The two major smartphone platforms (Android and iOS) have more than two mil- lion mobile applications (apps) available from their respective app stores, and each store has seen more than 50 billion apps downloaded. Although apps provide desired functionality by accessing users’ personal information, they also access personal information for other purposes (e.g., advertising or profiling) that users may or may not desire. Users can exercise control over how apps access their personal information through permission managers. However, a permission manager alone might not be sufficient to help users manage their app privacy because: (1) privacy is typically a secondary task and thus users might not be motivated enough to take advantage of the permission manager’s functionality, and (2) even when using the permission manager, users often make suboptimal privacy decisions due to hurdles in decision making such as incomplete information, bounded rationality, and cognitive and behavioral biases. To address these two challenges, the theoretical framework of this dissertation is the concept of nudges: “soft paternalistic” behavioral interventions that do not restrict choice but account for decision making hurdles. Specifically, I designed app privacy nudges that primarily address the incomplete information hurdle. The nudges aim to help users make better privacy decisions by (1) increasing users’ awareness of privacy risks associated with apps, and (2) temporarily making privacy the primary task to motivate users to review and adjust their app settings. I evaluated app privacy nudges in three user studies. All three studies showed that app privacy nudges are indeed a promising approach to help users manage their privacy. App privacy nudges increased users’ awareness of privacy risks associated with apps on their phones, switched users’ attention to privacy management, and motivated users to review their app privacy settings. Additionally, the second study suggested that not all app privacy nudge contents equally help users manage their privacy. Rather, more effective nudge contents informed users of: (1) contexts in which their personal information has been accessed, (2) purposes for apps’ accessing their personal information, and (3) potential implications of secondary usage of users’ personal information. The third study showed that user engagement with nudges decreases as users receive repeated nudges. Nonetheless, the results of the third experiment also showed that users are more likely to engage with repeated nudges (1) if users have engaged with previous nudges, (2) if repeated nudges contain new in- formation (e.g., additional apps, not shown in earlier nudges, that accessed sensitive resources), or (3) if the nudge contents of repeated nudges resonate with users. The results of this dissertation suggest that mobile operating system providers should enrich their systems with app privacy nudges to assist users in managing their privacy. Additionally, the lessons learned in this dissertation may inform designing privacy nudges in emerging areas such as the Internet of Things.

It is commonly believed that paternalism is at odds with libertarianism. Recent literature has suggested that there are forms of paternalism which are acceptable to libertarians: namely “nudging”, sometimes even referred to as “libertarian paternalism”. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, to investigate the taxonomical question of how libertarianism, paternalism and nudging relate to each other. Secondly, to investigate whether, and if so when, paternalism is compatible with libertarianism. I argue that any action which is not coercive is compatible with libertarianism. Thus, any non-coercive paternalist action is compatible with libertarianism. I also argue that there are several paternalist action types, such as nudges, informing and incentivizing, which are not coercive, and thus are compatible with libertarianism.

Nudging has received a lot of attention since the concept was introduced in 2008. A nudge is an element in the environment that attracts people's attention and changes their behavior but does so in a way that is not coercive. It is used as a tool to help people make decisions that benefit themselves but also society at large. In Lambohov, an area in Linköping, Sweden, a project called “Hållbara kvarteren i Lambohov” was created with the aim of influencing people to more sustainable choices. In this thesis, a case study of the project is conducted where we examine factors that lead to failed nudges. We analyze why nudging does not work as a tool to influence consumers to more sustainable choices.    We identify three main factors why nudging tools do not give the desired effect. Firstly, the design of the nudge is not well made. Secondly, the incentives are not strong enough to change behavior. Lastly, it is difficult to determine whether a nudging tool has failed or not depending on whether the effects are measured in the short or long term. In addition, we conclude that a so-called pro-self nudge (where the goal is to influence the individual's choice for their own gain) was a strength in the project and works better than the pro-social nudge (intended to benefit society at large). A weakness the study identifies is that the environment in which some of the nudges were placed does not support the behavioral change. Furthermore, no follow-up of the project was done, which makes it difficult to determine whether a behavioral change will be lasting.    Finally, we can state that one factor in the failure of nudging tools is its limitation as a policy tool. All individuals control their own choice and decision-making process. Nudging can function as a complement rather than a substitute for traditional policy instruments, such as regulations and taxes. Based on the results of this study, more regulatory tools may be required to achieve Agenda 2030 and get a carbon-neutral Linköping 2025.

