Conjoint Field Experiment Research Articles

Policy preferences for medical access in Japan’s remote aging municipalities: Insights from a randomized conjoint experiment

Abstract Improved means of transportation play a vital role in accessing medical services, particularly in remote and ageing municipalities. In this study, we identify crucial attributes for improving access to medical services in the Shinhidaka and Urakawa municipalities in Japan. Using a randomised conjoint field experiment, we identify individuals’ preferences regarding the time and means of transportation to hospitals that can provide high-level medical services, along with additional tax payments to support these services. We find, inter alia, that respondents have the highest preference for reducing emergency ambulance transportation time to high-function hospitals. We also estimate the minimum average willingness to pay for these services; respondents are willing to pay at least JPY 60,000 (approximately USD 500) additional tax per year to the municipal government if the emergency transportation time to high-function hospitals is reduced. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into addressing the challenges of improving access to medical services in remote areas with an ageing population.

What farmers expect from the proposed formal agricultural credit policy: evidence from a randomized conjoint experiment in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan

PurposeThis research measures the causal effects of pertinent agricultural credit policy attributes on farmers' participation probability and their willingness to pay (WTP) for agricultural credit and its associated services.Design/methodology/approachA randomized conjoint field experiment is conducted in three districts of Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, capturing stated-preference data of 300 farmers. Each survey participant was provided with two hypothetical choices and one opt-out option to generate rankings based on their preferences. The levels of six attributes—namely, the credit service provider's location, the time required to obtain credit, the frequency of installments, the type of loan security, the provider of the credit services and the annual membership fee to participate in the proposed policy—are randomly assigned to produce the alternative choices.FindingsThe results reveal that farmers support the suggested agricultural credit services policy (ACSP), and the lower bound of their WTP for participation in the policy is as high as 5% of their average annual income.Practical implicationsThis study provides evidence-based policy input for designing effective agricultural credit policies in Afghanistan, which can be extended to other countries with a similar context.Originality/valueThis is the first study estimating the causal effects of formal agricultural credit policy attributes on farmers' participation probability. Further, this study nonparametrically measures farmers' WTP for participation in the proposed policy.

Measuring the Impacts of Saffron Production Promotion Measures on Farmers’ Policy Acceptance Probability: A Randomized Conjoint Field Experiment in Herat Province, Afghanistan

The government of Afghanistan promotes saffron production as a means to achieve economic development while reducing the widely spread opium cultivation in the country by providing necessary support to its farmers via saffron farmer service centers. This study investigates the causal effects of relevant attributes of potential saffron production promotion policies on the participation probabilities of saffron farmers. This study applies a randomized conjoint experiment to primary survey data of 298 farmers in Herat Province, which is perceived by the government as the center of saffron production in the country. The proposed hypothetical saffron production promotion policy consists of six attributes, namely, provision of machinery equipment, weather-based crop insurance, accessibility to long-term loans, location of saffron farmer service centers, provider of services, and annual payment. In the randomized conjoint experiment design, the respondents rank two alternative policies and policies against the status quo. The desirable policy comprises the machinery provision, long-term (up to 5 years) loan accessibility, an easily accessible service center, and policy implementation by international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The estimated results reveal that saffron farmers are highly supportive of the proposed saffron promotion policy and that their willingness to pay is as high as 17% of their per capita income.

Impacts of pecuniary and non-pecuniary information on pro-environmental behavior: A household waste collection and disposal program in Surabaya city

Information strategies are increasingly used to promote pro-environmental behavior through changing perceptions, knowledge, awareness and norms. While some studies have argued that information strategies are ineffective, others have reported, that information strategies can have immediate impacts. Information strategies are particularly relevant in developing countries such as Indonesia because of their low-cost and immediate impact. The objective of this paper is to compare the impacts of pecuniary and non-pecuniary information on stated preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for an improved waste collection and disposal program. Stated preferences were elicited by using a randomized conjoint field experiment. The information treatments were in the form of posters and were randomly assigned to the respondents. Among the seven attributes used in the conjoint analysis, the separation of non-organic waste and recycling as an intermediate processing technology had significant positive effects on the rate of support. Moreover, pecuniary information was found to directly influence household preference for payment for an improved waste collection and disposal program while affecting none of the other design elements of waste management services. In the reference case in which the no information treatment was applied, the lower bound of the mean WTP for marginalized improvements in a waste collection and disposal program was estimated to be USD 14.65. The study also found that pecuniary information increased WTP by 20.5%, whereas non-pecuniary information had a negative but statistically insignificant effect on WTP.

Measuring the impact of modern waste collection and processing service attributes on residents' acceptance of waste separation policy using a randomised conjoint field experiment in Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia.

Indonesia is one of the countries that is facing serious solid waste problems. Although the issue has been addressed in the capital city of Jakarta, many secondary cities have been left behind. This research attempts to analyse the impact of relevant waste management policy components on respondents' policy acceptance probabilities in Yogyakarta Province. Using a randomised conjoint field experiment based on the proposal of modern waste collection services, this article shows that a new waste management policy that includes waste separation with frequent organic waste collection will gain popular support, especially with the rich. Indeed, if the government introduces waste collection and processing services that consist of the most preferred levels of these attributes, including five-times-a-week organic waste collection, a majority of the residents will support this new waste management policy, which will reduce waste at its source.

