Behavioural Biases Distorting the Demand for Environmentally Friendly Freight Transport Modes: An Overview and Potential Measures

Verena Maria Stockhammer, Sarah Pfoser, Karin Markvica, Jürgen Zajicek and Matthias Prandtstetter
Additional contact information
Verena Maria Stockhammer: Department of Logistics, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, 4400 Steyr, Austria
Sarah Pfoser: Department of Logistics, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, 4400 Steyr, Austria
Karin Markvica: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, 1210 Vienna, Austria
Jürgen Zajicek: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, 1210 Vienna, Austria
Matthias Prandtstetter: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, 1210 Vienna, Austria

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 21, 1-34

Abstract: A basic assumption of many scientific theories on the topic of decision making is rational behaviour. However, previous authors assume the existence of behavioural biases in freight transport which impede rational decision making. Hardly any research exists on behavioural biases in freight transport. To address this gap, we carry out a systematic literature review on the influencing factors of freight mode choice and provide empirical evidence for the occurrence of behavioural biases in the logistics sector. Fifteen logistics service providers and six shippers are involved in interviews and a focus group to understand their mode choice process and derive information on the existence of behavioural biases. Several biases showed to exist in the practical decision-making process. For example, decision makers tend to avoid complex options (principle of least effort), they stick to already tried and tested options (status quo bias, zero-risk bias) and they tend to make decisions based on immediate and easily accessible information (availability bias). These biases distort the demand for sustainable freight transport. We therefore conclude with several motivational, cognitive and technological debiasing strategies to reduce the negative impact of behavioural biases in freight transport.

Keywords: freight mode choice; sustainable freight transport; behavioural bias; logistics; environmentally friendly transport mode (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/21/11783/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/21/11783/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:21:p:11783-:d:664260

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().