TY - JOUR

T1 - Who can nudge for sustainable development? How nudge source renders dynamic norms (in-)effective in eliciting sustainable behavior

AU - Boenke, Lisa

AU - Panning, Miriam

AU - Thurow, Anika

AU - Hörisch, Jacob

AU - Loschelder, David D.

N1 - The research was supported by a grant from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) . Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Elsevier Ltd

PY - 2022/9/25

Y1 - 2022/9/25

N2 - Although communicating so-called ‘dynamic norms’ may promote sustainable consumption behavior, the present study challenges the assumption that their impact is inevitably positive. On the contrary, it seeks to expand current research by establishing when and why sources with vested motives may result in a backfiring effect of dynamic norms. Our experiment (N=352) investigates consumers' intentions to reduce their meat consumption after reading norm messages from different sources (i.e., a researcher, vegan activist, company representative). In line with the predictions, dynamic norm messages from a researcher led to more sustainable consumption choices than identical messages communicated by a vegan activist or company representative while controlling for gender. Concerning the underlying theoretical mechanisms, a perceived moral superiority and ensuing psychological reactance sequentially explained the backfiring effect for the vegan activist. The backfiring effect for the company representative was mediated by a perceived pro-self-motivation that again resulted in elevated consumer reactance. Overall, the present findings establish the crucial importance of a nudge's source that either fosters or undermines the effectiveness of a dynamic norm message in eliciting sustainable behavior. The results not only contribute to the academic debate on nudging, but can also inform practitioners to choose the most powerful sender (e.g. academics) when designing sustainable norm interventions.

AB - Although communicating so-called ‘dynamic norms’ may promote sustainable consumption behavior, the present study challenges the assumption that their impact is inevitably positive. On the contrary, it seeks to expand current research by establishing when and why sources with vested motives may result in a backfiring effect of dynamic norms. Our experiment (N=352) investigates consumers' intentions to reduce their meat consumption after reading norm messages from different sources (i.e., a researcher, vegan activist, company representative). In line with the predictions, dynamic norm messages from a researcher led to more sustainable consumption choices than identical messages communicated by a vegan activist or company representative while controlling for gender. Concerning the underlying theoretical mechanisms, a perceived moral superiority and ensuing psychological reactance sequentially explained the backfiring effect for the vegan activist. The backfiring effect for the company representative was mediated by a perceived pro-self-motivation that again resulted in elevated consumer reactance. Overall, the present findings establish the crucial importance of a nudge's source that either fosters or undermines the effectiveness of a dynamic norm message in eliciting sustainable behavior. The results not only contribute to the academic debate on nudging, but can also inform practitioners to choose the most powerful sender (e.g. academics) when designing sustainable norm interventions.

KW - Psychology

KW - Sustainability sciences, Management & Economics

KW - Dynamic norms

KW - Green marketing

KW - Meat consumption

KW - Nudging

KW - Psychological reactance

KW - Sustainable behavior

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85135920714&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.133246

DO - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.133246

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 368

JO - Journal of Cleaner Production

JF - Journal of Cleaner Production

SN - 0959-6526

M1 - 133246

ER -