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The purpose of this paper is to review the possible contribution of “nudging” as a tactic and “form” of exchange and suggest two new frameworks to aid in the description of four “forms” of exchange and “types” of intervention that can be used in social marketing.

Discursive review of the contemporary impact of liberal paternalistic thinking on policy and operational delivery of social change programmes. The paper also considers the tensions within social marketing regarding voluntary and involuntary change including the use of incentives and disincentives in social change programmes and presents a model that seeks to describe the range of options available.

It is concluded that in addition to restricted, generalised and complex exchanges, as defined by Bagozzi there are basically four basic “forms” of exchange that can be used by governments and public institutions who apply a marketing approach to brining about positive social change. These “forms” of exchange includes “nudging” but also other legitimate “forms” of exchange that can be called “shoving”, “ hugging” and “smacking”. It is further suggested that together with these four “forms” of exchange there are five basic “types” of intervention that can be used to bring about change, these two elements can all be brought together in a proposed intervention matrix. The paper makes the case that a key advantage of adopting a marketing mind‐set (i.e. one that is driven by consumer‐centric thinking and based on the creation of value) in the selection of “forms” of exchange and “types” of intervention is that the selected mix will be much more likely to bring about the socially desired change because it is informed by the preferences and consent of the majority of citizens.

This paper does not explicitly address the nature of social marketing. A position is taken that social marketing is what Gallie has defined as an “essentially contested concept ” and what Peters would term a “field of study”. This means that social marketing will by its nature just like many other fields of endeavour be subject to continuous debate and development. Consequently, in adopting this position, the paper tacitly accepts a broad and inclusive definition of social marketing. The proposed exchange matrix and intervention matrix, together with the deCIDES framework outlined in the paper need to be tested to discover if these models have utility in being able to accommodate existing social marketing practice and inform the selection of future social marketing programmes.

If the models set out in this paper prove to have descriptive utility, they may prove to be a useful additional conceptual and practical planning tool for those involved in applying marketing interventions directed at social issues at the policy, strategy, tactical and operational levels of practice.

This paper sets out three conceptual models, two of which have not been published before. The models and the accompanying commentary will add to the debate about the scope of what legitimately constitutes the “operational territory” of social marketing both in terms of up‐ and down‐stream activity and interventions that span both voluntary and involuntary change.

The global food waste and food scarcity paradox is steadfastly increasing. This study aims to examine the effects of digital nudging as forms of positive and negative reinforcement to change food waste behavior and found that nudging positive reinforcement modifies this habit.

A field experiment was conducted on 628 diners randomly split into experiment (n = 412) and control group (n = 216) in two separate dining locations over four weeks. Out of these, 412 diners were randomly subjected to tent cards with positive (n = 228) and negative (n = 184) reinforcement nudging and completed a questionnaire to ascertain if nudging affects their consumption behavior. Consumption waste per unit revenue was calculated from all 628 diners individually to analyze the financial impact between control and experiment groups.

SEM analysis reveals that positive reinforcement mediates between external motivators (social media and restaurant service) and reduction of food waste behavior. Further analysis also reveals that nudging has a higher three times effect on reducing food waste as compared with no nudging (control).

Positive messaging encourages behavior change more effectively as compared to negative ones. Gentle reminders of how everyone can personally be a “warrior” or “hero” in the fight against global food waste increases the likelihood of altruistic motivation in tackling these issues.

This study demonstrates how positive reinforcement in the form of nudges acts as key mediator to support reduction of consumer food waste on site, ultimately helping to reduce financial costs compared to those without nudges.

The purpose of this paper was to address one of Spotswood et al.’s (2012) “uncomfortable questions”. The paper applies negative option marketing, the use of defaults as a behavioral engineering tool to shape choice, to social marketing and then uses the Hunt-Vitell (1986, 1993, 2006) Theory of Marketing Ethics to evaluate it against President Kennedy’s (1962) Consumer Bill of Rights and the American Marketing Association’s (2014) statement of marketing ethics.

A conceptual assessment of the ethics of negative option social marketing (NOSM) using the Hunt-Vitell (1986, 1993, 2006) Theory of Marketing Ethics as the evaluative framework.

When assessed using the Hunt-Vitell (1986, 1993, 2006) Theory of Marketing Ethics, NOSM possesses neither ethically sound means nor socially desirable ends.

This paper contributes to the emerging debate on the use of nudges in a social marketing context and is a partial response to Spotswood et al. (2012).

