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Public Discourse, Norm Adherence, and Socially Responsible Behavior

Arregui Alegria, Iker LU ; Gokmen, Gunes LU and van Veldhuizen, Roel LU orcid (2025) In Working Papers
Abstract
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... (More)
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. (Less)
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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Working paper/Preprint
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Public Discourse, Externalities, Social Responsibility, Experiment, C92, D62, D83, M14
in
Working Papers
issue
2025:10
pages
69 pages
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
323f67e0-eef5-4774-bb71-4df722c4e5f1
date added to LUP
2025-11-25 11:35:13
date last changed
2025-12-15 10:14:35
@misc{323f67e0-eef5-4774-bb71-4df722c4e5f1,
  abstract     = {{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.}},
  author       = {{Arregui Alegria, Iker and Gokmen, Gunes and van Veldhuizen, Roel}},
  keywords     = {{Public Discourse; Externalities; Social Responsibility; Experiment; C92; D62; D83; M14}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Working Paper}},
  number       = {{2025:10}},
  series       = {{Working Papers}},
  title        = {{Public Discourse, Norm Adherence, and Socially Responsible Behavior}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/235899220/WP25_10_v2.pdf}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}