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Reminders for voluntary payments might backfire—Evidence from a field study

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  • Feldhaus, Christoph
  • Sobotta, Tassilo
  • Werner, Peter

Abstract

We investigate the effects of reminders for payments in a setting where customers pay on a voluntary basis. A neutral reminder significantly increases customers’ payment probability. However, our study indicates the importance of the exact wording of the reminder. Reminders including additional information do not increase the payment probability further and seem even less effective than the neutral reminder in some cases.

Suggested Citation

  • Feldhaus, Christoph & Sobotta, Tassilo & Werner, Peter, 2018. "Reminders for voluntary payments might backfire—Evidence from a field study," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 133-136.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:171:y:2018:i:c:p:133-136
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2018.07.026
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Field study; Voluntary payments; Reminder; Nudging;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General

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