Rating-based Conjoint Analysis Research Articles

Beyond plant-based alternatives to milk and meat: Product and individual variables influence purchase intention for plant-based yoghurt and eggs

The present research contributed new knowledge to support consumers’ uptake of plant-based (PB) foods and the wider transition to flexitarian and PB diets. Focus was directed to under-investigated PB foods – PB yoghurt and PB eggs – which were studied in a sample of urban-living adult Australian consumers (n = 2114). The research strategy used a combination of text highlighting and rating-based conjoint analysis, and this generated insights that were generic to each product category (text highlighting) and those that revealed preferences for specific product characteristics (text highlighting, conjoint analysis). In text highlighting, the results for the two product categories were similar in finding that consumers responded positively to information about the environmental and personal health benefits of PB foods. Negative responses (text highlighting) were observed for information relating to certain product characteristics. In the conjoint analysis, average purchase intention ratings were 3.6 for PB yoghurt and 3.7 for PB eggs, and thus closer to ‘not at all interested in buying’ (1) than to ‘very interested in buying’ (9). For PB yoghurt, the product concept that received the highest purchase intent had the lowest price and was based on soy milk with 3 % fat content. For PB eggs, only the PB ingredients used influenced stated purchase intent significantly, with positive utility for the combination of green split peas and chickpeas (compared to the combination of mung beans and lupin beans). Individual variables influenced consumer purchase intent in expected ways, and the results identified attitude to PB diets and PB product familiarity as most important, with sex, age, educational attainment, food neophobia and type of diet (omnivore, flexitarian and vegetarian) as lesser influences. These results suggest that improving attitudes to and familiarity with PB foods could contribute to support uptake of PB yoghurt and PB eggs among Australian consumers.

Factors Influencing Fan Acceptance or Rejection of a Sport Team’s Revolutionary Rebrand

Abstract: Using the context of the Washington Football Team, the current study examined the importance of six brand associations (team colors, community integration, culture/traditions, nickname, logo, uniform style) on fan attitudes toward a revolutionary rebrand. Data were collected from 669 Washington Football Team fans through an online questionnaire. A rating-based conjoint analysis was used to test for the relative influence of each brand association on brand desirability and rejection. Separate analyses were conducted based on respondent geographic location, existing attitudes toward the name change, and level of passion for the team. Across all analyses, team color scheme was at least three times more important than any other association. Findings suggest respondents are more likely to view the revolutionary rebrand favorably if the team keeps its existing color scheme. Conversely, brand friction is likely to occur should the color scheme change, as fans continue to wear merchandise associated with the brand prerevolution.

What Factors Make EU Regulators Want to Communicate Drug Safety Issues Related to SGLT2 Inhibitors? An Online Survey Study.

Previous studies have found differences in the communication of safety issues among medicines regulatory agencies. To explore (1) to what extent regulators' opinions regarding the need to communicate safety issues related to sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors might be influenced by their concern about the safety issue, and (2) whether regulators' concerns might be influenced by certain characteristics of the safety issue or by the demographic and professional characteristics and attitudes of the regulators. An online cross-sectional survey study with a rating-based conjoint analysis among clinical and pharmacovigilance assessors from the EU regulatory network was performed between April and June 2021. Regulators were invited by email, and participants were asked about their level of concern and their opinion regarding the need to communicate about 12 scenarios defined by four characteristics: adverse drug reaction, source of information, causality, and frequency. The outcomes for the first objective were to update the summary of product characteristics (SmPC; yes/no) and to send direct healthcare professional communications (DHPC; yes/no). The determinant was regulators' level of concern (range 0-100%). The outcome of the second objective was regulators' level of concern, and the determinants were the characteristics of the safety issue, demographic and professional characteristics, and attitudesof the regulators (beliefs about medicines and risk perception). A total of 222 regulators completed the survey (64% women; mean age 46 ± 10 years). Depending on the scenario, 54-94% and 25-74% of the participants would update the SmPC or send a DHPC, respectively. The participants' level of concern influenced their opinions regarding the need to update the SmPC and send a DHPC (odds ratio (OR) 13.0; 95% confidence interval (CI) 7.8-21.7 and OR 13.6; 95% CI 9.5-19.2, respectively, for every 10% increase in the level of concern). All characteristics of the safety issue influenced the level of concern. Younger participants, women, and those working for Eastern European agencies had a higher level of concern than older participants, men, and those working in other regions. Beliefs about medicines and general risk perception also influenced their concern. The opinion regarding the need to communicate safety issues was influenced by the concern of regulators. Regulators' concern was influenced bythe characteristics of the safety issue, demographic characteristics, and attitudes. Diverse groups of experts regarding such factors would ensure that various views are incorporated in risk communication decisions.

Factors influencing UK residents’ preferences in how psychologists present themselves online: a conjoint analysis during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surge in mental health issues in the UK and worldwide, yet many UK residents have not received the help they have needed. Earlier research has indicated that accommodating client preferences leads to better therapeutic outcomes, however, little is known about preferences in how psychologists present themselves online and what might facilitate or slow help-seeking individuals’ decision about whom to seek help from. Based on literature suggesting personal branding as an effective way for clients to choose between psychologists, we sought to investigate UK residents’ preferences for specialization and self-disclosure in online presentations of psychologists based on level of fear of COVID-19 and diagnostic status.MethodsA sample of 187 UK residents were surveyed mid-April 2020 and analyzed using a rating-based conjoint analysis with a fractional factorial design consisting of 22 profiles. Each profile consisted of six attributes (Years of experience, area of expertise, gender, self-disclosure, training institution and facial trustworthiness). Analyses of variance (ANOVA) were used to explore preferences for area of expertise and self-disclosure depending on fear of COVID-19. An independent sample t-test was done to explore preference for self-disclosure among diagnosed residents.ResultsThe conjoint model yielded a good fit (Kendall’s tau = .90, p < .001). Relative importance scores (RI) were highest for years of experience (RI = 28.84) and area of expertise (RI = 22.78). Residents with a high fear of COVID-19 preferred psychologists specialized in anxiety disorders and fear (also fear of COVID-19) more than residents with a low fear of COVID-19 (MD = .92, 95% CI = [.198, 1.64], p = .013). Residents with a high fear of COVID-19 also preferred self-disclosing psychologists more than residents with a low fear of COVID-19 (MD = 1.05, 95% CI = [.184, 1.92], p = .013). Diagnostic status was not associated with preference for self-disclosure.ConclusionsListing de facto specialization in psychologist profiles might facilitate prospective clients’ decision-making process. Self-disclosure appears to be important for some clients, but more research is warranted.

