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Although failures and other experiences can capture attention and motivate organizations to learn and improve, this knowledge is not always retained over time, leaving some organizations dangerously prone to repeat the same mistakes repeatedly. We adapt theory on the attention-based view—and specifically on attentional engagement and vigilance—to shed new light on this process. While prior research has examined how competing events may draw attention away, our theory leads us to consider the circumstances that will motivate employees to maintain attention on learning from failure that has already occurred. Our framework examines the conditions that preserve attention to past failures by increasing the perception that related issues exist elsewhere, serving as continuing reminders of or cues about the failure when attention begins to drift away. We find support for related hypotheses involving a failure's complexity, the firm's culpability, and the ongoing use of routines related to those involved in the failure. Our findings contribute to the attention-based view by developing theory about attentional engagement and vigilance and by emphasizing the conditions that can keep attention focused on, rather drawn away from, past failure. We also contribute to efforts to examine knowledge depreciation and forgetting in more depth in organizational learning theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores how a new relation of production—the shift from human managers to algorithmic managers on digital platforms—manufactures workplace consent. While most research has argued that the task standardization and surveillance that accompany algorithmic management will give rise to the quintessential "bad job" (Kalleberg, Reskin, and Hudson, 2000; Kalleberg, 2011), I find that, surprisingly, many workers report liking and finding choice while working under algorithmic management. Drawing on a seven-year qualitative study of the largest sector in the gig economy, the ride-hailing industry, I describe how workers navigate being managed by an algorithm. I begin by showing how algorithms segment the work at multiple sites of human–algorithm interactions and how this configuration of the work process allows for more-frequent and narrow choice. I find that workers use two sets of tactics. In engagement tactics, individuals generally follow the algorithmic nudges and do not try to get around the system; in deviance tactics, individuals manipulate their input into the algorithmic management system. While the behaviors associated with these tactics are practical opposites, they both elicit consent, or active, enthusiastic participation by workers to align their efforts with managerial interests, and both contribute to workers seeing themselves as skillful agents. However, this choice-based consent can mask the more-structurally problematic elements of the work, contributing to the growing popularity of what I call the "good bad" job. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through a randomized field experiment, this study compares the economic effects of two categories of nudges—self-assurance- and pressure-based interventions—on consumers' purchase and return behaviors. In contrast to pressure-oriented nudges, such as quantity scarcity, time scarcity, and social persuasion, self-assurance nudges are intended to facilitate the validation of product choice and style/size characteristics as well as the self-assurance-grounded justification of the purchase. The findings reveal that self-assurance nudges designed to help consumers make better choices have both short-term (high sales) and long-term (few product returns) benefits. Although pressure-driven nudges offer slightly higher short-term benefits (high sales), they eventually engender unfavorable long-term outcomes (high product returns) for consumers and online retailers. Finally, using return-adjusted net sales as performance measures, the authors find that self-assurance-based nudges are as effective in stimulating purchase as those that capitalize on scarcity and social pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While engagement has enjoyed an abundance of academic and practitioner attention recently, few studies have examined engagement from the perspective of end users utilizing products and brands at work. In acknowledgement of the important role end users play in B2B sales and service ecosystems, the current study applies both social exchange and social identity theories to illuminate the process through which B2B end user engagement develops. By using scenarios with random assignment – an under-utilized approach in sales research – our results suggest that the perceived interactivity of supplier firm activities moderates the relationship between cognitive engagement and behaviors such that it nudges end users toward proactively advocating for the supplier firm brand. Moreover, the supplier firm activity is even more effective when a salesperson personally introduces the initiative to end users. Hence, with intentional and interactive connection, salespeople can influence end user engagement behaviors and add value to the sales process, a key insight for supplier firms. Finally, we explore two key drivers of end user engagement: end user work identity and need to belong. A better understanding of how and why end user engagement and subsequent behaviors develop will help salespeople connect more effectively with end users and ultimately drive more sales. These contributions meaningfully increase our understanding regarding contextual influences of end user engagement within the B2B sales arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organisations increasingly use digital nudges to influence their workforces' behaviour without coercion or incentives. This can expose employees to arbitrary domination by infringing on their autonomy through manipulation and indoctrination. Nudges might furthermore give rise to the phenomenon of "organised immaturity." Adopting a balanced approach between overly optimistic and dystopian standpoints, I propose a framework for determining the moral permissibility of digital nudging in the workplace. In this regard, I argue that not only should organisations provide pre-discursive justification of nudges but they should also ensure that employees can challenge their implementation whenever necessary through legitimation procedures. Building on Rainer Forst's concept of the right to justification, this article offers a way to combine contract- and deliberation-based theories for addressing questions in business ethics. I further introduce the concept of meta-autonomy as a capacity that employees can acquire to counter threats of arbitrary domination and to mitigate organised immaturity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can firms encourage consumers to adopt smartphone apps? The authors show that several inexpensive choice architecture techniques can make users more likely to enable important app features and complete app onboarding. In six preregistered experiments (n = 5,968) and a field experiment (n = 594,997), choice architecture interventions manipulating choice sequence, color, and wording of app adoption decisions dramatically increased app adoption. Across experiments, integrating multiple feature decisions into a single choice increased adoption. This integration effect emerges because it decreases decision noise and reduces the prominence of individual features, consistent with support theory. Changing colors to match habitual patterns commonly found in current digital interfaces appears to increase adoption by accelerating consumers' decisions. Finally, wording options as if enabling the app is the default response (even without changing the actual default) also increases adoption. These "defaultless defaults" may be particularly relevant in heavily regulated consumer domains, such as finance or health