Influencing Sustainable Consumption through Persuasive Agent Design

Although a favorable disposition towards sustainable consumption has been gaining momentum, it fails to materialize into action. This study illustrates how IS design can influence sustainable consumption through the inclusion of persuasive agents. Building on Fogg’s behavioral model for persuasive technology design, we designed a persuasive shopping agent that differentially ‘nudges’ users to purchase sustainable products according to their motivational level towards sustainable consumption. Specifically, we designed a ‘spark’ shopping agent that motivates cynical consumers by highlighting the benefits and corresponding risks of sustainable consumption, and a ‘signal’ shopping agent that simply reminds the caring and sustainable consumers of the availability of sustainable product options. Through a between-subject experiment, we confirm the effectiveness of both agents, although our study finds that users already active in sustainable consumption are not affected by persuasive agent design. Our findings have significant contributions and implications for both research and practice around Green IS design