Nudging in the Online Environment

Abstract

Nudging has received increased attention in science during the last couple of years. Wageningen University & Consultancy Schuttelaar & Partners distinguished three nudging strategies: environmental signals, social norms and group behavior. As these strategies are mainly tested in physical environments, this thesis contributes to literature by exploring the effects of nudging strategies on willingness to buy in an online setting. Having defined the principal research question, various steps have been followed. An experiment was set up in which respondents (N=251) were divided into four different treatment groups. All treatment groups filled out the same survey except for one condition, the picture. Three treatment groups got to see a picture in which one specific nudging strategy is applied, whereas one treatment group got to see a neutral picture without a strategy. This experiment was based on a case study at the company Yex. The results of this study indicate that nudging strategies do not affect willingness to buy in an online environment, since this is determined by aggregating multiple aspects (type of product, personal characteristics, etc.). Also no relationship is found between nudging strategies and expected happiness.

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