IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-04689730.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Carbon footprint tracking apps: The spillover effects of feedback and goal-activating appeals

Author

Listed:
  • W. Lasarov

    (Audencia Business School)

  • S. Hoffmann
  • R. Mai
  • J. Schleich

Abstract

Innovative information technology such as a Carbon Footprint Tracking App can contribute to achieve global climate targets like the 2°C target of the Paris Agreement. This is particularly relevant for countries with strong socio-economic development, which often have high individual carbon footprints but also possess the technological advancements to help mitigate these emissions. This paper explores how carbon footprint feedback and goal-oriented appeals affect consumers' carbon emissions. Focusing on interventions in the food and mobility domains, this research distinguishes the impact of self-related and society-related goals across these focal domains and examines spillover effects on heating and other household activities. Using a Carbon Footprint Tracking App in a longitudinal experimental study with 210 participants over three waves, the following key findings emerge. First, goal activation affects carbon emissions differently across consumption domains. Second, while the obtained evidence points to spillover across domains, the appeals' effectiveness within the same domain is contingent on individual goal prioritization. In particular, behavioral interventions need to target specific goals within each domain, particularly normative and moral goals in the food domain, and hedonic and cost-related goals in the mobility domain.

Suggested Citation

  • W. Lasarov & S. Hoffmann & R. Mai & J. Schleich, 2024. "Carbon footprint tracking apps: The spillover effects of feedback and goal-activating appeals," Post-Print hal-04689730, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04689730
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108354
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04689730v1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-04689730v1/document
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108354?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Farrow, Katherine & Grolleau, Gilles & Ibanez, Lisette, 2017. "Social Norms and Pro-environmental Behavior: A Review of the Evidence," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 1-13.
    2. Béatrice Parguel & Florence Benoît-Moreau & Fabrice Larceneux, 2011. "How Sustainability Ratings Might Deter "Greenwashing": A Closer Look at Ethical Corporate Communication," Post-Print halshs-00561187, HAL.
    3. Béatrice Parguel & Florence Benoît-Moreau & Fabrice Larceneux, 2011. "How Sustainability Ratings Might Deter ‘Greenwashing’: A Closer Look at Ethical Corporate Communication," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 15-28, August.
    4. J. W. Bolderdijk & L. Steg & E. S. Geller & P. K. Lehman & T. Postmes, 2013. "Comparing the effectiveness of monetary versus moral motives in environmental campaigning," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 3(4), pages 413-416, April.
    5. Coad, Alex & de Haan, Peter & Woersdorfer, Julia Sophie, 2009. "Consumer support for environmental policies: An application to purchases of green cars," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(7), pages 2078-2086, May.
    6. Stuart Capstick & Lorraine Whitmarsh & Wouter Poortinga & Nick Pidgeon & Paul Upham, 2015. "International trends in public perceptions of climate change over the past quarter century," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 6(1), pages 35-61, January.
    7. Hunt Allcott & Judd B. Kessler, 2019. "The Welfare Effects of Nudges: A Case Study of Energy Use Social Comparisons," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(1), pages 236-276, January.
    8. Cudjoe, Dan & Zhu, Bangzhu & Wang, Hong, 2024. "The role of incentive policies and personal innovativeness in consumers' carbon footprint tracking apps adoption in China," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    9. Jouni Paavola, 2001. "Towards Sustainable Consumption: Economics and Ethical Concerns for the Environment in Consumer Choices," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(2), pages 227-248.
    10. Farjam, Mike & Nikolaychuk, Olexandr & Bravo, Giangiacomo, 2019. "Experimental evidence of an environmental attitude-behavior gap in high-cost situations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 1-1.
    11. Arnold Tukker, 2006. "Identifying Priorities for Environmental Product Policy," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 10(3), pages 1-4, July.
    12. Jacksohn, Anke & Tovar Reaños, Miguel Angel & Pothen, Frank & Rehdanz, Katrin, 2023. "Trends in household demand and greenhouse gas footprints in Germany: Evidence from microdata of the last 20 years," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    13. Stuart Capstick & Lorraine Whitmarsh & Wouter Poortinga & Nick Pidgeon & Paul Upham, 2015. "International trends in public perceptions of climate change over the past quarter century," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 6(4), pages 435-435, July.
    14. Schill, Marie & Godefroit-Winkel, Delphine & Diallo, Mbaye Fall & Barbarossa, Camilla, 2019. "Consumers’ intentions to purchase smart home objects: Do environmental issues matter?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 176-185.
    15. Farrow, Katherine & Grolleau, Gilles & Ibanez, Lisette, 2017. "Social Norms and Pro-environmental Behavior: A Review of the Evidence," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 1-13.