Nowadays, consumers are being exposed to a large selection of food alternatives with an aim of helping with health matters. For that reason, the consumption of healthy food has been increasing among people, but at the same time, the consumption of unhealthy food has expanded. Due to the advanced technology, there is more information available about health, which makes the consumers’ knowledge about diseases caused by their way of living to grow. Simultaneously, there has been studies proving that consumers’ choices do not often resemble their attitudes.  Since consuming healthy food is more popular nowadays, this study had the aim of examining if consumers will choose a grocery store based on different attributes. The study is based on several theories that are the starting point for the study’s research questions which are; Does the selection of healthy food affect consumers’ choice of a grocery store? Does nudging of healthy food affect consumers’ choice of a grocery store? The theories that are used in this study are nudge theory, libertarian paternalism theory, behavioral economics, theory of reasoned action, theory of planned behavior, social marketing theory, choice architecture, cognitive architecture and status quo.  The data was collected through a questionnaire, where different questions had the aim to measure what affects consumers when choosing a grocery store. In total, the study gathered a sample of 136 responses whereas 8 of them were removed from the study as outliers. The outcome of this study is based on two independent variables; healthy food and nudging and one dependent variable; choice of grocery store. These variables are composite variables created from a range of other variables. The composite variable healthy food is created from variables checklist, avoidance of unhealthy/unnecessary food, people’s affection, healthy thinking, food habits, attitude of healthy eating, past purchasing behavior, intention and behavior, same groceries and new groceries. The composite variable nudging is created from variables product placement, memory, product placement affection on consumers’ purchasing behavior and visible healthy food. The dependent variable choice of grocery stores was created from the variables; number of healthy food alternatives, price of healthy food, marketing of healthy food and place of grocery store.  This study was analyzed in the data program STATA where a multiple linear regression was used to test the hypotheses. According to the result from the regression analysis, there is a significant level between healthy food and consumers' choice of grocery stores. In addition to that, the study shows that there is a significant level between nudging and consumers' choice of grocery stores. Thus, the null hypothesis of this study was rejected.

Obesity has become a major issue in advanced societies having serious impacts on various social as well as economic levels. In addition to the personal costs of obesity leading to serious and chronic diseases, obesity projects additional burdens upon society including lack of productivity, often resulting in increased dependence on governmental benefits, as well as increasing health care costs, most of which are paid for by taxes. This phenomenon has become especially prevalent in the United States and the United Kingdom, with both countries attempting to reduce obesity levels with programs that utilize varying levels of paternalism. As the costs to these societies have become unsustainable, both have begun to experiment with behavioral insights to address the faults in their current programs. The resulting policy tool, known as a nudge, focuses on consumers' choice environments that contribute to poor health decisions and reframes the choice structures to intuitively encourage healthier choices. While both countries continue to study the use of nudges to reduce obesity, there are large differences in how each country has utilized nudges as a policy tool. For this large-scale problem and others like it, having the resources to develop policy solutions is not enough to resolve the problem: a country must be able to properly implement the solutions for them to be effective. This paper examines the development of nudging in each country and determines whether their differences in policy application reflect a broader problem of obesity-related policy intervention.

Two psychological variables are of interest in the study of consumers: brand personality perceptions (per social cognition, beliefs that brands exhibit human-like attributes) and nudges (per behavioral economics, an attempt to influence behavioral change that benefits the consumer without taking away their right to choose). However, no known research exists about whether these variables explain behavioral intentions to consume podcasts, specifically. This is relevant because perceptions of mass media brands are historically negative, and consumers increasingly seek out independent media (e.g., Breaking Points). Therefore, this dissertation’s purpose was to use Breaking Points as an example to study the influence of brand personality and nudges on behavioral intentions to subscribe to a podcast. In two survey experiments (total N = 486 United States adults recruited via CloudResearch’s Connect), brand personality perceptions (i.e., sincerity, competence, status) were hypothesized to explain intentions to subscribe. Likewise, those exposed to the potential nudge were expected to report stronger intentions, compared to those unexposed. All participants viewed a description about and a clip from the podcast. Some were also randomly assigned to view a potential nudge from Breaking Points’ YouTube channel. Then, all participants answered questions about the podcast’s brand personality, about intentions to subscribe, and about psychographics. In both experiments, hierarchical regression revealed that brand personality significantly explained behavioral intentions while controlling for potential confounds (average R2 = 40%). The findings provide evidence that brand personality knowledge can expand into podcasts. In contrast, future research should investigate other stimuli that could potentially nudge podcast consumers.

År 2003 publicerade Richard H. Thaler och Cass R. Sunstein två artiklar om en föreslagen policymetod, på svenska kallad libertariansk paternalism, som med hjälp av både öppna och subtilt influerande metoder är tänkt att bistå människor med bättre beslutsfattande, och samtidigt tillfredsställa libertarianska ideal och principer rörande individuell autonomi genom dess avsaknad av tvångsmetoder. Min tes hävdar, såsom flertalet kritiker, att denna föreslagna policymetod och dess praktiska metoder inte klarar av att leva upp till de libertarianska idealen och principerna gällande individuell autonomi, då de trots allt innehåller paternalistiska aspekter av tvång, vilket anses vara anti-libertarianska. Jag argumenterar för att de främsta anledningarna till detta är 1) avsaknaden av medgivande från tilltänkt influerad agent, samt 2) att de utövade metoderna kan anses vara manipulativa och inte respektera en agents originella preferenser. I denna uppsats undersöker jag även om och på vilka grunder manipulation som fenomen kan anses innehålla aspekter av tvång. / In 2003, Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein published two articles presenting a proposed policy method called libertarian paternalism, which with the help of both open and subtly influential methods is intended to assist people with better decision-making, and at the same time satisfy libertarian ideals and principles of individual autonomy through its lack of coercive methods. My thesis argues, like most critics, that this proposed policy method and its practical methods fail to live up to the libertarian ideals and principles of autonomy, as the nevertheless contain paternalistic aspects of coercion, which is considered anti-libertarian. I argue that the main reasons for this are 1) the lack of consent from the intended influenced agent, and 2) that the methods practiced can be considered manipulative and not respect an agent’s original preferences. In this paper, I also examine whether, and on what grounds manipulation as a phenomenon can be considered to include aspects of coercion.

