Consumers increasingly integrate sustainability into their decision making. This is relevant for non-market players who aim to support sustainable consumer behaviours. This research explores how business, governmental and civil society players as a messenger influence the success of their communication initiatives to promote sustainable consumer behaviours. Therefore, the method of nudges will be taken as an example with a precommitment nudge.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Sustainability and Sustainable development
1.1. Definition
1.1.1. Sustainability
1.1.2. Sustainable development
1.1.3. Applied definition and limitations
1.2. Health and digitalisation in sustainable development
1.2.1. Health
1.2.2. Digitalisation
1.3. Transformational change for sustainable development
1.3.1. Public Sector
1.3.2. Private Sector
1.3.3. Social Sector
1.3.4. Principles of good governance and possibilities in sustainable development
2. Intervention strategy “Nudging”
2.1. Definition and development
2.2. Categories of nudges
2.3. Theoretical background and evidence
2.3.1. Theoretical background
2.3.2. Mindspace framework
2.4. Ethical discussion
2.5. The precommitment nudge
2.5.1. Definition
2.5.2. Theoretical background
3. The choice architect
3.1. The role of the messenger in a change process
3.2. The influence of a messenger
4. The role of the messenger in precommitment nudges
4.1. The precommitment list
4.2. The evaluated messengers
4.3. The survey
4.4. The results
5. Discussion and future study directions
5.1. Discussion
5.2. Future study directions
Conclusion
Bibliography
Research Objectives & Core Themes
This thesis investigates how the type of organization (public, private, or social) acting as a "choice architect" influences the effectiveness and acceptance of sustainability-focused nudges, specifically examining the precommitment nudge in the context of fostering active, health-conscious consumer behavior.
- Theoretical exploration of sustainability, digital transformation, and behavioral intervention strategies.
- Deep analytical dive into "nudging" as a tool for sustainable development.
- Evaluation of the role of the messenger in behavioral change models.
- Empirical assessment via survey of how different organizational messengers affect participant readiness to engage.
Excerpt from the Book
2.5. The precommitment nudge
One nudge introduced by Sunstein as one of the 10 most common nudges is the precommitment nudge. It is a nudge designed to support system 2 thinking and to transfer already existing premeditations from the present to the behaviour in the future (Sunstein, Nudging: A Very Short Guide, 2014).
2.5.1. Definition
The precommitment nudge is designed for Humans to commit to a certain action, decision, or behaviour in advance. It intends to the fact that the present-day Human is less affected by heuristics, biases, and environmental circumstances than the future Human, who will have to decide. If the today’s Human (Planner) is the one with the pro-social- or pro-self-intentions, who wants to change its behaviour to the better, the Human from the future (Doer) is the one who falls back to bad, common, and known habits, because of a lack of self-control and the psychological gap between desire and willpower. Here the precommitment nudge serves as a possibility for the Planner, who is the more rational part to impose measurements of self-control on the Doer to support him to resist these desires. The Planner has different possibilities to do so, which can either be based on punishment for not fulfilling the commitment, or rewards for acting in accordance with it. Furthermore, the Planner has the possibility to narrow future choices in order to limit the desires for the Doer. A precommitment can be initialised by the Planner himself, or can be motivated by an external actor, as for example corporations, politicians, social contacts or because of medical advice (Fan & Jin, 2014; Ali, 2011).
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: Provides an overview of the societal developments concerning sustainability, health, and digitalisation, and introduces the research focus on how organizational choice architects impact nudging strategies.
1. Sustainability and Sustainable development: Defines the core concepts of sustainability and sustainable development, explores the roles of health and digitalisation within these frameworks, and outlines the responsibilities of public, private, and social sector actors.
2. Intervention strategy “Nudging”: Explores the theoretical foundation of nudge theory, categorizes different types of nudges, and delves into the ethical discussions and the specific mechanics of the precommitment nudge.
3. The choice architect: Analyzes the role of individuals and organizations as choice architects and examines how different change models, such as the transtheoretical or 5A-model, utilize messengers to influence behavioral change.
4. The role of the messenger in precommitment nudges: Details the empirical survey methodology, including the design of the "precommitment list" and the evaluation of four specific organizational messengers, followed by the presentation of the results.
5. Discussion and future study directions: Analyzes the survey outcomes against the research hypotheses, discusses the lack of observed influence of organizational types on participant readiness, and provides suggestions for subsequent research.
Keywords
Nudge, Sustainability, Digitalisation, Consumer Behaviour, Marketing, Communication, Decision Making, Precommitment, Choice Architecture, Behavioral Science, Public Sector, Private Sector, NGO, Sustainability Measurement, Mindspace Framework
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research explores how sustainability initiatives—specifically behavior-change methods called "nudges"—are affected by the nature of the organization promoting them.
Which specific nudge strategy is analyzed?
The thesis focuses on the "precommitment nudge," a technique designed to help individuals uphold plans for behavioral change by committing to them in advance.
What is the main research question of this study?
The study evaluates whether the type of organization (public, private, or social) acting as a "messenger" influences an individual's acceptance of a sustainability-oriented behavior change measure.
Which scientific method was employed?
The author conducted a quantitative survey among 206 participants to measure their willingness to participate in a "precommitment list" based on different sponsoring organizations.
What are the primary sectors discussed?
The research categorizes societal actors into the public sector (e.g., city administrations), the private sector (e.g., corporations like Jochen Schweizer), and the social sector (e.g., NGOs like Caritas).
How does this study define a "choice architect"?
A choice architect is defined as the designer of the environment in which decisions are made; this study specifically investigates if organizations can effectively fulfill this role to promote sustainable habits.
Why are reminders considered an influential factor?
The study found that while generic public communication often yielded negative reactions, behavioral "reminders" had a positive impact on maintaining participant engagement.
Did the type of organization influence participant behavior?
The empirical results surprisingly showed that, in the context of this study, the choice of organization did not significantly influence the participants' readiness to opt-in, suggesting that the "nudge" itself and individual motivation outweigh the messenger's identity.
- Citar trabajo
- Celia Bormuth (Autor), 2022, Organisations as messengers of sustainability measurements, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1286637
