Congruent Nudging: Examining the Interplay of Educative and Non‐Educative Nudges in Citizens' Co‐Production Intentions

ABSTRACT This study seeks to advance our understanding of the role of nudges in fostering citizen co‐production. We explore combinations of educative nudges—egoistic or altruistic information—and non‐educative nudges—gain or loss frames—on citizens' co‐production intentions. A survey experiment in a Chinese smart energy project showed individual nudges exhibit minimal impact, in contrast to the pronounced effectiveness of certain combinations, particularly gain frames with altruistic information and loss frames with egoistic information. These results underscore the nuanced dynamics of nudging in shaping citizens' intentions and stress the importance of strategically coherent policy designs that integrate multiple instruments to achieve greater efficacy in behavioral interventions.