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Under Pressure! Nudging Electricity Consumption within Firms. Feedback from a Field Experiment

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  • Christophe Charlier, Gilles Guerassimoff, Ankinée Kirakozian, and Sandrine Selosse

Abstract

Many economists and psychologists have studied the impact of nudges on households' pro-environmental behaviors. Interestingly, "private nudges" can be imagined for companies. Yet, studies focusing on nudging employees' energy use are rare. The objective of our paper is to explore this issue with the help of a field experiment conducted at 47 French companies' sites. Using a difference-in-difference methodology, the effects of three nudges on employees' energy conservation are tested. The first nudge, "moral appeal", stresses the responsible use of energy. The second one, "social comparison", informs employees on the energy consumption of other firms participating in the experiment. Finally, the third nudge, "stickers", alerts employees about good energy conservation practices. Our results stress the complementarity of these nudges. When implemented alone, the three nudges have no significant effects on energy consumption. However, when the moral appeal and social comparison nudges are combined with the stickers nudge, they become effective.

Suggested Citation

  • Christophe Charlier, Gilles Guerassimoff, Ankinée Kirakozian, and Sandrine Selosse, 2021. "Under Pressure! Nudging Electricity Consumption within Firms. Feedback from a Field Experiment," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 1), pages 129-154.
    • Handle: RePEc:aen:journl:ej42-1-charlier
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    Cited by:

    1. Adélaïde Fadhuile & Daniel Llerena & Béatrice Roussillon, 2023. "Intrinsic motivation to promote the development of renewable energy: a field experiment from household demand," Working Papers 2023-01, Grenoble Applied Economics Laboratory (GAEL).
    2. Lazaric, Nathalie & Toumi, Mira, 2022. "Reducing consumption of electricity: A field experiment in Monaco with boosts and goal setting," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    3. Nathalie Lazaric & Mira Toumi, 2021. "Boosting Citizens Towards Reduced Energy Consumption: A Field Experiment in the Principality of Monaco," GREDEG Working Papers 2021-17, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    4. Vivek Choudhary & Masha Shunko & Serguei Netessine & Seongjoon Koo, 2022. "Nudging Drivers to Safety: Evidence from a Field Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(6), pages 4196-4214, June.
    5. Kirakozian, Ankinée & Chiappini, Raphaël & Arfaoui, Nabila, 2025. "Nudging employees for greener mobility—A field experiment," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    6. Igei, Kengo & Kurokawa, Hirofumi & Iseki, Masato & Kitsuki, Akinori & Kurita, Kenichi & Managi, Shunsuke & Nakamuro, Makiko & Sakano, Akira, 2024. "Synergistic effects of nudges and boosts in environmental education: Evidence from a field experiment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    7. Belaïd, Fateh & Flambard, Véronique, 2023. "Boosting buildings energy efficiency: The impact of social norms and motivational feedback," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 26-39.
    8. Boqiang Lin & Huanyu Jia, 2023. "The role of peers in promoting energy conservation among Chinese university students," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    9. Llerena, D. & Roussillon, B. & Teyssier, S. & Buckley, P. & Delinchant, B. & Ferrari, J. & Laranjeira, T. & Wurtz, F., 2021. "Demand response in the workplace: A field experiment," Working Papers 2021-01, Grenoble Applied Economics Laboratory (GAEL).
    10. Fanghella, Valeria & D'Adda, Giovanna & Tavoni, Massimo, 2022. "Evaluating the impact of technological renovation and competition on energy consumption in the workplace," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    11. Haicheng Ling & Pierre-Yves Massé & Thibault Rihet & Frédéric Wurtz, 2023. "Realistic Nudging through ICT Pipelines to Help Improve Energy Self-Consumption for Management in Energy Communities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-24, July.
    12. Leonie Decrinis & Wolfgang Freibichler & Micha Kaiser & Cass R. Sunstein & Lucia A. Reisch, 2023. "Sustainable behaviour at work: How message framing encourages employees to choose electric vehicles," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 5650-5668, December.

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    JEL classification:

    • F0 - International Economics - - General

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