Didn’t Have Time or Didn’t Make Time? How Language Shapes Perceived Control over Time and Motivation

Goal failure is an important problem that is costly for both companies and consumers. Consumers often purchase products, subscribe to services, and download apps in support of valued goals, yet fail to use these tools as much as intended. But might the language consumers use to describe such goal failures affect how they subsequently pursue those goals? Nine experiments demonstrate that, compared with saying “didn’t have time,” saying “didn’t make time” increases subsequent motivation. This is driven by perceived control over time. Specifically, saying “didn’t make” (vs. “didn’t have”) time makes consumers feel more in control of their time, which increases their subsequent motivation to reengage with the goal. Notably, such make-time framing has downstream implications for consumer evaluations of goal-related products and services. Further, it can be manipulated directly as well as through firms’ promotional activities (i.e., featuring make-time language on social media). Importantly, make-time (vs. have-time) framing may be particularly beneficial in the context of goal failure, when consumers are less inclined to adopt this perspective naturally. Together, the findings shed light on how language shapes motivation, deepen understanding of time's role in goal pursuit, and have important implications for how companies manage consumer goal failure.