care. The effects generalized across different types of apps and were robust across subsamples varying in demographics, attitudes toward the apps, and political affiliation. These results suggest simple tools that marketing managers and app developers can use to increase app adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of strategic psychology‐based marketing techniques for increasing public support for conservation is poorly understood. We assessed how such techniques affect support for tropical rainforest restoration with a controlled online experiment with 1166 nationally representative residents of the United Kingdom. We tested whether support increased when adding ecosystem service (ES) framings to typical nongovernmental organizations’ (NGOs) biodiversity‐focused messages that emphasize benefits to UK residents or people living near the tropical restoration site and a dynamic social norm nudge that emphasized increasing popularity of environmental restoration. We considered how respondents’ psychological traits (nature connection, self‐efficacy, psychological benefits of supporting charities, awareness of environmental degradation in the Global South, and climate change skepticism) influenced responses. Outcomes included respondents’ reported advertisement sufficiency, sympathetic attitudes, behavioral support, and financial support. The study population typically found advertisements sufficient and exhibited sympathetic attitudes and financial, but not behavioral, support. Younger people exhibited greater conservation support than older respondents. Messages framed solely on biodiversity conservation were as effective as those highlighting additional ES benefits received by UK residents and people near the tropical restoration site. This suggests that framing around ESs, rather than nature's intrinsic value, may not strengthen public support for conservation. The dynamic social norm nudge had perverse effects. It reduced perceived social norms and most outcome variables. Alternative dynamic norm nudges warrant testing, but our results support research suggesting dynamic norm nudges can be ineffective when associated with activism, challenging their use by conservation NGOs. Psychological benefits of supporting charities and perceived self‐efficacy increased support for advertisements, highlighting the benefits of including impact statements relating respondents’ support to specific outcomes. Climate change skepticism decreased support, whereas nature connection and perceived static social norms increased it, highlighting the need to increase nature connection and pro‐environmental social norms to elevate public support for conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mastery‐based assignments typically provide students with multiple opportunities to improve their performance, but getting students to take advantage of these opportunities is difficult. We report on the implementation of a two‐part series of nudges designed to improve students' engagement with and performance on mastery‐based assignments in high‐enrollment, introductory undergraduate courses. Students received one or two email‐based nudges for each assignment, providing both decision information and decision assistance. Delivered via email by a digital coaching system that provides tailored support to students, we evaluated the effectiveness of viewing versus not viewing these personalized nudges across introductory courses in mathematics, computer science and engineering over five terms at our large, research‐intensive university. We used multilevel modelling with a sample of 30,693 assignment scores nested within 79 assignments and 5349 undergraduate students to explore the relationship between students' viewing the nudges and their scores while controlling for performance in other courses and students' baseline proclivities to read email from the coaching system. We find that viewing versus not viewing nudges is significantly related to improved outcomes. Viewing the first of the two‐part nudge series is associated with a 3% increase in scores on average. Importantly, we found a significant interaction with prior academic performance such that students with the lowest average academic performance across all courses are predicted to benefit the most—up to 9%—from nudging. Positive impacts are observed in most courses where nudges were implemented and are found to be most impactful for later versus earlier assignments within a term. We discuss the implications of these results for supporting students' decision‐making within mastery‐based assignment schemes and suggest future research for tailored nudges to support student success. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Nudges are known to be broadly effective, but heterogeneity is observed especially in education where the research base is relatively limited.Mastery‐based grading is an alternative approach to grading that, among other features, emphasizes learning through an explicit feedback cycle of struggle and revision without penalty.What this paper adds This study assesses the effectiveness of personalized nudges in the context of mastery‐based grading in undergraduate STEM courses.We examined the efficacy of viewing versus not viewing nudges in the real learning settings of three STEM courses enrolling more than 5000 students.We found the nudges to be effective overall, correlated with improvements of approximately 3% in students' assignment scores and most impactful for students with the lowest average academic performance.Implications for practice and/or policy Nudging by email or text message has a low overhead cost and yet may provide materially significant gains in students' assessment scores.Nudges can be effectively targeted to specific subsets of students and tailored based on students' prior and concurrent learning analytics data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use administrative data from a large public university to study employee responses to mandatory retirement saving, which represent a policy alternative to nudges. In response to a substantial increase in mandatory saving, we observe full crowd-out of voluntary saving for a subset of low-contributing low earners and high-contributing high earners, but otherwise little crowd-out for most employees. On average, only 30 percent of the mandatory contributions are offset by lower voluntary contributions. Our results suggest that mandatory retirement saving is likely to increase total retirement saving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the emerging problem of drug- and alcohol-impaired e-scooter riding. Fifteen government and e-scooter hire firm professionals from four jurisdictions (Australia, Belgium, New Zealand, Norway) described and assessed countermeasures designed to deter drug- and alcohol-impaired riding. Government professionals were from local/municipal councils, state and national departments of transport, and policing organisations. We used Braun and Clarke's (Qual Res Psychol 18(3):328–352, 2020.https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2020.1769238) six-step method of thematic analysis and the NVivo qualitative analysis software system to analyse the interviews. All participants said traditional police enforcement is ineffective because laws and regulations are underdeveloped, and police have limited resources for patrols. Thematic analysis grouped countermeasures into four themes: enforcement, education, encouragement, and the road environment. Third-party policing initiatives show promise. For example, local/municipal councils required e-scooter hire firms to ban e-scooters from areas that sell alcohol through GPS-based geofencing. However, geofencing and other regulatory controls do not extend to privately owned e-scooters, a growing sector in the market. Other countermeasures used a combination of education and behavioural change techniques (BCTs) to encourage compliance. For example, innovative