The Dynamics of Behavior Change: Evidence from Energy Conservation

In this paper, we use information-based strategy to motivate consumer decision-making about household energy conservation. Our results, based on a large field experiment, show that tailored information disclosures about the environmental and health implications of household electricity use can be very salient with residential consumers and lead to more lasting behavioral effects versus framing based on cost savings. Our results have important managerial implications as they indicate the conditions under which managers can use information-based environmental strategies effectively.