receiving a compliment, for example, may persist when one is choosing what service to book or which product to buy. How might being in a positive mood affec ... Full text Cite

How goal specificity shapes motivation: A reference points perspective

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Research · February 1, 2018 Consumers often pursue goals that lack specific end states, such as goals to lose as much weight as possible or to pay offas much debt as possible. Yet despite considerable interest in the consequences of setting nonspecific (vs. specific) goals, how goal ... Full text Cite

How winning changes motivation in multiphase competitions.

Journal Article Journal of personality and social psychology · June 2017 What drives motivation in multiphase competitions? Adopting a dynamic approach, this research examines how temporary standing-being ahead of (vs. behind) one's opponent-in a multiphase competition shapes subsequent motivation. Six competitions conducted in ... Full text Cite

Choosing variety for joint consumption

Journal Article Journal of Marketing Research · December 1, 2016 Consumers often make choices for joint consumption with committed relationship partners, and these choices may include more or less variety. When planning a weekend for oneself and one's spouse, for example, a person could choose more varied activities (e. ... Full text Cite

Does variety among activities increase happiness?

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Research · August 1, 2016 Does variety increase happiness? Eight studies examine how the variety among the activities that fill people's day-to-day lives affects subsequent happiness. The studies demonstrate that whether variety increases or decreases happiness depends on the perce ... Full text Cite

The hidden cost of personal quantification

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Research · April 19, 2016 From sleep and energy use to exercise and health, consumers have access to more information about their behavior than ever before. The appeal of personal quantification seems clear. By better understanding our behavior, we can make the necessary changes to ... Full text Cite

How experience variety shapes postpurchase product evaluation

Journal Article Journal of Marketing Research · February 1, 2016 Product usage experiences have a significant impact on postpurchase evaluation and subsequent behavior. Consumers look to their own experiences, as well as those of others, when deciding what to buy and what to recommend. Contrary to the intuition that var ... Full text Cite

Pressed for time? Goal conflict shapes how time is perceived, spent, and valued

Journal Article Journal of Marketing Research · June 1, 2015 Why do consumers often feel pressed for time? This research provides a novel answer to this question: consumers' subjective perceptions of goal conflict. The authors show that beyond the number of goals competing for consumers' time, perceived conflict bet ... Full text Cite

Two birds, one stone? Positive mood makes products seem less useful for multiple-goal pursuit

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Psychology · January 1, 2015 Negotiating the pursuit of multiple goals often requires making difficult trade-offs between goals. In these situations, consumers can benefit from using products that help them pursue several goals at the same time. But do consumers always prefer these mu ... Full text Cite

Goal pursuit, now and later: Temporal compatibility of different versus similar means

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Research · February 1, 2013 Compatibility between the degree of similarity among means to goal attainment and the anticipated timing of goal pursuit increases goal-directed motivation. Six studies demonstrate that consumers are more motivated and willing to pay for means to goal atta ... Full text Cite

The dynamics of consumer behavior: A goal systemic perspective

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Psychology · April 1, 2012 Like most behavior, consumer behavior too is goal driven. In turn, goals constitute cognitive constructs that can be chronically active as well as primed by features of the environment. Goal systems theory outlines the principles that characterize the dyna ... Full text Cite

The dynamic impact of variety among means on motivation

Journal Article Journal of Consumer Research · April 1, 2012 Consumers often have a variety of products that they may use to help them pursue their goals. These products constitute a set of means toward consumers' goal attainment. This article investigates (1) how the amount of variety (high vs. low) among a set of ... Full text Cite

Clouds on a sunny day: The downside of positive mood for goal pursuit

Journal Article Advances in Consumer Research · January 1, 2012 Cite