The Role of Online Experiments in the Understanding of Sustainable Consumption Behaviors: A Systematic Methodological Literature Review

Abstract

Sustainable consumption is essential to achieve the world's sustainability objectives. However, there is still limited understanding of how to effectively promote the adoption of these behaviors among consumers. Researchers have employed various methods to address this broad question, with experimental approaches proving particularly useful in shedding light on causal relationships that facilitate behavioral change. In recent years, online experiments have become increasingly popular among consumer researchers, including those studying sustainable consumption, owing to advancements in internet technology and data collection. Although online experiments offer several advantages over traditional experiments, they also present conceptual, practical, and methodological challenges that must be addressed to ensure their reliability. Currently, there is no comprehensive analysis of the use of online experiments to understand sustainable consumption behavior. This study provides a systematic methodological literature review of online experiments on sustainable consumption published between 2015 and the present day. Our findings reveal that online experiments on sustainable consumption are in their early stages, as they focus on a limited range of themes within the sustainable consumption field, and the methods employed frequently do not meet the scientific standards for online research to control for subject misrepresentation and data quality. We offer recommendations for researchers interested in using this method to enhance the reliability and rigor of online experimental methodology and promote a deeper understanding of material and impactful sustainable consumption behaviors.