nudge methods (a type of BCT) have potential to change dangerous riding behaviours by targeting riding norms. However, participants said some people will continue to ride under the influence of alcohol or drugs either because they are addicted to substances or exhibit high-risk behaviours. Government should therefore adopt laws and regulations that build a more forgiving road environment, based on the safe system approach, to limit injuries when crashes occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Aim Design Method Results Conclusion Implication for the Profession and/or Patient Care Reporting Method Patient or Public Contribution To explore frail older adults' preferences and needs regarding mobile health (mHealth) exercise interventions in China. Additionally, it sought to identify the nudge strategies necessary for initiating and sustaining exercise behaviours among frail older adults.A qualitative study.The semi‐structured interviews were conducted between April and May 2024 from two communities in Changsha, China. The data were analysed using a deductive framework analysis aligned to nudge theory, and an inductive thematic analysis to gather relevant needs and preferences.This study involved 14 participants with pre‐frailty or frailty, aged 60–82 years (median age of 64 years). While participants were generally receptive to new technologies, lower levels of health literacy and competing priorities often hindered their participation. Three primary functionality requirements were as follows. (1) Profession engagement: tailored exercise prescription, professional and timely feedback and guidance; (2) personalised knowledge encompassing pain management, successful cases and inspiration; (3) beneficial, tailored, dynamic, fragmented, challenging exercise courses. Participants showed positive attitudes towards simplification nudges, gamification nudges, social nudges, trustworthy nudges, reminder nudges, economic nudges, feedback nudges and pre‐commitment nudges. Addressing privacy concerns was essential to build trust and acceptance among older adults.These findings emphasised the importance of designing mHealth interventions that address frail older adults' specific needs and preferences while incorporating effective nudge strategies to promote engagement and adherence. Future researchers should explore wearables, ChatGPT language models, virtual coaching assistants, exercise snack to further optimise the experience and analyse the effects of nudges in mHealth exercise interventions among older adults.Exercise systems or app development for frail older adults should meet three basic functionality and essential nudge strategies.The consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) guidelines were used for reporting.Older adults' engagement and interview data contribute a lot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the early stages of the global COVID-19 pandemic, governments searched for effective means to rapidly disseminate information about how to prevent the disease and care for sick household members. In June 2020, the government of Kenya considered sending text messages, a behavioral nudging approach, to inform and persuade the public to practice home-based care for those who were infected. We conducted a randomized evaluation of simple informational messages compared to messages targeting personal and social benefits for those receiving the messages. We hypothesized that those that received messages tailored around social or personal benefit would be more likely to undertake the promoted behaviors of isolating if infected with COVID-19 and intending to care for an infected family member. While fear and perceptions of stigma were widespread, more than two-thirds of respondents in the control condition expressed an intention to care for an infected family member at home. Despite greater recall of the personal benefit message, which used reciprocity as its key behavioral lever, intentions to provide care at home and perceptions of stigma did not differ across study groups. Rather, capabilities such as wealth and having sufficient room at home were the key determinants. While text messages as behavioral nudges may be useful for some behaviors, policymakers should consider a broader range of tools for behaviors that are influenced by people's capabilities, since even low-cost interventions may crowd out the time and energy needed for other responses during an emergency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Germline genetic testing is recommended for an increasing number of conditions with underlying genetic etiologies, the results of which impact medical management. However, genetic testing is underutilized in clinics due to system, clinician, and patient level barriers. Behavioral economics provides a framework to create implementation strategies, such as nudges, to address these multi-level barriers and increase the uptake of genetic testing for conditions where the results impact medical management. Methods: Patients meeting eligibility for germline genetic testing for a group of conditions will be identified using electronic phenotyping algorithms. A pragmatic, type 3 hybrid cluster randomization study will test nudges to patients and/or clinicians, or neither. Clinicians who receive nudges will be prompted to either refer their patient to genetics or order genetic testing themselves. We will use rapid cycle approaches informed by clinician and patient experiences, health equity, and behavioral economics to optimize these nudges before trial initiation. The primary implementation outcome is uptake of germline genetic testing for the pre-selected health conditions. Patient data collected through the electronic health record (e.g. demographics, geocoded address) will be examined as moderators of the effect of nudges. Discussion: This study will be one of the first randomized trials to examine the effects of patient- and clinician-directed nudges informed by behavioral economics on uptake of genetic testing. The pragmatic design will facilitate a large and diverse patient sample, allow for the assessment of genetic testing uptake, and provide comparison of the effect of different nudge combinations. This trial also involves optimization of patient identification, test selection, ordering, and result reporting in an electronic health record-based infrastructure to further address clinician-level barriers to utilizing genomic medicine. The findings may help determine the impact of low-cost, sustainable implementation strategies that can be integrated into health care systems to improve the use of genomic medicine. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov. NCT06377033. Registered on March 31, 2024. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06377033?term=NCT06377033&rank=1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A food environment intervention using nudge tactics was implemented at a hospital convenience store (CVS) in Tokyo to improve employees' eating habits. The objective of this study was to evaluate its effects on the urinary sodium-to-potassium ratio (Na/K), food intake, eating attitude, and behavior. Methods: Using a pre–post design; the intervention incorporated nudge tactics, healthier options, easy-to-pick food placement, and eye-catching information. We also used price incentives. The primary outcomes included changes in Na/K and sodium and potassium excretion assessed using spot urine samples at health checkups. Secondary outcomes were changes in staff food intake, eating attitude, and behavior which were assessed using questionnaire surveys. All outcomes were evaluated statistically. Furthermore, we investigated how the intervention led to outcomes using path analysis. Results: A total of 140 participant (52men and 88women) were analyzed. Significant changes were observed in Na/K (3.16 to 2.98 in median, p = 0.02) and potassium excretion (43.4 to 45.2 mmol/day in mean, p = 0.03). However, sodium excretion did not change significantly. The intake of fruits and dairy products increased with improved self-efficacy. The most influential factor for lowering Na/K and increasing potassium excretion was information from the CVS; purchasing "balanced meals" to lower Na/K and salads to increase potassium excretion were second. Conclusions: Food environment intervention using nudge tactics can improve staff's food intake and lower Na/K. Trial registration: Registration number: UMIN000049444 (UMIN-CTR). Date of registration: November. 