An experiment on energy-saving competition with socially responsible consumers: opening the black box

We present results from experimental price-setting oligopolies in which green firms undertake different levels of energy-saving investments motivated by public subsidies and demand-side advantages. We find that consumers reveal higher willingness to pay for greener sellers’ products. This observation in conjunction to the fact that greener sellers set higher prices is compatible with the use and interpretation of energy-saving behaviour as a differentiation strategy. However, sellers do not exploit the resulting advantage through sufficiently high price-cost margins, because they seem trapped into “run to stay still” competition. Regarding the use of public subsidies to energy-saving sellers we uncover an undesirable crowding-out effect of consumers’ intrinsic tendency to support green manufacturers. Namely, consumers may be less willing to support a green seller whose energy-saving strategy yields a direct financial benefit. Finally, we disentangle two alternative motivations for consumer’s attractions to pro-social firms; first, the self-interested recognition of the firm’s contribution to the public and private welfare and, second, the need to compensate a firm for the cost entailed in each pro-social action. Our results show the prevalence of the former over the latter.

Designing dietary interventions: a reappraisal of the demographic and socio-economic determinants of dietary choice in the UK

The facilitation of healthier dietary choices by consumers is one of the key elements of the UK Government’s food strategy. Designing and targeting dietary interventions requires a clear understanding of the determinants of dietary choice. Conventional analysis of the determinants of dietary choice has focused on mean response functions which may mask significant differences in the dietary behaviour of different segments of the population. In this paper we use a quantile regression approach to investigate how food consumption behaviour varies amongst UK households in different segments of the population, especially in the upper and lower quantiles characterised by healthy or unhealthy consumption patterns. We find that the effect of demographic determinants of dietary choice on households that exhibit less healthy consumption patterns differs significantly from that on households that make healthier consumption choices. A more nuanced understanding of the differences in the behavioural responses of households making less-healthy eating choices provides useful insights for the design and targeting of measures to promote healthier diets.

The impact of corporate social performance on financial risk and utility: a longitudinal analysis

This study focuses on the wealth-protective effects of socially responsible firm behavior by examining the association between corporate social performance (CSP) and financial risk for an extensive panel data sample of S&P 500 companies between the years 1992 and 2009. In addition, the link between CSP and investor utility is investigated. The main findings are that corporate social responsibility is negatively but weakly related to systematic firm risk and that corporate social irresponsibility is positively and strongly related to financial risk. The fact that both conventional and downside risk measures lead to the same conclusions adds convergent validity to the analysis. However, the risk-return trade-off appears to be such that no clear utility gain or loss can be realized by investing in firms characterized by different levels of social and environmental performance. Overall volatility conditions of the financial markets are shown to play a moderating role in the nature and strength of the CSP-risk relationship.

Market effects of changes in consumers' social responsibility

In a duopoly model of vertical differentiation, we study market equilibrium and the resulting social welfare following an increase in the consumer's willingness to pay (WTP) for products sold by socially responsible manufacturers. Different types of such changes emerge depending on their effects on consumer heterogeneity. We show that, in most cases, increases in the consumers' social consciousness yield higher profits to socially responsible firms and may lead to higher levels of social welfare, provided that the market structure is left unchanged. However, when an increase in the consumer's social consciousness changes the market structure, welfare may fall, while the duopolists' profits rise. The resulting tension between private and social interest calls for a cautious attitude toward information campaigns aimed at increasing the consumer's social consciousness.

Consumption of welfare-friendly food products in Great Britain, Italy and Sweden, and how it may be influenced by consumer attitudes to, and behaviour towards, animal welfare attributes

The interest in animal welfare and welfare-friendly food products has been increasing in Europe over the last 10 years. The media, highlighting traditional farming methods and food scares such as those related to salmonella, bovine spongiform encephalopathy/variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (BSE) and avian influenza, have brought the methods of animal farming to public attention. Concerns about farm animal welfare are reflected in the increase in the number of vegetarians and vegans and an increase in consumers wishing to purchase food which is more animal welfare-friendly. This paper considers consumers’ attitudes to animal welfare and to marketing practices, such as product labelling, welfare grading systems and food assurance marks using comparative data collected in a survey of around 1500 consumers in each of Great Britain, Italy and Sweden as part of the EU-funded Welfare Quality research project. The findings suggest a need for the provision of improved consumer information on the welfare provenance of food using appropriate product labelling and other methods.

