The intrinsic value of decision rights: Field evidence from electricity contract choice automation

Previous laboratory evidence suggests that people tend to value their decision right beyond its instrumental value. We measure the intrinsic value of decision rights in the context of switching the electricity provider. We focus on customers of an online platform who can either choose a service that reminds them when they are allowed to switch their electricity contract or a service that automatically switches the contract on their behalf whenever possible. Our focus is on the intrinsic value of decision rights as a potential obstacle of this choice automation. Surprisingly, we find that customers who make use of the automation service assign significantly higher intrinsic value to their decision rights, compared to those who opted for the mere reminder. Hence, there appears to be a connection between having a high intrinsic value of decision rights and the level of interest in attributes of the automation service under consideration. The positive correlation suggests that the widespread positive intrinsic value of decision rights and the future adoption of similar automation services and devices do not necessarily contradict each other.