7. 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractGiven proper facilitation, pro-environmental behaviour in tourist destinations may spill over to the daily lives of tourists. Recent advancements in conversational artificial intelligence (AI) may lead to the emergence of more effective technology that will encourage people to become more environmentally friendly. However, limited research has been devoted to understanding the complexity of using such technologies for pro-social nudging. This study applies rigorous scale development procedures to test how advanced conversational AI, like chatbots, can be effective in encouraging pro-environmental behaviour spillover. The conceptual model introduces seven factors that predict people’s intention to use the chatbot and three factors that predict their intention to embrace the target behaviour. Performance expectancy and timing were the most significant in predicting the intention of individuals to adopt the technology. Efficiency and government support were the chief drivers of the intention to adopt pro-environmental behaviour. The findings suggest that although introducing a technology-mediated nudging mechanism can trigger people’s intention to behave pro-environmentally, other factors must be fulfilled in order to ensure sustained behaviour change in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Prior research has implied that promoting sustaining physical activity through nudges is challenging and boosting health literacy is important for the long-term establishment of behaviors. This study aimed to investigate the effects of commitment-based health application on step count and health literacy. Methods: A control experiment was conducted involving employees from companies located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Participants were divided into three groups: the commitment app group (utilizing a commitment-based application "Minchalle," where teams of around five members were randomly assigned to declare a target step count and report daily step count with pictures), the self-commitment group (individuals declaring a target step count and endeavoring on their own), and the control group (no intervention). Changes in step count and health literacy were examined over one month. Results: A total of 109 employees from 7 companies participated. The changes in step count were an increase of 893 steps for the commitment app group, 243 steps for the self-commitment group, and 178 steps for the control group, with a significant increase in the commitment app group compared to the control group. Regarding health literacy measures, there was significant progress in four items out of five for the commitment app group compared to the control group, and significant progress in one item for the self-commitment group compared to the control group. Conclusion: Communication within the app teams, such as commitment, sharing photos of their goal achievements and provide encouraging comments to others, functioned as social nudges, suggesting the potential for an immediate increase in step count and long-term behavioral reinforcement through improved health literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Tax penalty collection is a challenge faced by tax administrations worldwide. • We nudge taxpayers in Indonesia to pay their tax penalties on time. • Simplification by providing billing codes outperforms the other nudge letters. • Emphasising deterrence is also effective in increasing timely payment. • The nudge letters prove to be a cost-effective strategy for changing behaviour. We conduct a randomised controlled trial in Indonesia to evaluate the effect of three intervention letters on tax penalty compliance behaviour. Over 10,000 individual taxpayers are randomly assigned to receive either a deterrence, information, or simplification letter, or no letter. Our results indicate that simplification, which makes paying a penalty less burdensome administratively by providing billing codes to pay the penalties, yields the highest probability of timely settlement, increasing compliance by 32% compared to the control group. Deterrence also positively impacts penalty compliance, increasing timely settlement rates by 27%. The least effective intervention is the information letter. Although associated with a 10% increase in timely settlement, this effect is statistically insignificant at the 10% confidence level. Our results suggest that strategic messaging by tax authorities in developing countries can be a cost-effective tool for improving tax penalty payment compliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In times of public health crisis, such as the COVID‐19 pandemic, there is a critical need for interventions that emphasize group unification. Such interventions may motivate individuals to adhere personally and collectively to health advice, enhance national solidarity, and reduce conspiratorial beliefs among members—particularly among those who may express skepticism or distrust towards science. Across three experimental studies (Ntotal = 1604) conducted online (Experiments 1 & 3) and in a real‐world setting (Experiment 2) in Ireland and Kosovo, we assessed participants' trust in science (i.e., the extent to which they trust in science and scientists) and exposed them to one of three conditions regarding COVID‐19 health advice: compliance (i.e., the majority of ingroup members comply with the health advice), non‐compliance (i.e., the majority of ingroup members do not comply with the health advice), or no advice (i.e., control condition with no health advice information). Overall, the results showed that participants with low (vs. high) trust in science intended to adhere to health advice, expected ingroup members to do the same, experienced greater national solidarity, and reduced their conspiracy beliefs in the compliance condition compared to noncompliance or control conditions. Participants' feelings of national solidarity explained the observed effects. In sum, this set of experimental studies shows that compliance with health advice during a health crisis not only enhances national solidarity but also promotes adherence to health behaviors and reduces conspiracy beliefs, especially among those initially skeptical of science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a framed lab experiment, we test whether the efficiency of a pro-environmental informational nudge (disclosure of the socially optimal level of investment) depends on subjects' environmental preferences and on the type of network they belong to. We observe a higher coordination on the socially optimal profile of investments in the circle network (everyone has the same number of neighbors), but only with the most sensitive subjects to environmental matters. In star networks (some have more neighbors than the other members), we find evidence that the nudge can even induce a decrease in the level of investments for the least sensitive subjects. Thus, nudges should be aimed at individuals with high environmental sensitivity in networks favoring uniform behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Social norm interventions hold the potential to change people's behavior. Five field experiments (N = 1,163) examined the effects of a simple and easily realizable social norm nudge based on the social media format "Be like Bill." The nudge consisted of a stick figure named Toni that