Identifying Multidimensional Policy Preferences of Voters in Representative Democracies: A Conjoint Field Experiment in Japan

Representative democracy necessitates the aggregation of multiple policy issues by parties into competing bundles of policies (manifestos), which are then evaluated holistically by voters in elections. This aggregation process complicates our understanding of the multidimensional policy preferences underlying a voter's single choice of a party or candidate. We address this problem with a novel measurement technique based on conjoint analysis. By juxtaposing sets of issue positions as hypothetical party manifestos and asking respondents to choose one, our study identifies the effects of specific positions on voters' overall assessment of manifestos, the degree of heterogeneity in preferences across respondents, and the popularity ranking of manifestos. We illustrate the approach with a field experiment conducted during Japan's 2014 House of Representatives election. Our analysis uncovers important discrepancies between voters' preferences and the portrayal of the election by politicians and the media, underscoring the potential danger of inferring voters' policy preferences only from election outcomes.

A Lack of Insight: An Experimental Analysis of R&D Managers’ Decision Making in Innovation Portfolio Management

This study analyses the decision to exploit an innovation project and investigates differences in individuals’ evaluations of project attributes in the context of innovation project portfolio management. A conjoint field experiment was used to collect data on exploitation decisions made by 126 research and development (R&D) managers to test how managers evaluate specific project attributes in the context of innovation project portfolio management. I analyse the relative power and popularity of profitability, strategy, uncertainty and social dimensions of the portfolio while R&D managers exploit an innovation project. Moreover, using social judgement theory, I analyse actual exploitation processes (i.e., the innovation attributes an R&D manager considers while he or she is making an exploitation decision) and self‐reported decision‐making attributes (i.e., managers’ self‐reported data). The data underline that R&D managers value specific project attributes more and others less, and therefore find disparities in innovation project portfolio decision making. Based on this study's results, decision makers are better able to reflect and understand the influence of specific project attributes. Therefore, they should investigate established decision‐making processes which can help them to improve portfolio performance.

Labeling energy cost on light bulbs lowers implicit discount rates

Lighting accounts for nearly 20% of overall U.S. electricity consumption and 18% of U.S. residential electricity consumption. A transition to alternative energy-efficient technologies could reduce this energy consumption considerably. To quantify the influence of factors that drive consumer choices for light bulbs, we conducted a choice-based conjoint field experiment with 183 participants. We estimated discrete choice models from the data, and found that politically liberal consumers have a stronger preference for compact fluorescent lighting technology and for low energy consumption. Greater willingness to pay for lower energy consumption and longer life was observed in conditions where estimated operating cost information was provided. Providing estimated annual cost information to consumers reduced their implicit discount rate by a factor of five, lowering barriers to adoption of energy efficient alternatives with higher up-front costs; however, even with cost information provided, consumers continued to use implicit discount rates of around 100%, which is larger than that experienced for other energy technologies.

The Decision to Exploit anR&DProject: Divergent Thinking across Middle and Senior Managers

Research and development (R&D) generates projects, but the question often remains: which projects should be exploited? Building on the innovation, strategy, and managerial cognition literatures, we use a conjoint field experiment to collect data on 4032 decisions made by 126R&Dmanagers to test how project attributes, strategic context, and managers' characteristics influence innovation exploitation decisions. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we find that (1) experience impacts project exploitation decision policies of middle managers more than senior managers, (2) divergent thinking across middle and senior managers increases with experience, and (3) experienced middle managers diverge from experienced senior managers in their decisions to exploit opportunities by placing greater emphasis on strategic context (relative to competitors and fit within the portfolio) and lesser emphasis on uncertainty (technological and demand). These findings have implications for the strategy and innovation literature.

Do they reason the same? - Comparing Intention and Behavior of For-profit and Social Entrepreneurs

We develop a structural equation model for business and social entrepreneurial intention and behavior to understand similarities and differences for-profit and social entrepreneurs. We conduct a conjoint field experiment to collect data in order to test how the mutual (social) entrepreneurial intentions relate to five dimensions of behavior: Knowledge relatedness, future predictability, personal value correspondence, social performance, and economic performance. Using an innovative research design with 1,544 assessments nested within the actions of 193 respondents, we find that individuals with a higher level of social entrepreneurial intentions are more likely to pursue opportunities than respondents with for-profit intentions. Moreover, we find proof that participants with intense social entrepreneurial intentions are more likely to act on opportunities with higher impact on society and a closer correspondence with their personal values. They are also more willing to engage in opportunities even if the future development is less predictable or if they lack relevant knowledge for the area.

Beyond Simple Utility: Incentive Design and Trade–Offs for Corporate Employee–Entrepreneurs

To strengthen the theoretical foundations of incentive system design for corporate entrepreneurship, we develop a moderated model of new venture participation, integrating financial, risk, and effort factors to more comprehensively understand the limits of economic utility maximization theory. We make explicit the trade–offs and opportunity costs for corporate employee–entrepreneurs. We use a conjoint field experiment to collect data on 1952 decisions made by 61 corporate employees to test how risk and effort moderate an employee's decision to participate in a new corporate venture. We find that these factors do interact to affect the choice to engage in corporate entrepreneurship projects.