Abstract:

Prior studies focus on the influence of up clue on marketing and ignore the effects of down clue on consumer behavior. Based on moral metaphor theory, the authors analyze the influence of vertical clue on consumers’ indulgence through three studies. Study 1 discovers that down clues can trigger more indulgence than up clues. Study 2 shows that cognitive fluency works as a mediation in this main effect, which constructs an integrative internal model. Study 3 manipulates the cognitive fluency to verify the main effect in a further step. Our study provides theoretical supports and practical suggestions for enterprises.

Key words: vertical clues, moral metaphor, indulgence