Managers and policymakers frequently use behavioral interventions—including incentives and messaging campaigns—to influence people’s behavior. They often choose an intervention by asking whether it will make a desired behavior easier, cheaper, or more attractive. Our research suggests they should also ask a second question: “What could this intervention unintentionally communicate?” For instance, interventions can signal that an organization is self-interested or trying to control people’s choices.
The paper introduces a framework for understanding the inferences people draw from behavioral interventions. By identifying these inferences, the framework helps leaders better predict when interventions will succeed or fail, while also broadening evaluation to outcomes beyond behavior, such as trust and satisfaction. Finally, we provide a publicly available AI tool that managers and policymakers can use before launching an intervention to anticipate the inferences people might draw and revise its design accordingly.
Joseph Reiff, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Robert H. Smith School of Business; Jon Bogard, Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior, Olin Business School
Organization Science