The U.S. 2009 Tobacco Control Act opened the door for new antismoking policies by giving the Food and Drug Administration broad regulatory authority over the tobacco industry. We develop a behavioral welfare economics approach to conduct cost-benefit analysis of FDA tobacco regulations. We use a simple two-period model to develop expressions for the impact of tobacco control policies on social welfare. Our model includes: nudge and paternalistic regulations; an excise tax on cigarettes; internalities created by period 1 versus period 2 consumption; and externalities from cigarette consumption. Our analytical expressions show that in the presence of uncorrected internalities and externalities, a nudge or a tax to reduce cigarette consumption improves social welfare. In sharp contrast, a paternalistic regulation might either improve or worsen social welfare. Another important result is that the social welfare gains from new policies do not only depend on the size of the internalities and externalities, but also depend on the extent to which current policies already correct the problems. We link our analytical expressions to the graphical approach used in most previous studies and discuss the information needed to complete cost-benefit analysis of tobacco regulations. We use our model as a framework to reexamine the evidence base for strong conclusions about the size of the internalities, which is the key information needed.

Compulsive social media use has the potential to reduce well-being. In this study, the authors propose that there are two main paths to compulsive social media consumption. One is behavioral and based on habit; the other is motivational and rooted in the fear of missing out. This study aims to test the antecedents of these two drivers as well as their consequences for the tendency to engage in compulsive social media consumption.

The authors applied a quantitative research design and collected data through a survey of 600 respondents from a representative sample. The authors used structural equation modeling to test their conceptual model and hypotheses. Gender and age were included as moderators to investigate the model’s boundary conditions.

The authors found support for all the suggested relationships in the conceptual model. The findings indicate two main manifestations of compulsive social media use – always being logged in (i.e. the frequency of social media consumption) and excessive use (the intensity of consumption) – that in turn spurred a reinforcer of compulsivity: disconnection anxiety. The findings also indicate two main paths to compulsive social media consumption. One path is behavioral, based on habit, and the other is motivational, based on fear of missing out. Moreover, the authors identified the key antecedents of both paths. Habit formation was observed to be a function of situational cues (technological nudges in the online sphere) and consumer engagement. Fear of missing out was shaped by both injunctive norms (a consumer norm to be online) and descriptive norms (social proof).

Although the antecedents of compulsive social media consumption suggested in this study have a strong and significant effect, the explained variance in the dependent variables being always logged in and excessive social media use indicates that there might be other drivers as well. These should be explored along with moderators other than gender and age to identify the potential boundary conditions of the model.

The main implications of the present work point to the “ease” with which typical or normal social media use may spiral out of control and become compulsive, with adverse implications for consumer health and well-being.

The behavioral and motivational paths to compulsive social media consumption have been less explored and have not yet been studied in conjunction, nor have their antecedents and consequences. Thus, this is a novel approach to understanding how social media use can potentially lead to reduced control and well-being.

This study aims to present a communication model for promoting value co-creation between citizens and policymakers and to draw out proposals on the rationale in implementing nudge effect as well as key policy implications. The paper also revisits the close relationship between information senders and receivers (citizens) from the perspective of “citizen behaviour change” and focuses on the nudge effect, which strengthens the communication skills of policymakers (information senders) and accelerates the behaviour change of citizens (i.e. the recipients of information). Based on the study, the authors propose a conceptual framework to explain the spontaneous incentive structure of citizens.

This study uses a conceptual discussion based on a literature review. It examines the nudge effect on citizen behaviour based on information and communications models and theories. From critical discussions of literature, it proposes an analytical model that focuses on the nudge effect put forward in behavioural economics and takes into account the importance of measures to increase the sensitivity and empathy of the recipients of information.

The authors revisited the relationship between information senders and receivers from the perspective of citizen behavioural change and focus on the nudge effect, which strengthens the communication power of policymakers and accelerates the behavioural change of citizens (i.e. the recipients of information). According to the study, the authors propose a conceptual framework to explain citizens' spontaneous incentive structure. The dual perspective of policymakers and citizens should be central to the collaboration between citizens and policymakers to enhance the effectiveness of social policies, where the scope and type of value generated and the perspective of social value are essential.

This paper bridges the interdisciplinary research fields of behavioural economics and social policy. It is hoped that the model proposed in this paper will be an effective discussion framework for relevant researchers and practitioners when considering human resource training and system building related to information dissemination. In addition, it is hoped the model will be an effective tool for deepening discussions on topics that help to facilitate information transfer and communication within organisations.

