Abstract

In a trade show environment, the contact between the booth exhibitor and interested visitors is relatively essential because it plays a key role in turning visitors into customers. Contact efficiency refers not only to visitor retention but also involves creating business development opportunities with visitors. Hence, exhibitors should develop strategies to contact with visitors based on visitors’ preferences in their mind. Regulatory focus theory can be used in understanding visitors’ psychological states. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent of contact efficiency from a regulatory-focused perspective. The empirical evidence suggests that a chronic regulatory focus has a greater influence on contact efficiency than a regulatory focus that is situational. Therefore, exhibitors should consider reallocating marketing resources for trade shows to improve the chronic regulatory fit effect on visitors.