    16. Laurel Evans & Gregory R. Maio & Adam Corner & Carl J. Hodgetts & Sameera Ahmed & Ulrike Hahn, 2013. "Self-interest and pro-environmental behaviour," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 3(2), pages 122-125, February.
    17. repec:dau:papers:123456789/4687 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Allcott, Hunt, 2011. "Social norms and energy conservation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(9-10), pages 1082-1095, October.
    19. Hoffmann, Stefan & Lasarov, Wassili & Reimers, Hanna, 2022. "Carbon footprint tracking apps. What drives consumers' adoption intention?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    20. Hunt Allcott & Todd Rogers, 2014. "The Short-Run and Long-Run Effects of Behavioral Interventions: Experimental Evidence from Energy Conservation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(10), pages 3003-3037, October.
    21. Santarius, Tilman & Soland, Martin, 2018. "How Technological Efficiency Improvements Change Consumer Preferences: Towards a Psychological Theory of Rebound Effects," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 414-424.
    22. Allcott, Hunt, 2011. "Social norms and energy conservation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(9), pages 1082-1095.
    23. Marie Schill & Delphine Godefroit-Winkel & Mbaye Fall Diallo & Camilla Barbarossa, 2019. "Consumers’ intentions to purchase smart home objects: Do environmental issues matter?," Post-Print hal-02091348, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Schleich, Joachim & Alsheimer, Sven, 2024. "The relationship between willingness to pay and carbon footprint knowledge: Are individuals willing to pay more to offset their carbon footprint if they learn about its size and distance to the 1.5 °C," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    2. Heinz, Nicolai & Koessler, Ann-Kathrin, 2021. "Other-regarding preferences and pro-environmental behaviour: An interdisciplinary review of experimental studies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    3. Castro-Santa, Juana & Drews, Stefan & Bergh, Jeroen van den, 2023. "Nudging low-carbon consumption through advertising and social norms," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    4. Christian Cordes & Joshua Henkel, 2022. "Enhanced "Green Nudging": Tapping the Channels of Cultural Transmission," Bremen Papers on Economics & Innovation 2208, University of Bremen, Faculty of Business Studies and Economics.
    5. Audronė Minelgaitė & Genovaitė Liobikienė, 2021. "Changes in pro-environmental behaviour and its determinants during long-term period in a transition country as Lithuania," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(11), pages 16083-16099, November.
    6. Itzhak Rasooly & Roberto Rozzi, 2022. "Masks, Cameras, and Social Pressure," Working Papers hal-03892947, HAL.
    7. Andor, Mark A. & Gerster, Andreas & Peters, Jörg, 2022. "Information campaigns for residential energy conservation," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    8. Stefano Carattini & Simon Levin & Alessandro Tavoni, 2019. "Cooperation in the Climate Commons," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 13(2), pages 227-247.
    9. Peter Howley & Neel Ocean, 2022. "Can nudging only get you so far? Testing for nudge combination effects," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 49(5), pages 1086-1112.
    10. Hoffmann, Stefan & Lasarov, Wassili & Reimers, Hanna, 2022. "Carbon footprint tracking apps. What drives consumers' adoption intention?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    11. Zehui, Zhao, 2023. "Pro-Environmental Behavior and Actions: Review of current theories and agenda for future research," SocArXiv p27hb, Center for Open Science.
    12. Botao Qin & Haoyan Chen, 2022. "Does the nudge effect persist? Evidence from a field experiment using social comparison message in China," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(3), pages 689-703, July.
    13. Neckermann, Susanne & Turmunkh, Uyanga & van Dolder, Dennie & Wang, Tong V., 2022. "Nudging student participation in online evaluations of teaching: Evidence from a field experiment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    14. Witt, Ulrich, 2021. "Does sustainability-promoting policy making reduce our welfare?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    15. Penelope Buckley & Daniel Llerena, 2022. "Nudges and peak pricing: A common pool resource energy conservation experiment," Post-Print hal-03765755, HAL.
    16. Ho, Thong Quoc & Nie, Zihan & Alpizar, Francisco & Carlsson, Fredrik & Nam, Pham Khanh, 2022. "Celebrity endorsement in promoting pro-environmental behavior," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 68-86.
    17. Chiradip Chatterjee & Nafisa Halim & Pallab Mozumder, 2021. "Emission Tax, Health Insurance, and Information: A Mechanism Design for Reducing Energy Consumption and Emission Risk," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 5(3), pages 465-480, October.
    18. Rasooly, Itzhak & Rozzi, Roberto, 2024. "Masks, cameras and social pressure," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    19. Dominik Bär & Stefan Feuerriegel & Ting Li & Markus Weinmann, 2023. "Message framing to promote solar panels," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    20. Itzhak Rasooly & Roberto Rozzi, 2022. "Masks, Cameras, and Social Pressure," SciencePo Working papers hal-03892947, HAL.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Sustainable consumption; carbon footprint; self-tracking; goal framing; spillover effects;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04689730. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.