communicated descriptive and injunctive norms regarding pro-environmental or pro-social behaviors. Nudge conditions were compared to no-intervention control conditions. Experiment 1 (N = 179) focused on paper towel consumption in a women's restroom at a German university. The nudge condition used less paper towels than the control condition, d = 0.48. Experiment 2 (N = 183) replicated this result (d = 0.32) in a more diverse setting of a women's restroom at a German Christmas market. Experiment 3 (N = 250) examined differences in the effects of prescriptive (i.e., 'do-norm') versus proscriptive (i.e., 'do not-norm') social norms on paper towel consumption again in a university women's restroom. The effectiveness of both social norm nudge conditions was shown in comparison to the control condition (d = 0.46; d = 0.40), while the prescriptive and proscriptive social norm manipulations did not differ. Experiment 4 (N = 206) applied the nudging approach to the use of plastic lids in a coffee shop, where no effect was found. Finally, Experiment 5 (N = 345) focused on the pro-social behavior of mask wearing in a bakery toward the end of the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions in Germany. In the nudge condition, more visitors put on face masks compared to the control group, d = 0.39. Limitations and contextual factors regarding the applicability of our social norm nudge are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there has been a proliferation of research and policy work into how nudges shape people's behaviour, most studies stop far short of consumer welfare analysis. In the current work, we critically reflect on recent efforts to provide insights into the consumer welfare impact of nudges using willingness to pay and subjective well-being reports and explore an unobtrusive approach that can speak to the immediate emotional impacts of a nudge: automatic facial expression coding. In an exploratory lab study, we use facial expression coding to assess the short-run emotional impact of being presented with calorie information about a popcorn snack in the context of a stylised 'Cinema experience'. The results of the study indicate that calorie information has heterogeneous impacts on people's likelihood of choosing the snack and on the emotions they experience during the moment of choice which varies based on their level of health-consciousness. The information does not, however, affect the emotions people go on to experience while viewing movie clips, suggesting that the emotional effects of the information are short-lived. We conclude by emphasising the potential of automatic facial expression coding to provide new insights into the immediate emotional impacts of nudges and calling for further research into this promising technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Norm-nudges are effective in encouraging sustainable consumer behaviour in various settings, by raising the salience of the target behaviour via social norms. Tourism presents a highly hedonic context, in which behaviour is primarily framed by self-oriented goals as opposed to normative ones related to the good of the environment and society. While the existing literature provides insights on the appropriate content of norm-nudges to raise the salience of normative goals, less is known about an appropriate frequency of nudges. It is important to address this gap in tourism because tourists need to be aware of desired sustainable behaviours, while overly obtrusive nudges may backfire. A field experiment was conducted to test the extent to which an increased frequency of norm-nudges has a backfiring effect on sustainable tourist behaviour, using donations for mountain-biking trails as the target behaviour. Results show that increasing the frequency of norm-nudges does not diminish their positive uptake, which suggests that they can be used more to encourage sustainable behaviour and enhance tourists' experiences. Using actual and self-reported behavioural data, this study provides new empirical evidence on the effectiveness of increased frequency of norm-nudges in a real tourism setting, contributing to knowledge on norm-nudges and backfiring effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can productivity improve if workers identify more with the skills they use in their work environment? This paper reports the results of an experimental design that was peer‐reviewed prior to collecting data. The research setting is a global manufacturer using a novel smartwatch‐based system for distributing work tasks among factory floor workers. Drawing on the concepts of identification and helping in organizations, we hypothesized that fostering workers' identification with their own skills could serve as a mechanism to enhance helping behavior on the factory floor, which should improve productivity. We designed a compound skill‐fostering treatment consisting of communication, meetings, and exercises regarding individual skills. We treat one large factory area for 2 weeks and keep a similar area in a sister factory as a control group for comparison in a difference‐in‐difference model. The results show that nudging skill identification increases workers' identification with skills, but we do not find evidence for increased helping behavior or increased productivity. Our results help develop theory around multiple sub‐identities and provide guidance for future studies seeking to enhance identification in organizations. Highlights: A 4‐week‐long field intervention was conducted in a digitalized factory aiming to increase workers' identification with their skills.The experimental design was reviewed and accepted by the JOM Editors before data collection.Identification with skills increased and emotional exhaustion decreased.Expected positive effects of the treatment on helping behavior and productivity were not supported.Managers and future studies should try to disentangle identification with skills and machines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nudge theory proposes using subtle interventions to encourage individuals to make better decisions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Nudge theory in plaque control and assess caries experience among third-grade primary schoolchildren with refugee and immigrant backgrounds in Mashhad, Iran. Moreover, Afghan and Iranian schoolchildren were compared to assess differences in oral health outcomes. A quasi-experimental field trial was conducted in three public primary schools, comprising 309 participants approximately 9 years old. Interventions were randomly assigned to three schools: School I Messages based on Social Norms (MSN), School II Messages based on Fear of Negative Outcome (MFNO), and School III control group (C). MSN and MFNO received customized motivational video clips at baseline, while C only received Oral hygiene instruction (OHI). All participants received OHI, a brush, and toothpaste. Baseline plaque index (PI) and caries experience in primary and permanent dentition (dmft/DMFT) were recorded. PI was reassessed at two weeks, two months, and six months post-intervention. All data were subjected to statistical analysis. The mean PI decreased significantly in all three groups at the two-week follow-up (p < 0.01). The PI improvements declined over a six-month follow-up period in all groups, and the mean PI difference after six months compared to the pre-intervention was significant only in MSN and MFNO (p < 0.01), while C reverted almost to the pre-study level. Schoolchildren with at least one filled tooth or Iranian nationality showed a greater PI reduction (p < 0.01, p = 0.05). The overall mean ± SD dmft and DMFT were 4.24 ± 2.11 and 1.70 ± 1.24, respectively. Among all the examined participants, 32 (10.40%) individuals were caries-free. The mean dmft was statistically significantly higher in Afghan children than in Iranians (p = 0.01). MSN was more effective on PI reduction in the short term, while MFNO was