One Size Does Not Fit All: Gender-Targeted Nudges for Sustainable Consumer Behavior
(A2026-132774)

AUTHORS

Lukas Miedzinski, University of Mannheim; Sabine Kuester, University of Mannheim; Aleksandar Blečić, Copenhagen Business School

ABSTRACT

Individual purchase behavior plays a key role in advancing sustainable patterns of production and consumption, and nudges are widely used to promote greener choices. Yet their effectiveness is often limited by a one-size-fits-all approach that overlooks consumer differences. Across four studies, we test a targeted nudge strategy based on gender-specific responses. Men consistently respond more favorably to intuitive, System 1 nudges, whereas women respond more favorably to deliberative, System 2 nudges. A single-paper meta-analysis confirms this interaction between gender and nudge type, and an exploratory mediation analysis suggests that need for cognition and moral identity help explain these differences. Tailoring nudge type to gender substantially increased sustainable choices, highlighting the value of targeted nudging in consumer sustainability interventions.