The potential of digital nudging for communications

About the research project

Title: Steering behavior: The potential of (digital) nudging for corporate communications

Team: Prof. Stefan Stieglitz (University of Potsdam), Sünje Clausen (University of Potsdam)

Project period: February 2021 – Mai 2022

Gently steering user behavior in a certain direction without coercion – the Nudge method, which was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics, is already being used in a targeted manner in health campaigns and e-commerce. Insights into psychology provide clues as to how targeted design can support users in their behavior and decision-making in digital environments. What potential and possible applications does “digital nudging” offer for corporate communications?

The research team presents considerations that communications managers should keep in mind when they want to introduce digital nudging.

Table of content:

• How people make decisions and how the environment influences our decisions
• Theoretical foundations of nudging
• Application areas of digital nudging in corporate communications
• Technical and ethical challenges in implementing digital nudging

Methodology

1. First, literature from the fields of behavioral economics, information systems, and human-computer interaction was reviewed. The research focused on the theoretical basis, models for development as well as empirical studies on possible applications of digital nudging.
2. In the second step, 13 semi-standardized interviews were conducted with experts from corporate communications and related areas (e.g. marketing, human resources) from 11 different companies via Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

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