Killing the bill: The interplay of social comparisons and financial information on preferences for electricity-saving behaviors

Using a discrete choice experiment (DCE), we analyze how social comparisons and financial information influence households' preferences and trade-offs among three sustainable electricity demand behaviors: conservation actions, efficiency investments, and purchasing a green power mix. Our results show that while a strong majority favors sustainable behaviors over inaction, both interventions significantly increase the likelihood of choosing inaction. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that this negative effect is driven by households with above-average consumption. Furthermore, our findings highlight conflicting motivational mechanisms, suggesting that financial information within normative messages may crowd out intrinsic motivation