Roel van Veldhuizen

Senior lecturer

Public Discourse, Norm Adherence, and Socially Responsible Behavior

Author

Iker Arregui Alegria
Gunes Gokmen
Roel van Veldhuizen

Summary, in English

This paper examines the causal effect of public discourse in one or both sides of the market on overall market socially responsible behavior. In a laboratory setting, we vary whether firms and/or consumers participate in a public discussion before trading begins. When both sides take part, the share of socially responsible trades increases slightly; however, when only one side participates, market social responsibility does not improve relative to a no-discourse control. These findings suggest that campaigns aiming to foster socially responsible conduct must engage all sides of the market to achieve meaningful impact. We also provide evidence that the effectiveness of public discourse will be limited when participants prioritize profits over norm adherence.

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