more long-lasting. Using the Nudge theory via visual aids was more effective in motivating children to perform better oral self-care than solely traditional OHI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Defaults are powerful nudges to shape individuals' behavior: In three experiments, including a large experiment using representative samples from five European countries (n = 4207), we show that they can significantly affect risk‐taking by medium to large effect sizes. We also show that implementing a default nudge leads to a lower rating of the advice delivered by the wealth manager compared to no default, an effect that has a medium to large effect size. In addition, defaults the targeted individuals refuse result in lower advice ratings. These side effects call for caution before applying nudges and individualized defaults rather than a one‐size‐fits‐all approach. Additionally, we find evidence pointing to two small effects of framing in default presentation. First, asking how much individuals want to invest in the risky asset emphasizes risk. It reduces investment in the risky asset compared to asking them how much they want to leave on the safe account, particularly for more risk‐averse individuals. Second, asking individuals if they want to change a default allocation of 100% in the risky asset leads to more investment in the risky asset than asking them whether they accept such an allocation. Perceived wealth manager honesty appears to mediate the relationship between the default nudge and the rating of the advice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socially responsible investments (SRI) suffer from a lack of investments from individual investors, despite their positive attitudes toward SRI. This attitude–behavior gap is a serious issue, as SRI is often perceived as a way to promote sustainable development. We investigate nudges, especially the default option, as a way to encourage SRI. In a pre‐registered study conducted in October 2021 with 1050 US investors, we pit four nudges against one another to encourage individual investors to invest in SRI. All nudges significantly increased investment in SRI compared with the control group. Making SRI the default option with frictions to opt‐out is the most efficient intervention. This is closely followed by a default option without friction to opt out and option partitioning, which are not significantly different from each other. Precommitment, although statistically significant, has a modest effect on investment in SRI and is inferior to the other nudges. Overall, the two types of default as well as option partitioning are significant and impactful solutions for increasing investment in SRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine whether and how mandatory corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures affect corporate tax avoidance. Using a CSR disclosure mandate in China that requires a subset of firms to disclose their CSR activities as an exogenous shock to CSR disclosures, our difference-in-differences analyses show that firms affected by the disclosure mandate engage in less tax avoidance relative to control firms. Additional analyses indicate that increased public scrutiny following the disclosure mandate is the likely channel through which mandatory CSR disclosures constrain tax avoidance. Cross-sectional analyses suggest that the effect of the disclosure mandate varies with institutional environments. Overall, our results indicate that the CSR disclosure mandate constrains corporate tax avoidance, which is consistent with mandatory CSR disclosures nudging firms toward more socially desirable behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an effort to find a novel way to enhance the attractiveness of healthy food, this article proposes surface mimicry—that is, designing a product to visually resemble another product—as an effective intervention to communicate property information to consumers. Specifically, it advances the notion that exposure to surface mimicry primes property mapping, a thinking style that leads consumers to transfer property information from one product onto another. To this end, three studies show that exposure to a target food product (e.g. kiwifruit) mimicking visual characteristics of another, modifier food product (e.g. popsicle) induces a transfer of attribute values of the modifier onto the target product for salient, alignable attributes on which the products differ (e.g. tastiness). A fourth study points to the activation of a property-mapping mindset as the underlying process. Finally, the effect is shown to persist, but it attenuates when the difference in belief(s) about the target and mimicked product is substantial (e.g. the taste expectations for Brussels sprouts and popsicles). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioural nudges are often criticised because they "work best in the dark". However, recent experimental evidence suggests that the effectiveness of nudges is not reduced when they are delivered transparently. Most people also endorse transparent nudges. Yet, transparent nudging may undermine human autonomy—a minority may oppose to being nudged and feel manipulated, even if they know what is happening. We propose an alternative way of maintaining autonomy that is not reducible to transparency: individuals can be asked if they consent in advance to being nudged. To assess whether consensual nudges are effective, we ask consent from 1518 UK citizens to be nudged. Subsequently, we default all participants into donating to a charity of their choice, irrespective of self-reported consent. We find that the default nudge is equally effective for both consenting and non-consenting individuals, with negligible difference in average donations. However, non-consenting individuals report higher levels of resentment and regret and lower levels of happiness and support compared to the consenting group. Based on these findings, we argue that ignoring consent can have serious ethical ramifications for policy-making with nudges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Supermarket interventions are promising to promote healthier dietary patterns, but not all individuals may be equally susceptible. We explored whether the effectiveness of nudging and pricing strategies on diet quality differs by psychological and grocery shopping characteristics. Methods: We used data of the 12-month Supreme Nudge parallel cluster-randomised controlled supermarket trial, testing nudging and pricing strategies to promote healthier diets. Participants were Dutch speaking adults aged 30–80 years and regular shoppers of participating supermarkets (n = 12) in socially disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Data on psychological characteristics (food-related behaviours; price sensitivity; food decision styles; social cognitive factors; self-control) and grocery shopping characteristics (time spent in the supermarket; moment of the day; average supermarket visits; shopping at other retailers; supermarket proximity) were self-reported at baseline. These characteristics were tested for their moderating effects of the intervention on diet quality (scored 0–150) in linear mixed models. Results: We included 162 participants from intervention supermarkets and 199 from control supermarkets (73% female, 58 (± 10.8) years old, 42% highly educated). The interventions had no overall effect on diet quality. Only five out of 23 potential moderators were statistically significant. Yet, stratified analyses of these significant moderators showed no significant effects on diet quality for one of the subgroups and statistically non-significant negative effects for the other. Negative effects were suggested for individuals with lower baseline levels of meal planning (β − 2.6, 95% CI − 5.9; 0.8), healthy shopping convenience (β − 3.0, 95% CI − 7.2; 1.3), and healthy food attractiveness (β − 3.5, 95% CI − 8.3; 1.3), and with higher levels