Full-profile Conjoint Analysis Research Articles

Preferences of patients with cancer for psychological counseling: a cross-sectional study using full-profile conjoint analysis in Japan

Abstract Background: Psychological counseling is an effective nonpharmacological intervention for patients with cancer experiencing psychological distress. This study used a conjoint analysis approach to assess the preferences of patients with cancer for psychological counseling. Methods: We conducted a single-center, cross-sectional study using a self-report questionnaire. Data were collected from outpatients and inpatients in the departments of respiratory medicine, gastrointestinal surgery, female pelvic surgery, and head and neck surgery at a university hospital between March 2018 and March 2020. The questionnaire was developed using semistructured interviews with 10 clinical psychologists. It included 48 scenarios to determine patients' preferences for counseling based on a combination of the type, length, cost, and frequency of counseling. We performed a conjoint analysis, calculating the relative importance and part-worth utility value of each factor. Results: The results of the conjoint analysis showed that patients with cancer considered counseling type as the most important factor (relative importance: 37.5%), followed by frequency (23.4%), cost (19.6%), and length (19.5%). Patients with cancer valued life reviews more highly than problem-solving, emotional control, and emotional expression. However, women and younger patients valued counseling for emotional control the most, and patients with advanced cancer valued counseling for problem-solving the most. Conclusions: The results suggest that patients with cancer consider the type and content of counseling to be the most important factors in their decision process, although these preferences vary with individual characteristics. This is the first study to clarify the preferences of patients with cancer for psychological counseling using a conjoint analysis, and it proposes a new economic approach in the field of psycho-oncology.

Market-oriented product development of novel sustainably sourced seafood product concepts: consumers' preferences for a different kettle of fish cake

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to utilise market-oriented methodologies to determine key attributes driving consumers' preferences for novel sustainably sourced seafood concepts, derived from a species of wild-caught fish unfamiliar to consumers and to explore new product concepts for various consumer clusters.Design/methodology/approachThis study applied a mixed-method approach including five focus groups with 40 consumers and a single conjoint-based questionnaire administered to 300 seafood consumers in Ireland. The focus groups explored in-depth consumers' expectations, requirements and preferences and identified the key attributes that would influence acceptance of new seafood products. Full-profile conjoint analysis was used to model consumers' preferences for novel seafood product concepts that utilised a sustainably sourced species unfamiliar to the consumer.FindingsFocus groups revealed that the most important attributes were brand, price, format, packaging, supplementary information and accompaniment. The conjoint simulation identified three consumer clusters. Product concepts containing a sustainably sourced fish species were identified according to the preferences of each consumer cluster.Originality/valueThis research highlighted a sustainability angle in new product development and identified a competitive advantage and market potential for boarfish (Capros aper), which is an underutilised Irish fish species. It used a market-oriented approach to explore the development of novel sustainably sourced value-added seafood product concepts. The study results provide small and medium seafood companies with original and unique insights for developing novel sustainably sourced fish products that increase consumer acceptance.

The Impact of Brand on Consumer Preferences of Milk in Online Purchases: Conjoint Analysis Approach

The aim of the paper is to determine preferences of Czech consumers in online shopping of long-life semi-skimmed milk and to identify the importance of milk attributes in their online buying process, with focus on brand. Specifically, the study is focusing on: 1) identification of the importance of a brand in comparison with packaging, price and quality label in online purchases, 2) finding milk with maximum utility for consumers, and 3) revealing the most preferred brand of milk when other attributes stay the same. Data were collected in September 2018 through an online survey, using full-profile conjoint analysis. A total of 185 respondents 18+ living in the Czech Republic, selected by quota sampling method concerning the role of men and women in household food purchases, completed a questionnaire. Research results reveal that brand is the most important extrinsic quality cue affecting milk choice in online purchases, with relative importance 50.3%. The importance of other surveyed attributes is balanced, with 18.6% for packaging, 17.6% for price and 13.5% for quality label. Comparison of consumer preferences for three different brands of milk with otherwise the same attributes revealed the highest preference for brand coming from the region. A familiar brand plays a key role in maintaining a competitive position in the online grocery market.

