5. E MPIRICAL S TUDY III (P4): A CTIVE AND F ORCED C HOICE FOR
5.6. Summary and Conclusion
In this paper we have reported results from a field experiment on the adoption of “No junk mail” stickers. We have found that people are more likely to use stickers when they are forced to make a fairly simple and reversible decision about using them. It has also been pointed out that forced choice is a preferable option if (1) the intervention is cheap, (2) potential benefits for society are large, (3) potential negative consequences for individual consumers are low, and (4) choices are easily reversible. If all four conditions are met, little can be said against forcing consumers to become explicit about their choices.
It seems an open question, and an interesting task for future research, to develop a test for a finer-grained separation of the status quo bias effect found in our study. It could be useful to differentiate between implied endorsement, social norms, loss aversion, or inertia as distinct mechanisms that might be responsible for consumers’ decisions. Here, we were not able to separate these. In future research, a promising modification could be to change the framing of stickers. Here, we have used an environmentally framed sticker which may not have been appealing for everyone in our sample. Indeed, the low uptake of stickers in some areas of the city whose populations are rather reluctant regarding environmentalism (e.g., Marzahn-Hellersdorf) indicates that framing may be an important factor contributing to success or failure. Research in this direction could provide further insights on personalized defaults. There is a strong notion that social norms and implied endorsement may matter in such instances. Also, it could be helpful to extend the methods employed in this paper for exploring the motivations of consumers in greater detail. Experiments may be combined with qualitative interviews or surveys to learn more about the diverse possible drivers for banning junk mail.
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