Digital Dark Nudge: An Exploration of When Digital Nudges Unethically Depart

Abstract

Digital nudging in information systems has become widely prevalent to guide consumers during online decision-making. However, while nudging is about improving the decisions and behaviors in various domains, limited research has explored when digital nudges unethically depart from their intended purpose, whereby opt-in favors profit motives over the user’s best interests. In e-commerce, we defined this as a digital dark nudge (DDN) and explored its use in multiple scenarios against a typical shopping experience. Using an online experiment, we study the economic intentions and emotional perceptions of DDNs, while also accounting for impulsiveness as a moderating personality trait. This study first attempts to use priming and status quo bias as a theoretical lens, and empirical results show increasing evidence of the perverse effects of using DDNs in online e-commerce whereby consumers revert to their status quo, less likelihood of purchase. Our results provide further warning to practitioners about their use of ethical practices such as digital nudging.