Preferences for suicide prevention strategies among university students in Japan: a cross-sectional study using full-profile conjoint analysis

ABSTRACTIn Japan, implementation of suicide prevention policies is mainly supported by public funds. However, it is unclear what kinds of suicide prevention strategies people prefer. We conducted a survey to clarify people’s preferences regarding suicide prevention strategies adopted in Japan. This was a cross-sectional self-administered questionnaire survey. Participants were recruited through a lecture held by the first author at their university. We distributed questionnaires to 324 people present at the lecture; 249 completed questionnaires were included in the final analysis. We estimated suicide prevention strategy preferences using full profile conjoint analysis. For all six prevention strategies, the inclusion of each strategy in the policy profile was statistically significantly related to the positive evaluation of the overall policy profile. Marginal Willingness to Pay (MWTP) for restriction of access to means showed the highest value of the six suicide prevention strategies. MWTP was the lowest for public awareness activities. Preferred suicide prevention strategies in Japan are restriction of access to means and enhancement of psychiatric services. The results of this study indicate the strategies that are preferred have a high level of evidence of suicide prevention and do not directly intervene in a person’s free will to die by suicide.

Explicating Filipino student nurses' preferences of clinical instructors' attributes: A conjoint analysis

The role of clinical instructor in student nurses' preparation for the professional nursing practice cannot be underestimated. The extent to which such role is achieved depends highly on the instructors' ability to realize the desired qualities expected of them. While a number of empirical studies have qualitatively explored the attributes of an effective clinical instructor, no attempt has ventured yet on the power of experimental vignettes for conjoint analysis in explicating the preferences of a select group of Filipino student nurses relative to their clinical instructors' attributes. Junior and senior nursing students (n=227), recruited from one of the comprehensive universities in the Philippines, were asked to sort out orthogonal cards generated by Sawtooth Software. As shown, the full-profile conjoint analysis was considerably fit for this study: Pearson's R=0.988, (p<0.05) and Kendall's t=0.944, (p<0.05). Results indicated that the student nurses are one in terms of their most preferred clinical instructor attribute, which was clinical teaching capacity (38.14%) followed by interpersonal relationship and caring behavior (33.17%). In regard to the clinical teaching capability, a clinical instructor who parallels clinical teaching skills with the students' understanding and experience (0.089) was the highest part-worth. As for the interpersonal relationship and caring behavior, the highest part-worth was a clinical instructor who respects a student nurse as an individual and cares about him/her as a person (0.114). Findings of this study can be a basis for clinical instructors as to which qualities to cultivate best to facilitate a first-rate clinical nursing instruction. Likewise, the results of this study can inform current practices of clinical instructors by making them aware of how they can nurture a pedagogical approach consistent with the student nurses' preferences.

Promoting the Domestic Tourism: Modelling Advertising Layout

There are many studies in scientific literature focused on tourism development; however, the vast majority of them focus on international tourism. Domestic tourism promotion among local citizens is not widely discussed. This study focuses on modelling of print advertising layout directed to promote the domestic tourism. Achieving to determine the most appealing advertising layout, it was decomposed into separate elements. Four attributes were named as having the impact on advertising effectiveness: the picture, the headline, the text, and the colour. For each of these attributes, different amount of attribute levels’ were established. Applying the IBM SPSS Statistics V.20 for Windows software package, the number of possible versions of advertisements resulted in 16 concept cards. Full profile Conjoint analysis was provided to determine the importance of each attribute and the performance of each attribute level. The concept cards’ ranking results were substantiated by eye-tracking procedure. Finally, the guidelines for an effective advertising layout most suitable for the domestic tourism promotion are provided.

Patients' and rheumatologists' preferences for the attributes of biological agents used in the treatment of rheumatic diseases in Spain.

