Promoting Sustainable Consumption: Field Evidence and Novel Methods
(A2026-133016)

AUTHORS

Shuangyuan Wei, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University; Johanna Palcu, Vienna University of Economics and Business; Sjoukje Goldman, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences; Sophie Berghueser, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

ABSTRACT

The session features field experiments and novel methods for understanding and promoting pro-environmental consumption. Using field experiments, Palcu et al. (2025), Wei et al. (2025), and Thürridl et al. (2025) offer real-world evidence that their theory-based interventions effectively encourage sustainable behaviors. Employing the latest Natural Language Processing and Computer Vision methods, Wei et al. (2025) and Berghueser et al. (2025) extract relevant insights from unstructured data for sustainable consumption. How to encourage pro-environmental behavior: Make it fun! Johanna Palcu, Lukas Maier, Martin Schreier Climate change is a significant challenge for our society. We ask whether a serious problem like climate change can be tackled by utilizing a less serious intervention: Fun. Specifically, we conjecture that embedding pro-environmental decisions within a challenge may add enjoyment to the activity and increase individuals’ likelihood to adopt the focal behavior since adding elements of fun may increase immediate intrinsic benefits for the self. A longitudinal field study (n = 4,184) three behavioral experiments (n = 2,970) and two large-scale field experiments (n = 306,493) support our theorizing. We care about what you care about: Using reason-specific interventions to encourage sustainable choices Shuangyuan Wei, Antonia Krefeld-Schwalb, Sebastian Gabel We study consumers’ mental representation of sustainable behavior across various situations. Using a large language model, we identified relevant reasons for sustainable behaviors from open-ended responses. Further, we found reasons for sustainable behavior can be specific to a situation or generally relevant across situations. In a longitudinal field experiment, we found only situation-specific intervention messages significantly reduced meat and dairy consumption. Our results demonstrate how to develop effective interventions by examining mental representations of the target behavior. Computer Vision-Based Product Verification in Online Resale Markets Sophie M. Berghueser, Martin Spann, Dr. Online resale markets promote more efficient use of product resources by extending product life cycles. However, counterfeits pose a substantial risk to potential buyers. We propose a computer vision-based verification process that leverages user-generated product images commonly available in resale listings and compiles image-level outputs into an interpretable verification metric. Applied to real-world data, we find substantial variation in the quantity and type of verifiable product cues in current listings. Our findings have important implications for promoting sustainable consumption through online resale markets. How Partitioned Pricing Boosts Acceptance of True Prices: The Roles of Transparency and Trust Carina Thürridl, Sjoukje Goldman, Jesse Weltevreden True pricing makes the full social and environmental costs of products visible, yet consumer acceptance remains limited. This research tests how partitioned vs. consolidated price formats shape transparency perceptions, trust, and willingness to pay the true price. Across one field experiment and three lab studies, it shows that partitioned true price displays increase voluntary payment by boosting perceived transparency and trust. These findings offer guidance for communicating true prices in effective ways.