Experimental Design Details
We intend to disseminate the survey to a single group of individuals: U.S. citizens with a defined contribution pension plan or an individual retirement account. To construct this group, we rely on a professional polling firm. We briefly summarize the questions that subjects will receive.
In the first section of the survey, each subject will be randomly assigned one of the following treatments:
Treatment A: Sole owner of a soda company
In the first question, the hypothetical individual is the sole owner of a soda company, that could expand the sales of sugary sodas in Africa. This increase in sugar consumption will generate a number of premature deaths. Furthermore, if the marketing campaign is implemented, net profits will increase by a certain amount. The subject is asked to choose between approving or not the marketing campaign.
Treatment B: CEO of a soda company with a variable salary
The question is framed as Treatment A, except for the hypothetical individual being the CEO of the same company, who receives a fixed salary and a variable compensation equal to 10% of the company's net profits.
Treatment C: CEO of a soda company with a variable salary, presenting the campaign at the Board meeting
The question is framed as Treatment A, except for the hypothetical individual being the CEO of the same company, who receives a fixed salary and a variable compensation equal to 10% of the company's net profits. Moreover, in this case, the CEO is asked to choose between presenting or not the campaign at the Board meeting.
Treatment D: CEO of a soda company with a fixed salary
The question is framed as Treatment A, except for the hypothetical individual being the CEO of the same company, whose salary is not linked to the company's performance.
Treatment E: Shareholder in a soda company
The subject is one of a certain number (30 vs 3,000, depending on the randomization) of shareholders in a soda company, who is asked to vote on the preferred strategy. If the decision is implemented, net profits will increase by a certain amount. The subject is asked to choose between voting to approve or to stop the marketing campaign.
Treatment F: Person who can transform a not-for-profit foundation into a for-profit organization
The respondent is now asked to decide whether to transform a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to alerting the population in Africa to the adverse health consequences of sugar consumption into a for-profit organization.
In the second section of the survey, respondents are asked additional questions to assess their perceived responsibility for the negative consequences of the campaign, as well as any cost-benefit analysis they might have considered in reaching their decision.
In the third section of the survey, respondents will be asked a set of socio-demographic questions regarding their academic background (e.g., the highest degree achieved); their age and gender; their economic and political leaning; who they voted in the last U.S. election; their degree of trust in large corporations, health professionals, and the government; their income; whether they own any stock outside of their defined contribution plan; and whether they were brought up religiously.