PurposeTo define importance values assigned to attributes of biological agents (BAs) by Spanish patients with rheumatic diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriatic arthritis) and rheumatologists.Patients and methodsThis was an observational, cross-sectional design based upon a rank-based full-profile conjoint analysis. A literature review and four focus groups were undertaken to identify attributes and levels. An orthogonal matrix, combining the selected levels of attributes, was used to define scenarios. Participants ranked eight scenarios from 1 (most preferred) to 8 (least preferred). The relative importance (RI) of attributes was calculated. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to identify the characteristics that influenced the values of RI. A total of 488 patients (male 50.9%, mean age 50.6 [standard deviation {SD} 12.06] years, rheumatoid arthritis 33.8%, ankylosing spondylitis 32.4%, psoriatic arthritis 33.8%; mean time since diagnosis 12.6 [SD 8.2] years) and 136 rheumatologists (male 50.4%, mean age 46.4 [SD 9.1] years, mean time of practice 16.7 [SD 8.8] years) participated.ResultsThe ideal BAs for patients and physicians, respectively, should allow pain relief and improvement of functional capacity (RI 39% and 44.7%), with low risk of adverse events (RI 24.9% and 30.5%), a long time prior to perceiving the need for a new dose (RI 16.4% and 12.4%), and self-administration at home (RI 19.7% and 12.5%), as identified through their preferences.ConclusionAlthough efficacy and safety are paramount for patients and rheumatologists to make a choice regarding BAs, the need for a low frequency of administration and the administration method also play a role as preference attributes for BAs.

Drivers of Acceptance of a New Beverage in Europe

One of the challenges of studying food consumption behavior is to identify the drivers of choice for a food product. This is particularly important to design and develop new foods for which no previous information is available. Hibiscus sabdariffa L. (Bissap) is an herbaceous plant and an important source of vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds, which confer a number of potential health benefits to derived products. The consumption of Bissap in beverage form is widespread in Africa and Asia, but not yet in Europe. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the main drivers of consumer acceptance of a traditional African beverage made from Bissap to which they had not been previously exposed. First, three focus groups (n = 22) were performed in Portugal to characterize the sensory profile of four Bissap beverages, to reveal perceptions and attitudes towards Bissap beverages, and to identify potential choice attributes. Subsequently, a full-profile conjoint analysis (n = 99) was performed, where consumers evaluated 37 Bissap beverage profiles, aiming to estimate choice attribute importance and to identify relevant market segments. Focus group findings showed that consumers would choose Bissap because they perceived as a healthy choice, and due to its novelty. The conjoint study showed an ideal profile for a Bissap beverage costing €0.99/L, &lt;18 kcal/100 mL, packaged in Tetra-pack, light red color, and containing labeling information about antioxidants and Bissap. Four clusters of consumers were identified: price sensitive, body concerned, packaging attracted, and demanding, highlighting the most influential choice attributes: price, calories, and packaging. Findings provide useful guidance for new product development of an African product in the European lifestyle. Results might be useful from a nutraceutical point of view and to the food/beverages industry.

Effects of loyalty program rewards on store loyalty

This investigation examines consumers' preferred loyalty program (LP) designs across two retail contexts, grocery retailing and perfumery, with varying degrees of personal involvement. The research employs in-store full profile conjoint analysis by using the following attributes: timing of the reward, reward compatibility with the store's image, and tangibility.Our research reveals that the underlying effects of reward types on preferences and intended store loyalty differ depending on the level of consumers' personal involvement. In sectors with high personal involvement, compatibility with the store's image and intangible rewards increase LP preference and loyalty intentions. The time required to obtain the reward (immediate/delayed) has no impact. In sectors with low personal involvement, immediate and tangible rewards increase LP preference and loyalty intentions. Compatibility with the store image has no impact.

What Patients Look for When Choosing a Plastic Surgeon

The knowledge of patient preference is crucial for plastic surgeons to determine optimal marketing strategies. Conjoint analysis is a statistical technique whereby research participants make a series of trade-offs. Analysis of these trade-offs reveals the relative importance of component attributes. This study will evaluate the relative importance of attributes that influence the selection and decision-making process when choosing a plastic surgeon. A questionnaire consisting of 18 plastic surgeon profiles was rated by 111 patients. Attributes analyzed were as follows: travel distance, number of years in practice, board certification status, method of referral, office décor, and procedure cost. A traditional full-profile conjoint analysis was performed. Subjects consisted of 10 men and 101 women (n = 111). Median age was 51 years (range, 19-72). The "mean importance" of the attributes are as follows: board certification status, 39.7%; method of referral, 23.5%; distance from home to office, 13.2%; office décor, 9.0%; number of years in practice, 7.5%; and cost of procedure, 7.2%. Internal validity checks showed a high correlation (Pearson ρ = 0.995; P < 0.001). This pilot study demonstrates that conjoint analysis is a very powerful tool for market research in the health care system. The level of importance for each attribute reliably helps plastic surgeons to understand the preferences of their patients, thus being able to improve marketing strategies for private practices and institutions. The present study indicates that the most important attributes were board certification and method of referral.

