Abstract
This paper reports results from three consecutive studies focusing on the comparison of the effectiveness of different nudges and their combinations to increase sustainable food choices out of the home. The nudges compared are the use of descriptive name labels (DNLs) for the most sustainable dish of a choice set (menu) and the decoy effect (DE), created by adding a less attractive decoy dish to a more attractive target dish with the goal of increasing the choice frequency of the target dish. In the literature, both nudges have been found to influence consumers’ choices. In the first study, six category names of sustainability indicators were deduced from a focus group. These were tested with 100 students to identify the most attractive DNLs. Study II, a randomized choice study (n = 420), tested the DE, the DNLs and a combination of the DNLs and the DE used on four different dishes in a university canteen. In study III, 820 guests of a business canteen voted during four weeks for the special meals of the following week (identical to the four choice sets displayed in study II). Results indicate that the combination of DNLs and the DE is not recommended for fostering sustainable food choices. Pure DNLs were more efficient in increasing the choice frequency of the more sustainable meal, whereas the decoy effect resulted in decreased choice frequencies. Regional and sustainable DNLs were favoured by consumers.
Highlights
The out-of-home catering (OOHC) sector is a rapidly growing market in Germany with growth rates of about three to four percent per year [1–4]
Results indicate that the combination of descriptive name labels (DNLs) and the decoy effect (DE) is not recommended for fostering sustainable food choices
Pure DNLs were more efficient in increasing the choice frequency of the more sustainable meal, whereas the decoy effect resulted in decreased choice frequencies
Summary
The out-of-home catering (OOHC) sector is a rapidly growing market in Germany with growth rates of about three to four percent per year [1–4]. Employing the concept of nudging, this paper looks at consumers’ food choices in education and business catering settings with the goal of fostering sustainable OOHC transformation. We opted to close this gap by combining and comparing two nudging interventions with the aim of increasing choice frequencies of sustainable dishes in OOHC. The nudges we combine and compare are (i) descriptive name labels (DNL), commonly referred to as food names, and (ii) the attraction effect or decoy effect (DE). The research aim is to assess the effectiveness of a combination of the decoy effect (DE) and descriptive name labels to increase consumers’ choice of sustainable dishes. The objective of study II is to assess the effectiveness of DNLs in combination with the DE versus their single nudging variants in a university canteen setting. Test of the isolated nudges decoy effect (DE) and DNLs, as well as the combination DNLs and DE
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