Keywords
renewable energies
authority bias
trust in companies and institutions
Abstract
When it comes to promoting the sustainable behaviors needed to make the energy transition, it has been proven that economic incentives are not always the right ones; incentives from social norms are sometimes much more effective. This paper presents an experiment that tests the effectiveness of social norms in renewable energy procurement. A behavioral economics experiment has been conducted in which it is confirmed that there are biases related to authority and trust based on the explanation and understanding of the complex process by which companies organize the service of distribution of energy from renewable sources. The trust granted by the explanation of the complex supply process is so strong that it exceeds that which can be granted by the inclusion of an external institution that supervises the process.
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