Assessing the impact of occupant behaviour on the electricity consumption for lighting and small power in office buildings

Lighting and small power will typically account for more than half of the total electricity consumption in an office building. Significant variations in electricity used by different tenants suggest that occupants can have a significant impact on the electricity demand for these end-uses. Yet current modelling techniques fail to represent the interaction between occupant and the building environment in a realistic manner. Understanding the impact of such behaviours is crucial to improve the methodology behind current energy modelling techniques, aiming to minimise the significant gap between predicted and in-use performance of buildings. A better understanding of the impact of occupant behaviour on electricity consumption can also inform appropriate energy saving strategies focused on behavioural change. This paper reports on a study aiming to assess the intent of occupants to switch off lighting and appliances when not in use in office buildings. Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the assessment takes the form of a questionnaire and investigates three predictors to behaviour individually: 1) behavioural attitude; 2) subjective norms; 3) perceived behavioural control. The paper details the development of the assessment procedure and discusses preliminary findings from the study. The questionnaire results are compared against electricity consumption data for individual zones within a multi-tenanted office building. Initial results demonstrate a statistically significant correlation between perceived behavioural control and energy consumption for lighting and small power

Culture and food: a model of yoghurt consumption in the EU

The completion of the Single European Market was expected to create a large market that would enable firms to capture economies of scale that would in turn result in lower prices to European consumers. These benefits are only likely to be realised if consumers in the various countries of the EU wish to consume the same products and respond to similar marketing strategies (with respect to promotion, distribution etc). This study examines, through a model of yoghurt consumption, whether cultural differences continue to determine food-related behaviour in the EU. The model is derived from the marketing literature and views the consumption decision as the outcome of a multi-stage process in which yoghurt knowledge, attitudes to different yoghurt attributes (such as bio-bifidus, low-fat, organic) and overall attitude towards yoghurt as a product all feed into the frequency with which yoghurt is consumed at breakfast, as a snack and as a dessert. The model uses data collected from a consumer survey in I I European countries and is estimated using probit and ordinal probit methods. The results suggest that important cultural differences continue to determine food-related behaviour in the I I countries of the study. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of chronic and acute fruit and vegetable juice consumption on cardiovascular disease risk factors

Diets low in fruit and vegetables are reportedly responsible for 2.7 million deaths annually from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and certain cancers. A daily fruit and vegetable intake of five 80 g portions is recommended for chronic disease prevention. However, in the UK, average adult consumption is less than three portions. It is suggested that fruit juice should only count as one portion. However, fruit juices are a beneficial source of phytochemicals. The preliminary results of two randomized, controlled, crossover, dietary intervention studies investigating the effects of chronic and acute consumption of fruit and vegetable puree and juice based drinks (FVPJ) on bioavailability, antioxidant status, vascular reactivity, and risk factors for CVD are reported. In the first study, 39 volunteers consumed 200 ml FVPJ, or fruit-flavoured control, daily for six weeks. In the second study, 24 volunteers consumed 400 mL FVPJ, or sugar-matched control, on the morning of the study day. Blood and urine samples were collected throughout both studies and real-time measurements of vascular tone were performed using laser Doppler imaging with iontophoresis. Overall, the studies showed that the fruit and vegetable puree and juice based drink increased dietary phytochemicals. There was a trend towards increased vasodilation following both acute and chronic fruit juice consumption. Measurements of antioxidant status, oxidative stress and other cardiovascular disease risk factors are currently being determined.

A micro-level simulation for the prediction of intention and behaviour

In this contribution we aim at anchoring Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) simulations in actual models of human psychology. More specifically, we apply unidirectional ABM to social psychological models using low level agents (i.e., intra-individual) to examine whether they generate better predictions, in comparison to standard statistical approaches, concerning the intentions of performing a behavior and the behavior. Moreover, this contribution tests to what extent the predictive validity of models of attitude such as the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) or Model of Goal-directed Behavior (MGB) depends on the assumption that peoples’ decisions and actions are purely rational. Simulations were therefore run by considering different deviations from rationality of the agents with a trembling hand method. Two data sets concerning respectively the consumption of soft drinks and physical activity were used. Three key findings emerged from the simulations. First, compared to standard statistical approach the agent-based simulation generally improves the prediction of behavior from intention. Second, the improvement in prediction is inversely proportional to the complexity of the underlying theoretical model. Finally, the introduction of varying degrees of deviation from rationality in agents’ behavior can lead to an improvement in the goodness of fit of the simulations. By demonstrating the potential of ABM as a complementary perspective to evaluating social psychological models, this contribution underlines the necessity of better defining agents in terms of psychological processes before examining higher levels such as the interactions between individuals.

To reduce and not to reduce resource consumption? That is two questions

Recent research shows that because they rely on separate goals, cognitions about not performing a behaviour are not simple opposites of cognitions about performing the same behaviour. Using this perspective, two studies (N = 758 & N = 104) examined the psycho-social determinants of reduction in resource consumption. Results showed that goals associated with reducing versus not reducing resource consumption were not simple opposites (Study 1). Additionally, the discriminant validity of the Theory of Planned Behaviour constructs associated with reducing versus not reducing resource consumption was demonstrated (Study 1 & 2). Moreover, results revealed the incremental validity of both Intentions (to reduce and to not reduce resource consumption) for predicting a series of behaviours (Study 1 & 2). Finally, results indicated a mediation role for the importance of ecological dimensions on the effect of both Intentions on a mock TV choice and a mediation role for the importance of non ecological dimensions on the effect of Intention of not reducing on the same TV choice. Discussion is organized around the consequences, at both theoretical and applied levels, of considering separate motivational systems for reducing and not reducing resource consumption.