Motivating firms to switch to online business surveys

Last registered on July 28, 2023

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Motivating firms to switch to online business surveys

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0011810

Initial registration date

July 26, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published

July 28, 2023, 2:02 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country

Germany

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Klaus Wohlrabe

Affiliation

ifo Institute

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Jana Gallus

PI Affiliation

PI Name

Katrin Demmelhuber

PI Affiliation

PI Name

Magdolna Hiersemenzel

PI Affiliation

PI Name

Andreas Peichl

PI Affiliation

PI Name

Stefan Sauer

PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status

On going

Start date

2023-07-01

End date

2023-12-15

Keywords

Behavior

Additional Keywords

business surveys, ifo business climate, paper mailing, online surveys, nudges

JEL code(s)

C83

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

The monthly ifo business surveys are among the most well-known [or important] business surveys in Germany. Recent evidence shows that 20% of all participating firms still use the paper version, which is environmentally and economically costlier than the online alternative. We conduct an RCT with N=1900 firms to investigate how firms can be nudged to switch from paper to the online survey. We test the effects of descriptive norms and pro-environmental appeals (each vs. a control condition).

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Demmelhuber, Katrin et al. 2023. "Motivating firms to switch to online business surveys." AEA RCT Registry. July 28. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11810-1.0

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Firms get an invitation via standard paper mail to switch to online mode. These mailings contain different arguments for switching.

Intervention Start Date

2023-07-30

Intervention End Date

2023-09-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Share of firms that switched to the online survey mode within 4 weeks after send-out.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

We send a letter to all firms that are still using the paper mode in the monthly ifo busi-ness survey. In the letter, we invite firms to switch to the online survey mode. We vary the arguments for switching in three groups:

1. Baseline: No additional arguments, firms are just invited to switch.
2. Environment: We add environmental arguments to the baseline
3. Norms: We add descriptive norm information (how many firms already take part online) to the baseline

We ask firms to share their reasons if they do not want to switch.

For exploratory purposes, we cross-randomize who signs the letter:

- Head of the ifo surveys
- President of the ifo Institute

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

randomization done in office by a computer

Randomization Unit

Computer

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

1800

Sample size: planned number of observations

1800

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

- 300 firms control/Head of ifo Surveys signature,
- 300 firms control/ifo President signature,
- 300 firms environment/Head of ifo Surveys signature,
- 300 firms environment /ifo President signature,
- 300 firms norm/Head of ifo Surveys signature,
- 300 firms norm /ifo President signature,

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB