Self-regulation and goal-directed behavior: A systematic literature review, public policy recommendations, and research agenda

The act of self-regulation, also referred to as self-control, is antithesis to profligacy. Self-regulation is central to human behavior and is the core of a well-functioning society. Although self-regulation as a research topic has been well-researched, systematic literature reviews on this domain are rare. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this article is one of the first to present a systematic literature review on self-regulation and goal -directed behavior. The authors compiled a study pool of 78 papers over a period of 1990-2021. This study complements the Theory, Characteristics, Context, and Methodology (TCCM) framework, and presents the TCCMP framework to provide public policy recommendations. Further, the authors extract seminal models in the self-regulation literature to re-integrate them into contemporary marketing research. Through the insights gained from the literature review, this paper presents suggestions for public policies, and develops a detailed research agenda.