Not So Digital After All? A Look at the Nature of Digital Nudging through the Prism of the Digital Object Concept

Digital nudging is an effective way to influence individuals’ behavior when they interact with digital computers. However, scholars only partially discussed how digital technology transforms nudging mechanisms in digital choice environments. Considering the recently proposed research agenda on digital objects, studying the ‘digital’ component of digital nudging can help to understand how the ‘digital’ transforms the phenomenon of nudging and creates new, digital-only methods of influencing individuals’ behavior. This paper investigates the current state of the literature on the context of digital nudging and discusses the role of digital objects in nudging with examples of how digital properties can transform the mechanisms of nudging

Rethinking Digital Nudging: A Taxonomical Approach to Defining and Identifying Characteristics of Digital Nudging Interventions

Digital nudging interventions have emerged as soft-paternalistic mechanisms for reducing heuristic limitations and biases in decision-making environments. Prior research has conceptualized digital nudging interventions as subtle modifications in the decision-making environment that nudge a decision maker towards better choices without limiting other alternatives. The approach has received criticism as researchers have achieved limited consensus on its definition, categorized diverse behavior-modulation methodologies as digital nudging, and raised multiple ethical concerns about it. Such ambiguity reduces fidelity while challenging synthesis, application, and replication. In this paper, we posit the need to broaden the definition of digital nudging interventions, reconcile the inconsistencies, and present a coherent frame. Based on a systematic review of the extant literature, we propose an extended definition that is coherent with the libertarian-paternalistic principle, clarifying the intent of digital nudging interventions, and delineating the nature of the digital artifacts involved. We further present a taxonomy with standard vernacular and label its complex underlying principles and the components that can guide practitioners and researchers

Understanding User Preferences of Digital Privacy Nudges – A Best-Worst Scaling Approach

Digital nudging in privacy has become more important to protect users of information systems while working with privacy-related data. Nudging is about altering a user’s behavior without forbidding any options. Several approaches exist to “nudge” users to change their behavior. Regarding the usage of digital privacy nudges, research still has to understand the meaning and relevance of individual nudges better. Therefore, this paper compares the preferences of users for different digital nudges. To achieve this goal, it presents the results of a so-called best-worst scaling. This study contributes to theory by providing a better understanding of user preferences regarding design variations of digital nudges. We support practitioners by giving implications on how to design digital nudges in terms of user preferences

Follow Me If You Want to Live - Understanding the Influence of Human-Like Design on Users’ Perception and Intention to Comply with COVID-19 Education Chatbots

Following recommendations and complying with behavioral attitudes is one major key in overcoming global pandemics, such as COVID-19. As the World Health Organization (WHO) highlights, there is an increased need to follow hygiene standards to prevent infections and in reducing the risk of infections transmissions (World-Health-Organization, 2021). This urgent need offers new use cases of digital services, such as conversational agents that educate and inform individuals about relevant counter measurements. Specifically, due to the increased fatigue in the population in the context of COVID-19, (Franzen and Wöhner, 2021), CAs can play a vital role in supporting and attaining user’s behavior. We conducted an experiment (n=116) to analyze the effect of a human-like-design CA on the intention to comply. Our results show a significant impact of a human-like design on the perception of humanness, source credibility, and trust, which are all (directly or indirectly) drivers of the intention to comply

Behavioral Design in Online Supermarkets: How Virtual Shopping Cart Functions Impact Sustainable Consumption

In recent years, the negative environmental impact of consumers\u27 dietary habits has become more visible. Accordingly, in-store interventions to promote more sustainable (e.g., organic) food choices have received increased scholarly attention. Thereby, online grocery shopping is gaining momentum as web-applications provide decision support tools such as real-time spending feedback (RSF). Building on budgeting and spending literature, this study provides initial insights on the impact of RSF on consumers’ organic food choices in online supermarkets. Using a free simulation experimental approach, we were able to track participants’ real grocery shopping behavior within a realistic online shopping environment. Within a baseline (no RSF) and an intervention (RSF) condition (between subject design), we show that RSF facilitated participants to stay within their budget and significantly reduced underspending. Somewhat surprisingly in response to the RSF, participants who usually buy fewer organic products purchased significantly more organic food items, both in absolute and relative terms