Fostering corporate entrepreneurship through internal marketing

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to look at how internal marketing can be coupled with corporate entrepreneurship. The paper then suggests explicit practices that enhance potential for innovation at the organizational level.Design/methodology/approachThe article presents the results of a survey based on a random sample of 223 public servants working at regional Greek governmental organizations (prefectures). It makes use of full profile conjoint analysis and cluster analysis using an appropriate survey instrument. Drawing from earlier research, different attributes that foster corporate entrepreneurship and their corresponding levels were used to form specific scenarios. The applied methodology captures and formalizes scenario preference by the public servants who participated in the survey.FindingsThe results indicated four distinct clusters of respondents, whose classification formed a pattern, which is consistent with Rogers' model of diffusion of technological innovations.Research limitations/implicationsResearch relied on a sample of public servants from the Greek public sector and data is cross‐sectional in nature. Future research should be multinational and longitudinal to test the results and assumptions reported herein.Originality/valueThe findings of this paper are original and unique and provide a well‐documented framework in addressing corporate entrepreneurship in the public sector. Furthermore, the results of the study are useful to policy makers interested in formulating a strategy that fosters corporate entrepreneurship in the public sector setting.

An Examination of the Effects of ‘Country-of-Design’ and ‘Country-of Assembly’ on Quality Perceptions and Purchase Intentions

This paper examines the effect of country-of-origin, divided into two specific cues - country-of-assembly and country-of-design, on perceived product quality and purchase intention. This study has examined these effects in the presence of other cues, viz. brand name and price. Three product categories (car, jeans and tinned pineapple), each with three different brands and prices were tested. Also for each of the product categories, three countries-of-assembly and three countries-of-designs, from developed to developing, were chosen according to their relevance in the Australian market. Asurvey was conducted among graduate business school students from December 1997 to February 1998. The methodologies used for data-analysis were full profile conjoint analysis and analysis of variance. It was found that country-of-assembly is the most important in evaluation of product quality and choice for all the three product categories studied. The effects of country-of-design, brand and price, while significant, are secondary. Further, the existence of a generalised home-country bias was rejected in this study.

Preferences for treatment outcomes in patients with heart failure: Symptoms versus survival

Background: Patient preferences for congestive heart failure therapy outcomes may vary depending on the goals of improving symptoms versus survival, but this has not been extensively investigated. Our objective was to analyze patient preferences for congestive heart failure therapy outcomes based on the goals of symptom versus survival improvement. Methods and Results: This was a prospective, full-profile conjoint analysis study of individual preferences for congestive heart failure treatment outcomes. Conjoint analysis was based on ratings of 16 treatment-outcome profiles, each consisting of 4 attributes (tiredness, shortness of breath, depression, and survival) varied across 4 severity levels. Part-worths (utilities) and importance weights were calculated for each attribute to determine their relative contribution to the full-profile rating decision using standard full-profile conjoint analysis techniques. Fifty-one patients with congestive heart failure from our medical center (University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA) and 47 age-, gender-, and race-matched control subjects were studied. Part-worths and importance weights were significantly different for shortness of breath and depression between patients and control subjects. Symptom-sensitive (n = 33) and survival-sensitive (n = 17) treatment outcome preference segments were identified within the patient group. Importance weights for symptom-sensitive versus survival-sensitive patients were as follows: tiredness 0.30 ± 0.10 versus 0.16 ± 0.09 (P <.01); shortness of breath 0.26 ± 0.08 versus 0.21 ± 0.08 (P =.07); depression 0.26 ± 0.09 versus 0.19 ± 0.09 (P =.01); and survival 0.18 ± 0.07 versus 0.43 ± 0.11 (P <.01). There were no significant predictors of which treatment outcome preference segment a patient belonged. Control subjects did not display similar preference segmentation. Conclusions: Symptomatic congestive heart-failure patients were clustered into symptom-sensitive and survival-sensitive segments in a manner suggesting that treatment outcomes of improved symptoms were of greater importance to the majority than longer survival. A full understanding of these individual preferences may have important implications for the design of therapy for heart-failure patients.

