121 NTU Management Review Vol. 31 No. 2 Aug. 2021 construal in assessing the effects of persuasion. Specifically, it is hypothesized that independent consumers will respond more favorably to a query phrased in promotionfocused rather than prevention-focused terms, whereas for those with an interdependent self-construal, a prevention-focused query is significantly more persuasive than a promotion-focused one. Further, purchase uncertainty is expected to mediate variations in product evaluation. To test these hypotheses, study 1 employs a quasi-experimental design with the regulatory focus of queries and types of self-construal as variables. The query is manipulated by phrasing the product myth in either promotion-focused or preventionfocused vocabulary, whereas self-construal is measured. To offer additional insights into Study 1, Study 2 again tests the interaction effects of the regulatory focus of queries and the self-construal of consumers. However, self-concept is primed, rather than following the consumers’ pre-disposing traits, and the query is manipulated in terms of knowledge bias. Study 3 further investigates whether a self- versus others-frame makes a difference by employing a 2 (query headings: self- or others-frame) × 2 (self-construals: independent or interdependent) between-subjects design. For participants with a predominantly independent self-concept, self-frame queries are expected to show more persuasive results than others-frame ones. By contrast, it is anticipated that individuals with interdependent self-concept will respond to the query by attraction to the product if the question is phrased in others-frame rather than self-frame. 3. Findings The first two studies find out that for consumers with more independent self-view, queries phrasing product myth and knowledge bias in promotion-focused terms is more persuasive than those phrasing in prevention-focused terms. Conversely, consumers holding self-view as mainly interdependent demonstrate the reverse result. In general, those self-construing as independent are driven by autonomy and success, in keeping with promotion goals. However, aligning with aims for prevention is the concern for duty to others evinced by individuals with interdependent self-view. When the regulatory focus of a persuasion message is in concert with the consumers’ self-construal — either independent or interdependent, consumers will elaborate more on the persuasion message, which also results in more favorable evaluations to current products because of consumers’ decreased confidence in past product choices.
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