Chapter 2

Motivation, Ability and

Opportunity
 Learning Objectives
1. Discuss the six types of influences that affect the
consumer’s motivation to process information, make a
decision or take an action.
2. Explain how financial, cognitive, emotional, physical, social
and cultural resources, plus age and education, can affect
the individual’s ability to engage in consumer behaviours.
3. Consider the availability of time, distraction, complexity
and control of information can affect consumers’
opportunity to engage in consumer behaviours.
Motivation, Ability and Opportunity
 Consumer Motivation and its Effects
‘An inner state of arousal that provides energy needed to achieve a
goal.’

• The motivated consumer is energised, ready and willing to

engage in goal-relevant activity
• Consumers can be motivated to engage in behaviours,
make decisions or process information
• Motivation is related to important consumer decisions
including those about acquiring, using and disposing of
goods
Consumer Motivation and its Effects

Are you a motivated person?

Can one change others’ motivation state in general?
Or in the marketplace?
 What Affects Motivation?
1. PERSONAL RELEVANCE: self-concept, self-construal

2. VALUES

3. NEEDS: Maslow’s hierarchy, types/characteristics/identifying needs

4. INVOLVEMENT: types of involvement, objects of involvement

5. GOALS: goal setting & pursuit, goals & effort, types of goals, the road to pursuit, goals
& emotions

6. INCONSISTENCY WITH ATTITUDES

Why is it important for marketers to understand what

affects motivation?
 What Affects Motivation:
Personal Relevance
• Personal relevance
• Consistency with self-concept
• What statement does what choice of what you wear
make about who you are?
• Consistency with self-construal
• Independent and interdependent
What Affects Motivation: Values
‘Abstract enduring beliefs
about what is right/wrong,
important or good/bad’
 What Affects Motivation: Needs
‘A state of tension caused by disequilibrium in a
consumers internal state.’

Commercial Physiological
Social cues ACTIVATE NEEDS
cues cues
Needs: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Needs: Categorising Needs
Needs: Types of Needs
• Social vs non-social needs
• Functional, symbolic or hedonic
needs

• How would a consumer fulfil a

need for status?
• How would a consumer fulfil a
need for safety?
Needs: Characteristics of Needs
• Needs are dynamic
• Can conflict with each other
• Approach-avoidance
• Approach-approach
• Avoidance-avoidance
 Needs: Identifying Needs
Projective
Techniques

Thematic
Word Word
apperception
completion task association task
test

• Consumers are often unaware of their needs

• Inferring needs in a cross-cultural context
What Affects Motivation: Involvement
• Motivation affects involvement:
• Consider your level of motivation when selecting a brand of
milk in comparison to your level of motivation when looking to
buy a new car.
• Motivated reasoning
• Felt Involvement
Involvement: Types of Involvement

Enduring Situational/temporary

Cognitive Affective
Involvement: Objects of Involvement
1. Product or retail categories
2. Experiences
3. Brands
4. Ads
5. Medium
6. Particular show/article
 What Affects Motivation: Goals
• An outcome or end state that
we would like to achieve
• Concrete vs abstract
• Promotion-focused vs
prevention focused?
• Equifinality vs multifinality
Goals: Goal Setting & Pursuit
 Goals: Goals & Emotions
• Appraisal Theory
• Whether consumer feels good or bad about
something depends on whether it is consistent or
inconsistent with his/her goals
• Normative/moral compatibility
• Certainty
• Agency
• Envy (benign vs malicious)

• Would you pay more for a product because others who

are socially admired have it?
Goals: Appraisal Theory
Marketing Implications: Tying self-concept,
needs, goals and self-control together
• Segmenting the market
• Enhancing motivation
• Developing satisfying offerings – co-creation
• Encouraging specific behaviours
 Inconsistency with Attitudes
When inconsistency with attitudes occurs, we try to
remove or at least understand the inconsistency

Any examples of this?

Consumer Ability: Resources to Act
What affects consumers’ abilities to process information
about brands and make decisions about and engage in
buying, usage and disposition?

Financial Cognitive Emotional

Resources Resources Resources

Social &
Physical
Cultural
Resources
Resources
 Consumer Opportunity
• Time
• ‘Yes!...Damn! Effect’
• Resource Slack
• Distraction
• Complexity, amount, repetition and
control of information
 Consumer Opportunity: How to
enhance it
• Repeat communications
• Reduce time pressure
• Can you think of an example?
• Reduce purchasing/using/learning time
• Can you think of an example?
• Provide information