Contrast Effects on Strategic-Issue Framing

Abstract

We examined determinants of subjective framing other than semantic manipulation. Participants in the first experiment (n= 176) read several business threats or opportunities, prior to describing a strategic issue. Results revealed a contrast effect, where those exposed to unequivocal opportunities framed an equivocal issue as a threat, whereas those exposed to unequivocal threats did not view the same issue as threatening. A second experiment (n= 185) replicated the contrast effect using only one context manipulation (i.e., threat or opportunity business scenario), and alternative modes of presentation (i.e., serial vs simultaneous). A third experiment (n= 72) showed that the contrast effects extended beyond simple perceptions to actual intentions and behaviors. We conclude that the narrowing of one's frame for a strategic issue may result in a restricted range of alternatives considered and suboptimal responses.