The predictive power of internet-based product concept testing using visual depiction and animation

One critical step in new product development is selecting from among multiple possible product concepts the one that the firm will carry forward into the marketplace. There is a need for low-cost, parallel testing of the appeal of new product concepts, the results of which closely mirror ultimate market performance. In this article, the authors first describe an Internet-based product concept testing method they developed that incorporates virtual prototypes of new product concepts, substituting them for physical prototypes. The method can be used with either static representations of the products or with dynamic representations that demonstrate how the product works through a simulated video clip of its operation. The objective of this method is to allow design teams to select the best of several new concepts within a product category with which to proceed, without having to develop physical prototypes. The authors then provide a rigorous test of both virtual prototype methods against tests using both physical prototypes and attribute-only (i.e., no visuals), full-profile conjoint analysis. Nine concepts compete against two actual products in the tests. Market shares from the test using the physical prototypes are defined as the “actual” market shares. Predicted market shares for the attribute-only, full-profile conjoint analysis and each of the two virtual prototype methods are compared to those obtained for the physical prototypes. Both static and animated virtual prototype tests produced market shares that closely mirrored those obtained with the physical products, outperforming the set of predictions across the full range of products produced in the attribute-only conjoint analysis. Interestingly, the attribute-only conjoint analysis identified the top three products, in correct order. It was unable to differentiate performance below these top three products. Furthermore, it predicted market shares for the top three products to be well below those achieved using physical prototypes. As virtual prototypes cost considerably less to build and test than their physical counterparts, design teams using Internet-based product concept research may be able to afford to explore a much larger number of concepts. Virtual prototypes and the testing methods associated with them may help reduce the uncertainty and cost of new product introductions by allowing more ideas to be concept tested in parallel with target consumers.

Surprising Robustness of the Self-Explicated Approach to Customer Preference Structure Measurement

The authors introduce customized conjoint analysis, which combines self-explicated preference structure measurement with full-profile conjoint analysis. The more important attributes for each respondent are identified first using the self-explicated approach. Full-profile conjoint analysis customized to the respondent's most important attributes then is administered. The conjoint utility function on the limited set of attributes then is combined with the self-explicated utility function on the full set of attributes. Surprisingly, the authors find that the self-explicated approach by itself yields a slightly (but not statistically significantly) higher predictive validity than does the combined approach.

A cross validation test of four models for quantifying multiattribute preferences

This paper examines the internal predictive validity of four multiattribute preference models: (a) a self-explicated model with equal importance weights; (b) a self-explicated model with unequal weights; (c) Sawtooth Software's Adaptive Conjoint Analysis (ACA); and (d) full profile conjoint analysis. We also discuss the problem of choosing criterion measures for comparing cross validations across models.

Enhancing Marketing Decisions Using Conjoint Analysis: An Application in Public Leisure Services

Abstract This research applied conjoint analysis in an effort to better understand consumer behaviour in a public recreation setting. The stated purpose of the research was to develop a model for determining consumer preferences for a pre-determined set of attributes that were thought to influence choice for aerobic fitness programs by current participants, and for non-participants. A full-profile conjoint analysis approach was used in a 3X3X3X3X4 fractional factorial design. A part-worth model was defined as the analytical model. CONJOINT DESIGNER and SIMGRAF software (Bretton-Clark) were used in the study. The resultant preference model provided a basis for estimating consumer response to a variety of aerobic program changes, or the introduction of new programs, through simulation. Estimated consumer response to various program scenarios are shown to illustrate the value of conjoint-derived results as a management decision tool. Issues related to relative importance of attributes, optimal product design...