Doktorarbeit: Konsumentenpräferenzen und Status Quo Bias

Konsumentenpräferenzen und Status Quo Bias

Eine experimentelle Untersuchung am Beispiel des Elektrizitätsmarktes

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Studien zum Konsumentenverhalten, volume 85

Hamburg , 264 pages

ISBN 978-3-339-11060-2 (print) |ISBN 978-3-339-11061-9 (eBook)

About this book deutschenglish

In a liberalized electricity market all consumers have the chance to opt for any electricity contract. In empirical studies so far a major part of the population agrees on the preference to switch from the current to a new electricity contract that supports renewable energies. The actual switching rates, however, have fallen short of expectations for years. So according to the rational decision theory, assuming that consumers understand and support the benefits of promoting renewable energy, they should choose this alternative. However, it can be shown that consumers tend to stay with the status quo if a change involves additional effort and thus costs. In the methodology of previous studies on consumer preferences, such a status quo bias has not been considered. A laboratory experiment was conducted to find out whether the exogenous determination of an alternative as a status quo in repeated decisions between different alternatives leads to a significantly more frequent choice. Using a modified choice-based conjoint analysis subjects should give insights into their preferences between different electricity contracts. While the subjects in the control group decided freely between the alternatives one option was pre-selected as a status quo in the experimental group. The repeated choices were used to determine part-worth utilities and relative importance for different attribute levels. One of these attributes was the share of renewable energies in the electricity mix. The results demonstrate that there are significant differences between the part-worth utilities and the relative importance of the attributes. Contrary to the assumptions of the theory of rational decision-making, the exogenous determination of a status quo thus influences the decision-making behavior of individuals. An interpretation of these results suggests that economic policy interventions could resolve the existing gap between support for renewable energy in society and actual funding. One form of intervention could be the requirement for electricity providers to switch their base utility contract to a renewable electricity contract, thereby increasing the likelihood that more consumers will remain with this contract. The idea of libertarian paternalism can provide a suitable theoretical construct as to how such governmental interventions can look like while preserving consumer sovereignty.

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