Adjusting the Warm-Glow Thermostat: How Incentivizing Participation in Voluntary Green Programs Moderates Their Impact on Service Satisfaction

Abstract

In Study 1, the authors find that people are more satisfied with a service experience when they choose to participate in the provider's voluntary green program (e.g., recycling)—an effect mediated by the “warm glow” of participation. The downside, however, is that this same mechanism decreases satisfaction among people who choose not to participate. In Study 2, analysis of data from the J.D. Power Guest Satisfaction Index suggests that incentivizing the program (i.e., compensating the program participants) paradoxically increases satisfaction for those who do not participate but decreases satisfaction among those who do. Studies 3 and 4 explore how manipulating incentive characteristics might enable managers to maximize satisfaction for both groups. Study 3 indicates that, compared with no incentive, an “other-benefiting” incentive increases warm glow and satisfaction for green program participants but decreases them among nonparticipants. Study 4, however, suggests that mixed incentive bundles (i.e., providing both self-benefiting and other-benefiting options) maximize warm glow and satisfaction for both groups—the ideal outcome for managers.

The Dark Side of Stakeholder Reactions to Corporate Social Responsibility: Tensions and Micro‐level Undesirable Outcomes

“…Research pertaining to these tensions is relatively scarce though. Giebelhausen et al (2016) address the positive feeling (warm glow) that consumers often experience when engaging in prosocial behavior (e.g. recycling, reusing towels in a hotel) and how incentives might influence such prosocial behaviors.…”

Environmentalism—A Question of Guilt? Testing a Model of Guilt Arousal and Effects for Environmental Campaigns

“…Aiming at conservation or damage control, environmental campaigns mainly involve anticipatory guilt. More specifically, with respect to pro-environmental behaviors, feelings of guilt are assumed to be an important predictor of moral norms and facilitate positive attitudes toward different forms of pro-environmental behavior (Bamberg & Möser, 2007;Giebelhausen, Chun, Cronin, & Hult, 2016). While sustainability guilt has been discussed in the context of sustainable consumption behavior-or the lack thereof (Jayaratne, Sullivan Mort, & D'Souza, 2015), this concept can also be applied to environmental or sustainable behavior in general.…”

Bridging market demand, proactivity, and technology competence with eco‐innovations: The moderating role of innovation openness

“…Third, this study concentrates on service firms pursuing ecoinnovations with an openness perspective. Today, corporations focus on the processes of serving rather than on output in the form of product offerings; that is, firms deliver value to stakeholders by creating experiences through which stakeholders are exposed to the processes right from the raw materials' input to final production (Giebelhausen et al, 2016). This study highlights the views that eco-innovation should take into consideration in service corporations.…”

“…Today, corporations focus on the processes of serving rather than on output in the form of product offerings; that is, firms deliver value to stakeholders by creating experiences through which stakeholders are exposed to the processes right from the raw materials' input to final production (Giebelhausen et al, 2016). Today, corporations focus on the processes of serving rather than on output in the form of product offerings; that is, firms deliver value to stakeholders by creating experiences through which stakeholders are exposed to the processes right from the raw materials' input to final production (Giebelhausen et al, 2016).…”

“…Despite the growing body of service innovation studies (e.g., Lusch & Nambisan, 2015;Ordanini & Parasuraman, 2011), the literature has received scant consideration on the environmental effects of eco-innovation on service corporations. Specifically, value co-creation is a leading management objective for service corporations and a key concern for sustainability initiatives and has recently become particularly important (Giebelhausen, Chun, Cronin, & Hult, 2016). Consequently, this study focused on service firms, using a database of 7,398 service companies across different industries (SIC codes 45-82).…”