Participation in Manipulative Online Sales Tactics (PMOST): Development and its relationship with cynicism, regret, impulsive buying, and self-control

The purpose of this study was to develop the Participation in Manipulative Online Sales Tactics (PMOST) scale, which assesses consumers’ behavioral participation in manipulative sales tactics encountered in online shopping environments, and to examine its associations with selected indicators of problematic consumption. Although manipulation has been widely discussed in the literature from ethical, perceptual, and intent-based perspectives, little attention has been paid to measuring consumers’ actual behavioral engagement with manipulative tactics. Importantly, exposure to manipulation and participation in such tactics are conceptually distinct processes, particularly in digital marketplaces.