Work Package 5

WP5 uses field experiments to analyze the relationships between different non-state and individual actors. They are especially characterized by the fact that individual behavior is examined in real decision situations. Therefore, the results of the laboratory experiments can be complemented in order to provide information about the behavior of individuals in natural decision situations.

Work package 5a: University of Bochum (lead), ZEW, University of Hamburg

WP5a examines regional identities, i.e. the identity with the municipalities where the individuals live. It therefore analyzes the effect of municipal norm-shaping through local regulations and the effect on voluntary individual climate protection. Special attention is given to the influences of leadership by example through municipal climate initiatives and protection activities. It is analyzed whether climate protection activities of a municipality have an effect on the individual efforts within this region. It is further examined whether the ‘green reputation’ of a city might encourage (crowding in) or discourage (crowding out) citizens to advance own climate protection activities. The planned field experiments are conducted online with citizens from Heidelberg, Mannheim, Hamburg, and Münster. Existing databases already including more than 1,700 citizens (Heidelberg and Mannheim ca. 800; Hamburg ca. 600; Münster ca. 300) are used and extended. Finally, the experimental data are analyzed by descriptive statistics and econometric methods.

Work package 5b: University of Kassel (lead), Fraunhofer ISI, University of Hamburg

WP5b focuses on employers as non-state actors. Climate protection activities of employers (e.g. firms, public agencies) and norms at the workplace provide the basis for the experimental analyses. It is, for example, examined whether the behavior of employers and their influence on the norms in the workplace influence climate protection attitudes and climate protection activities of their employees. For this purpose, the affiliation of workers with the workplace or environmental identity in their workplace is stimulated. The field experiments are carried out at the University of Hamburg and the University of Kassel. In order to assess the relevance of non-state actors in an international context and to increase the reliability of the results through a considerably larger sample, the experiment is also conducted at the Grenoble Ecole de Management in France.