of price consciousness (β − 2.6, 95% CI − 6.2; 1.0) and weekly supermarket visits (β − 2.4, 95% CI − 6.8; 1.9). Conclusions: Adults with varying psychological and grocery shopping characteristics largely seem equally (un)susceptible to nudging and pricing strategies. It might be that certain characteristics lead to adverse effects, but this is not plausible, and the observed negative effects were small and statistically non-significant and may be explained by chance findings. Verification of these findings is needed in real-world trials based on larger sample sizes and with the use of more comprehensive interventions. Trial registration: Dutch Trial Register ID NL7064, 30th of May, 2018, https://onderzoekmetmensen.nl/en/trial/20990 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can we empower social media users to better discern the veracity of news and share less false news? This survey experiment (N  =   636) assessed the effectiveness of two interventions—signing a Pro-Truth Pledge and utilizing a Fact-Checking Guide. Results showed that utilizing the Fact-Checking Guide increased skepticism of news posts, likelihood to verify news posts, verification engagement, and reduced intention to share news without regard to news veracity. Before and after comparisons indicated that after verification engagement activities, truth and sharing discernment improved with higher factual accuracy ratings for true news, lower accuracy ratings for false news, and a greater likelihood to share true news compared to false news. Individual's engagement in verification was identified as a crucial mechanism through which the Fact-Checking Guide intervention led to better truth and sharing discernment. The study could inform social media designs that promote a truthful news environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This empirical study uses nudge theory to develop conceptual models to predict the pro-sustainable behaviors of visitors. Two sets of antecedents, including the destination level (i.e. destination social responsibility [DSR]) and the individual level (climate change perception), were used as configurations to stimulate the pro-sustainable behavioral intentions of visitors in terms of willingness to sacrifice, eco-behaviors, and localism. The proposed models were tested using partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to investigate the net effect of the antecedents and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to explore complex configurations leading to the pro-sustainable behavioral intentions of visitors. An interview study with experts was also conducted to develop a framework illustrating transformational drivers of actual pro-sustainable behaviors. Climate change concerns and environmentally responsible destinations appear to be significant predictors of visitors' willingness to sacrifice, localism, and eco-behaviors. Climate change awareness, beliefs, and concerns are necessary for pro-sustainable behavioral intentions. The results highlight the importance of nudge theory and creative practices to enact pro-sustainable behavioral change. The proposed framework offers guidelines at the tactical, strategic, and structural levels to stimulate visitors' actual behaviors toward climate change actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being overweight or obese is a serious public health problem. Misperception of one's own weight status and inertia are major obstacles to weight control. To overcome these two problems, we conduct a randomized controlled trial in which participants are presented with the correct weight category based on their body mass index to remove any weight misperception, and then given six biweekly reminders about healthy diet and physical activity via SMS/email. We find that our intervention reduces individuals' weight misperception and encourages healthier dietary choices. However, it has little impact on their physical activity. We further show that people who were obese and those who underestimated their weight status in the baseline survey maintain healthier dietary choices for at least six months after the intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are considered to be one of the biggest health problems as they continue to be an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. They cannot be completely prevented, but their incidence can be significantly limited. Preventive action is the most important measure in this case. Due to the frequent interaction between healthcare professionals and patients, the crucial importance of hand hygiene is therefore emphasised. Adherence to good disinfection and hand washing practices remains around 40%, which can be improved by using a variety of nudge tools to promote desired hygienic behaviour. We conducted an open observation of employees and visitors with participation. The aim of this study was to determine the actual status of hand disinfection in a selected healthcare facility amongst doctors, registered nurses, medical technicians, cleaners, and visitors or parents of children; then, we selected and introduced three nudge tools of desired hygiene behaviour and analysed their effectiveness; finally, we provided suggestions for the use of nudge tools of desired hygiene behaviour with the aim of influencing doctors, registered nurses, medical technicians, cleaners, and visitors or parents of children so that they disinfect their hands properly. The actual state of hand disinfection was determined on the basis of observation without introducing any changes; then, we separately introduced three nudge tools, posters with an inscription and picture, the scent of citrus, and flashing lights. The obtained results were analysed with the help of the SpeedyAudit Lite application, and the effectiveness of each nudge tool and the adequacy of hand disinfection by categories of people were compared. In general, posters with a picture and an inscription contributed the most to more consistent disinfection of employees' hands, while the scent of citrus and flashing lights contributed slightly less. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examines the influence of nudging on the successful studies of Higher education institutions (HEI's) students. Data from one of the typical countries of the Central European region (Czech Republic) is analyzed. The goal of the research was to find out how students accept individual forms of nudging. For this purpose, a questionnaire survey at Czech HEIs (N = 207) and structured interviews with experts (N = 19) were conducted. This study showed that information nudges and high-touch nudges enjoyed the highest level of acceptance. A strong correlation was also found between "most irritating" and group "manipulative" nudges. These forms of nudging fluctuated around the borderline value of acceptance. A strong or moderate correlation was also found between nudges with similar content and different forms. Structured interviews showed that experts supported the use of nudges. They considered it an important tool to influence the study's success. Experts explained the differences in the acceptance of nudges in connection with the different ages of students, the type of study, the students' life experiences, and partly with the type of field of study. They considered parents' education rather ambivalent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary corporate discourse asserts that viewers have a high degree of control over what they watch on video-on-demand (VOD) platforms, echoing early academic assumptions about online users' autonomy. Such beliefs are now being interrogated, an endeavour this study continues by analysing data on the consumption and characteristics of television programmes viewed on a channel's VOD service and – for comparison – via its linear broadcast. Crucially, our analysis incorporates characteristics – like programmes' prominence on the channel's VOD interface – that represent how platforms seek to steer users' attention. Our analysis also incorporates other programme characteristics, like genre – which serves as a proxy for the deliberate viewing choices users make. Our results lend empirical weight to ideas about the limits of online users' agency. This study is also of relevance to television scholars and executives who are interested in the specific predictors of television programmes' success, both on VOD platforms and on linear television. