Paper Title
A Little Ugly Duck or a Swan? A Perspective Of Goal Orientation

Abstract
While the concept of goal orientation has been widely explored in social psychology literature, theoretical understanding of the effects of goal orientation on brand attractiveness is promising but underdeveloped. This research extends the limited attention given to the application of goal orientation to branding. Specifically, this research attempts to explore the moderating roles of underdog brands and temporal distance in the impact of consumers’ goal orientation on brand attractiveness. Results demonstrate that for prevention-focused and promotion-focused consumers, appeals characterized by underdog vs. top dog brands and temporal distance (proximal vs. distant) will lead to differential brand attractiveness. Advertising practitioners will benefit from the results of this research. Index Terms - Goal orientation, Underdog vs. Top dog brands, Temporal distance, brand attractiveness.