EEI people

Lisa Eckmann is a postdoctoral research associate at the Chair of Market and Consumer Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt. She received her PhD from Goethe University Frankfurt in May 2022. Prior to her doctoral studies, she studied economics and business with a focus on marketing and management at Goethe University Frankfurt as well as consumer behavior and behavioral economics at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Lisa Eckmann’s research addresses questions at the intersection of marketing and psychology. Her work focuses on consumer psychology and behaviour, especially the psychological processes that influence consumer judgments and preferences. In the domain of nonconsumption, she is particularly interested in examining the conditions under which individuals benefit from reducing their consumption.

Leonie Decrinis is a PhD candidate at Copenhagen Business School, studying the application of behavioural insights and nudging to improve decision-making in organisations for more responsible and sustainable ways of doing business. Leonie completed a research stay at the El-Erian Institute (EEI) between January and April 2023.

During her stay, Leonie deepened and expanded her ongoing collaboration with members of the EEI for the publication of 2 joint papers. One of the papers is a systematic evidence map, co-authored by Lucia Reisch, that compiles existing nudging intervention studies conducted in the workplace with relevance to corporate sustainability. It synthesises information on target persons, barriers to behaviour change, nudging types and mechanisms, and behavioural outcomes across ESG domains into a coherent framework. The paper will be published as a book chapter in the Edward Elgar Research Handbook on Nudges and Society edited by Cass Sunstein and Lucia Reisch. The second paper presents and evaluates the findings from a field study at the German car manufacturer Porsche that tested the effects of different nudges in form of message frames on the electric vehicle adoption of Porsche employees. It provides insights into nudging organisational members towards environmentally favourable choices, who may not yet share strong pro-environmental beliefs. The paper is co-authored by Wolfgang Freibichler, Micha Kaiser, Cass Sunstein and Lucia Reisch. It is currently under review at Business Strategy and the Environment.

Besides the valuable collaboration on the above papers, the research stay provided Leonie with a unique opportunity to engage with the research community at the EEI and relevant subject groups at Cambridge Judge Business School. She participated in research seminars and paper development workshops, reading and discussion groups and formed new contacts with inspiring researchers in her field. Leonie also had the opportunity to present her work in a guest lecture and gain valuable teaching experience. Through all the described experiences, the stay has truly enriched Leonie’s PhD experience.

Arjun Kamdar is a wildlife scientist combining behavioural insights with ecology to design and implement conservation projects. His work focusses on enabling human-elephant coexistence in India. Arjun completed a research internship at the El-Erian Institute (EEI) between February and March 2023.

At EEI, Arjun developed and expanded on interdisciplinary research and intervention plans for reducing human-wildlife conflicts. He worked with Lucia Reisch and Harini Nagendra to develop NOSTRIL, a framework for applying behavioural insights to drive environmental impacts. As part of this, they partnered with tea production companies in India to develop a proposal to design their environmental and social outreach material to be more effective. Malte Dewies and Arjun conducted a brainstorming session with conservationists and behavioural scientists at Cambridge to design participatory nudges for human-elephant co-existence. Through interactions with the EEI team, the Cambridge University Behavioural Insights Team, scientists from the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, and local partners, Arjun developed an intervention plan for securing collective action for human-elephant conflict interventions and their sustainability over time. Furthermore, this visit enabled Arjun to work with Lucia Reisch to develop ideas and obtain valuable feedback on research questions that explore the factors nudging conservation action in diverse contexts.

In addition, Arjun was able to engage with research events across several disciplines held at the University of Cambridge. He took part in research seminars in the management, psychology and economics departments, attended talks on anthropology and ecology, and forged new connections with interdisciplinary scientists, expanding his network and gaining fresh perspectives. This visit supported by the Miriam Rothschild Travel Bursary and was a very productive and fulfilling experience for Arjun.

Read Arjun’s summary report (PDF)