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of increasing online health misinformation, several new approaches have been deployed to reduce the spread and increase the quality of information consumed. This systematic review examines how source credibility labels and other nudging interventions impact online health information choices. PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched for studies that present empirical evidence on the impact of interventions designed to affect online health-information-seeking behavior. Results are mixed: some interventions, such as content labels identifying misinformation or icon arrays displaying information, proved capable of impacting behavior in a particular context. In contrast, other reviewed strategies around signaling the source's credibility have failed to produce significant effects in the tested circumstances. The field of literature is not large enough to draw meaningful conclusions, suggesting that future research should explore how differences in design, method, application, and sources may affect the impact of these interventions and how they can be leveraged to combat the spread of online health misinformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online reviews play a significant role in shaping consumer purchase decisions. Accordingly, emergence of fake reviews has proliferated as an instrument to manipulate customers' buying preferences. Such manifestation, however, lacks theoretical grounding and remains under researched due to two notable challenges: first, absence of conceptual underpinnings between consumers' writing style and recommendation behavior. Second, little knowledge about the role of product characteristics underlying fake reviews and their influence on nudging product preferences. Through the lens of environmental psychology, this study uses an empirical investigation utilizing natural language processing (NLP) to uncover latent product-specific features underlying customer reviews and their impact on persuading buying preferences. As a major finding, we observe that characteristics underlying fake reviews, as opposed to genuine ones, fail to influence product recommendation or discouragement. Accordingly, we suggest firms permitting fake reviews on their portals to be aware of the limited economic advantages of such practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As design policies and national design strategies are becoming more prevalent in developed countries, there is a clear nudge to governments' improved understanding on the positive value of design and design-led economies. This new context of support and awareness is developing in contrast to the reality that some regional areas continue to operate in troubled economies and societies that place design at the bottom of its priorities for policy making. As a devolved government that operates within the UK, Northern Ireland (NI) has elements of socio-economic deprivation and a troubled history of conflict. While wider research indicates it has the weakest design economy in the UK, there is limited understanding or identification for the reasons behind it. This research uses a grounded theory approach to observe the culture nuances (tacit habits, behaviors, and perceptions) amongst the NI design community and builds a framework of ten recommendations that can inform policymakers towards considering a policy for design in the region. It exposes a design culture that is insular yet resilient and reveals broader perceptions of a society and government that both undervalues and misunderstands design. While most policy labs build upon participatory, collaborative and co-design methods to engage with stakeholders, this research uses grounded theory and inductive reasoning to develop a theory from within a design community, laying the foundations for policy making to begin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the concept of personalized behavioral regulation, specifically focusing on personalized nudges as a form of personalized law. It discusses the potential effectiveness of personalized behavioral interventions, highlighting the role of individual differences in behavior and rationality. The article provides examples of studies that have used digital footprints and machine learning algorithms to personalize nudges and increase their effectiveness. However, it also acknowledges the challenges and potential drawbacks of personalized digital nudges, such as negative consequences and the risk of regulators nudging too powerfully. The article concludes that while personalized digital nudges have benefits, careful consideration is needed to ensure they do not impose private and social costs. [Extracted from the article]

The Covid-19 pandemic has increased the pressure on organizations to ensure health and safety in the workplace. An increasing number of organizations are considering wearables and physiolytics devices as part of their safe return to work programs so as to comply with governments' accountability rules. As with other technologies with ambivalent use (i.e., simultaneously beneficial and harmful), the introduction of these devices in work settings is met with skepticism. In this context, nudging strategies as a way of using design, information, and other ways to manipulate behaviors (system 1 nudge) and choices (system 2 nudge) has gained traction and is often applied alongside the introduction of ambivalent technologies with the aim to "nudge" their use. While the feasibility of different nudge strategies is often studied from only a managerial perspective, where employees' volitional autonomy and dignity is often treated as secondary, we explore which nudges are acceptable from the perspectives of ordinary workers. Using Q-methodology as a more evolutionary and participatory way to design nudges, we describe five basic strategies that are (to varying degrees) acceptable to them: (a) positive reinforcement and fun, (b) controlling the organizational environment, (c) self-responsibility, (d) collective responsibility, and (e) adapting the individual environment. Our findings show that there is a wide range of viewpoints on what is being considered an acceptable nudge and stress the importance of a transparent, equal dialogue between those who design nudges and potential nudgees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nudging is a popular and influential approach in policymaking. Yet, it has faced substantial criticism from several policy perspectives, with growing concern raised about the efficacy of some nudge interventions. This article offers an evaluative framework for nudging which captures these various perspectives. Our 4S framework highlights the importance of nudges being sufficient, scalable, and subjective, in addition to being statistically significant, to be an effective policy response. We review various nudge interventions, coupled with various methodological critiques, to demonstrate the need for a more expansive evaluative framework. The 4S framework synthesizes these sizeable literatures and numerous critiques to meet this need, serving as an important contribution to behavioral policymakers. We argue that the 4S framework complements existing frameworks for designing behavioral interventions as an evaluative framework. By adopting the 4S framework, policymakers will be better placed to design interventions which are effective in relation to the wider policy environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]