Today, organizations are facing rising costs caused by increased employee sick - leave. A way to motivate employees to choose a healthier lifestyle is for the employer to offer wellness incentives. However, not too many employees are taking advantage of the incentives. According to the Transtheoretical Model of Health Behavior Change (TTM) , people are at different stages in their behavior change process. By knowing their personal obstacles to change, organizations can use nudge management and wellness incentives to help their employees to choose a healthier lifestyle. In order to get some answers, we conducted qualitative interviews at the Swedish Migration Agency. The result of our research showed seven main obstacles, and in this thesis we have explored dif erent nudges organizations can use to promote health and to lower sick - leave.

Dans cette thèse, nous proposons une modélisation de la réaction à un nudge (basé sur l'annonce de la contribution socialement optimale), dans le cadre de la régulation environnementale. Nous comparons l'efficacité de cet instrument à celle d'une taxe. Nous testons les prédictions théoriques obtenues à l'aide d'une expérience en laboratoire. Nous montrons que la réaction à notre nudge dépend de la sensibilité environnementale des sujets, contrairement à la taxe. Dans une autre expérience, nous testons la persistance des effets de ces instruments sur le long terme. Nous considérons également la mise en place d'un instrument mixte (taxe et nudge), afin de faire prendre conscience aux sujets (à l'aide du nudge) qu'ils sont taxés, car leur comportement n'est pas optimal. Dans le dernier chapitre, nous étendons l'analyse précédente en considérant des agents arrangés dans des réseaux fixes, et nous analysons les conséquences de la mise en place de notre nudge sur les équilibres de contribution. / In this thesis, we propose to mode! individuals' reaction to a nudge, based on the announcement of the socially optimal contribution. We want to compare the efficiency of this incentive, with the efficiency of a tax to improve environmental quality. We test the theoretical predictions we obtained in a laboratory experiment. We show that the reaction to our nudge depends on subjects' environmental sensitivity, contrary to the tax. ln a second experiment, we test the existence of persistent effects of these two instruments in the long term. We also consider a mix tool (tax and nudge), to raise subjects' awareness (with the nudge) that they are taxed because their behaviour is not optimal. ln the last chapter, we extend our analysis considering agents arranged in fixed networks. We analyze how the equilibria are shaped under the implementation of our nudge.

Konsumtionen är ett miljöproblem i Sverige och den behöver ställas om mot en mer cirkulär ekonomi. En del av den cirkulära ekonomin är återanvändning. Återanvändning av saker är mer miljöeffektivt än att materialåtervinning. Trots att kommunala återvinningscentraler erbjuder möjlighet att lämna saker till återbruk slängs betydande mängder återanvändbara saker till energiåtervinning. Genom att kombinera tidigare studiers resultat kring nudging och återvinning med förutsättningarna som råder på Gävle återvinningscentral designades 3 nudges. En nudge använder en beskrivande social norm mot återbruk, en förenklar att återbruka och den sista kombinerar den förenklande nudgen med en beskrivande social norm. Dessa undersöker hur nudging som metod kan förmå avfallslämnare som avser att slänga återanvändbara saker att i stället återbruka dem. Fyra 4 hypoteser ställdes upp kring vilken effekt de framtagna nudges skulle ha och därefter genomfördes ett fältexperiment av författaren. Experimentet gav inget signifikant resultat varvid en diskussion förs kring hur förändringar i metoden skulle kunna påverka resultatet. Författaren anser att det inte går att förkasta de framtagna nudges utan att först genomföra ett modifierat experiment då det finns indikationer som tyder på ett gott utfall trots allt. / Consumption is an environmental issue in Sweden that must adapt towards circular economy. Re-use is a part of circular economy and is more environmentally friendly than material recycling. Even though municipal recycling centrals offers the possibility for their visitors to re-use functioning things, considerable amounts are still thrown to be energy recycled by incineration.  By combining results from studies about nudging and recycling with the conditions, physical and social, of Gävle recycling central, 3 nudges where designed. One uses a descriptive social norm about re-use, the second simplifies the behavior of re-use and the third combines the two previous nudges into one. These will be used to test if nudging as a method can convince waste throwers that intend to throw away re-usable things to re-use them instead. 4 hypotheses were formulated about the effect of the designed nudges and then a field experiment was conducted by the author. The experiment did not yield a significant result. The discussion focuses on how changes in the methodology could affect the result to make it more robust. The author is not ready to reject the designed nudges without testing them in a modified experiment as there are indications pointing towards a potential good result after all.