Can self-set goals encourage resource conservation? Field experimental evidence from a smartphone app

This study leverages a large RCT to examine the potential of goal-setting nudges to encourage resource conservation at scale. We randomize a feature that allows subjects to set themselves energy consumption targets in a popular smartphone app. We document negative effects of the nudge on app utilization and estimate null effects on energy consumption with confidence intervals that rule out estimates from observational studies. A complementary survey identifies the mechanisms underlying these behavioral responses. Using a structural model and random variation of the app’s price, we estimate that the average user is willing to pay 7.41 EUR to avoid the nudge.

Löschel, Andreas, Matthias Rodemeier and Madeline Werthschulte (2023), Can self-set goals encourage resource conservation? Field experimental evidence from a smartphone app, European Economic Review (EER)