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Who Cares about Social Image?

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  • Jana Friedrichsen
  • Dirk Engelmann

Abstract

This paper experimentally investigates how concerns for social approval relate to intrinsic motivations to purchase ethically. Participants state their willingness-to-pay for both a fair trade and a conventional chocolate bar in private or publicly. A standard model of social image predicts that all increase their fair trade premium when facing an audience. We find that the premium is higher in public than in private only for participants who preferred a conventional over a fair trade chocolatebar in a pre-lab choice. This is captured by a generalized model where intrinsic preferences and the concern for social approval are negatively correlated.

Suggested Citation

  • Jana Friedrichsen & Dirk Engelmann, 2017. "Who Cares about Social Image?," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1634, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1634
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Image concerns; ethical consumption; fair trade; social approval; crowding out; experiments;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis

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