The realisation of policy intentions within the core elements of the social policy process, such as the definition of key objectives, policy mechanisms and legislation, are central elements of policy formation and are said to be highly similar across countries. The framework proposed in this study is a valid resource that can be applied in other countries and can be expected to act an effective guidepost for policy makers and other stakeholders engaged in social policy.

Up to this point, in examinations of encouraging behavioural change in information recipients, attention has been focussed on the aspect of increasing the sender's ability to transmit information. Interventions, such as increasing the energy of the delivery, increasing the frequency and diversifying the media to make a strong impression on the receiver's consciousness, have been considered and implemented. However, this study suggests that, in addition to such efforts on the part of the sender, it is important to increase the sensitivity and affinity of the receiver to the message as preliminary preparation to receiving it.

Escalation in the number of online food ordering platforms, along with extensive junk food marketing, lucrative offers and discounts, innovation in food flavors, and doorstep delivery of food, have triggered the consumption of high-calorie and unhealthy food products which pose serious threats to the health and future well-being of individuals by making them more obese. To date, several public policy frameworks have been developed to confront obesity; however, their efficacy seems debatable. Directionally, the objective of this study is to highlight the potential influence of “digital nudging” which aims at steering individuals in desired directions, at the same time delimiting their freedom of choice. The study also establishes the effectiveness of digital nudges promoting a healthy lifestyle by steering individuals toward healthier food choices. The author strongly believes that this conceptual perusal will offer immense inputs to healthy food marketers and researchers alike in addressing the matters of obesity. Addressing the menace of obesity calls for joint efforts of the government, the public, researchers, and more specifically food product manufacturers/marketers who should incorporate healthier food options into their portfolios. E-tailers are also urged to adopt such practices in virtual markets and promote healthier food options to effectively tackle obesity.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the scope of social marketing by re-examining some of its core concepts: the balance between the “wants” of individuals with the “needs” of society; the nature of exchange; the inclusion of techniques not explicitly considered part of the panoply of marketing; techniques available to social marketing, such as “nudge” style techniques, regulation or behavioural conditioning; the view that behaviour change must be its definitive goal; the ethical and political dimensions of social marketing; and the definition of social marketing.

The authors pose seven questions based on these concepts which they debate.

The authors conclude that a more inclusive view of what constitutes social marketing is required: one that avoids absolutism or defining the field in terms of the tactics it employs. The paper calls for a set of ethical codes which would enable social marketers to better defend approaches that deploy more implicit and strongly persuasive techniques common in the commercial world but unacknowledged in social marketing.

The paper questions some of the settled views of the field, such as the focus on “behaviour change” and the notion of “exchange” and “voluntary” behaviour change. The paper debates the ethical implications of using “invisible” or coercive techniques, and the nature of customer-centricity. The paper also debates the politics of social marketing and encourages debate about interventions which go beyond rational exchange.

This paper aims to fill a gap in the literature of marketing communication by exploring the role of different nudges implemented through advertising and personal selling in enhancing purchase intention and sales of mutual funds in Pakistan.

Data collected by 20 semi-structured individual qualitative interviews in Pakistan were subjected to thematic analysis.

This study reveals the way managers apply different nudges in the form of Islamic beliefs and values in advertising and personal selling to enhance purchase intention and sales of mutual fund products among Muslim customers. Nudges that can be used in marketing communication may include religious cues, religious beliefs, religious values, spiritual elements, halal aspects of investment plans, religious icons and symbols, cultural music and images, appropriateness and correctness of sales messages and communicating halal aspects of mutual funds.

The conclusions are based on findings from a relatively small number of respondents from one investment firm, but they offer an empirical basis for future research on the effect of advertising and personal selling on the sales and purchase intention of mutual fund products in an Islamic society.

This study offers practitioners a better understanding of the marketing communication tools likely to influence consumers’ purchase intention of mutual fund products, with positive implications in creating advertising and sales management in Pakistan.

Despite the prevalence of promoting mutual fund products, little research-based analysis has been available to academics or practitioners.

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to demonstrate an understanding of:

How sustainability messages have diffused into mainstream discourse?

The role of behavioural economics, specifically nudge theory, in encouraging sustainable behaviours.

The visual elements in marketing that support nudge theory.

How businesses are aligning with consumer concern for sustainability to illustrate their ‘wokeness’ to social issues.