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Are maximizers blind to the future? When today’s best does not make for a better tomorrow

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  • Ali Besharat
  • Daniel Ladik
  • François Carrillat

Abstract

A number of studies have demonstrated that a maximizer’s tendency to settle for only the best choice option leads them to discard the past and feel dissatisfied in the present. The current study, however, investigates whether maximizers’ quests for perfection blinds them toward the future. A study of 522 respondents drawn from a probabilistic sample of the US population examines a series of hypotheses related to how a maximizer views the future. Consistent with the resource slack theory (i.e., the overestimation of the amount of time that will be available in the future), maximization tendencies diminish the consumer’s ability to look ahead to the future, both directly and indirectly, through the intervening roles of both regret and polychronicity (i.e., multitasking). Maximizers do not estimate future task demand accurately as they associate strong feelings of regret with their previous choices and dismiss them as poor decisions. Additionally, low polychronicity hinders their capacity to set aside sufficient time resources to be devoted to future tasks when engrossed in a current task. Implications for managers and researchers are discussed before concluding with further research avenues and limitations. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

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  • Ali Besharat & Daniel Ladik & François Carrillat, 2014. "Are maximizers blind to the future? When today’s best does not make for a better tomorrow," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 77-91, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:mktlet:v:25:y:2014:i:1:p:77-91
    DOI: 10.1007/s11002-013-9243-4
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    2. Katyal, Kanupriya & Dawra, Jagrook & Soni, Nitin, 2022. "The posh, the paradoxical and the phony: Are there individual differences between consumers of luxury, masstige and counterfeit brands?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 191-204.
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    4. Harris, Patricia & Dall’Olmo Riley, Francesca & Hand, Chris, 2021. "Multichannel shopping: The effect of decision making style on shopper journey configuration and satisfaction," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
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    6. Daniel C. Brannon & Brandon W. Soltwisch, 2017. "If it has lots of bells and whistles, it must be the best: how maximizers and satisficers evaluate feature-rich versus feature-poor products," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 28(4), pages 651-662, December.
    7. Michail D. Kokkoris, 2018. "When the purpose lies within: Maximizers and satisfaction with autotelic choices," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 73-85, March.
    8. Misuraca, Raffaella & Fasolo, Barbara, 2018. "Maximizing versus satisficing in the digital age: disjoint scales and the case for “construct consensus”," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 84324, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

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