Prevention Focus as an Overlooked Benefactor: An Investigation into Its Role as an Antecedent of Management Team Accountability

Despite management scholars’ recent interest in regulatory focus theory, existing research has predominantly explored the beneficial effects of a promotion focus. Conversely, research—especially empirical research—on the benefits of a prevention focus within organizational settings remains relatively scarce. In this study, the authors utilized survey data from 145 Dutch companies to examine the positive effects of general managers’ prevention focus on the accountability of their management teams. This chapter advances our understanding by demonstrating that both dimensions of regulatory focus offer distinct benefits, highlighting the need for a more balanced approach to theory development in this area of study.