Identifying elements of a ready-to-eat meal desired by older adults

The population of older adults is rapidly growing, and undernutrition remains a concern. Properly formulated ready to eat (RTE) meals can provide older adults with convenient, nutritious meals that require minimal preparation. The study objective of this work was to uncover which properties and components of RTE meals were most important to older adults. 285 participants (mean age = 68.3 years) from Canada (n = 167) and the United States (n = 118) completed a two-part online survey. First, demographic information, including oral health survey and medication history was gathered. Rating-based conjoint analysis was then employed to identify RTE meal preferences. Meal ideas (n = 24) were created via a half-factorial design comprised of four concepts: taste theme (Asian, Latin, Mediterranean), protein source (chicken, fish, alternative protein, egg), spice (presence/absence), and fiber source (grains/vegetables). Participants indicated their expected liking and purchase intent of each meal idea. Results from the oral health survey found significant correlations between age and medication intake (R = 0.219, p = 0.0002), and frequencies of loss of taste and loss of smell (R = 0.800, p < 0.0001). Regarding meal components, protein source had the greatest importance to the total population (relative importance = 51.5%) with chicken having the greatest positive influence on liking (utility value = 0.31). A greater preference for the Mediterranean taste theme was observed in the Canadian respondents (p = 0.0002). Segmentation of the full dataset revealed four clusters based on relative importance of meal components. Cluster 1 (n = 25) contained participants preferring the presence of chicken and not fish, Cluster 2 (n = 190) was positively affected by the inclusion of chicken and fish, Cluster 3 (n = 42) contained individuals negatively affected by the presence of spice, and Cluster 4 (n = 23) contained individuals who preferred vegetarian options. In future research, meals that contain chicken or are vegetarian-friendly will be pursued.

Blockchain technology adoption, architecture, and sustainable agri-food supply chains

The emerging Information and Communication Technology play a vital role in electronic agriculture. The application of such technologies as blockchain, Internet-of-Things, wireless sensor networks, cloud computing, and machine learning can improve the agri-food supply chain efficiency and quality management. However, there is little evidence on the determinants of blockchain integrated ICTs adoption for the supply chain actors and their propensity to embrace and use such technologies. To bridge this research gap in the literature, we identify a few potential drivers of blockchain technology adoption, considering the grape wine supply chain and employing a rating-based conjoint analysis. The study finds that dis-intermediation, traceability, price, trust, compliance, and coordination and control in order of their relative importance and utilities can influence the supply chain actors’ adoption-intention decision processes. The adoption factors further rationalize the design for a modular, scalable, interoperable, and cost-effective architecture for supply chain integration and sustainability.

Consumers’ Preferences towards Nutrition-modified Milk in Urban Areas of China with Rating-based Conjoint Analysis

Consumers’ Preferences towards Nutrition-modified Milk in Urban Areas of China with Rating-based Conjoint Analysis

Consumer preferences for public charging infrastructure for electric vehicles

The lack of public charging infrastructure is often referred to as an important barrier to the diffusion of electric vehicles. As the construction of charging stations is a costly endeavour, the question arises as to how maximum benefit for potential users can be achieved with limited resources. Therefore, our analysis deals with the factors that influence the attractiveness of public charging infrastructure from the perspective of potential users. Our analysis is based on the assessments of 1003 German car drivers on possible future charging infrastructure systems with different configurations regarding spatial coverage, charging duration and usage costs. We examined the preferences with regard to these features using a rating-based conjoint analysis. We also looked into the question of whether groups of car drivers can be identified that are characterised by specific preference constellations with regard to these features. Our key finding is that the majority of car drivers are unwilling to pay a basic fee for the possibility of using public charging infrastructure. Nevertheless, there are subgroups that value the public charging infrastructure more than other car drivers. In addition to implications for possible business models, this result indicates that public charging infrastructure could be important for attracting other target groups to electromobility besides classic early adopters of electric vehicles. Furthermore, our analysis shows that the charging duration at charging stations in cities and along the highway has a strong influence on the evaluation of the public charging infrastructure. The spatial coverage with charging stations in cities and along the highway, on the other hand, has a weaker influence. A central conclusion from this is that the existence of fast-charging stations should be prioritized over a close-meshed coverage with charging points when the charging infrastructure is expanded.

Assessing Purchase Patterns of Price Conscious Consumers

Price greatly influences consumers’ purchasing decisions. Individuals whose decisions are primarily driven by price are said to be ‘price conscious’. To date, studies have focused on defining price consciousness and identifying factors that contribute to price-conscious behavior. However, research using visual attention to assess how price conscious consumers use in-store stimuli is limited. Here, consumers’ purchasing decisions are assessed using a rating-based conjoint analysis paired with eye tracking technology when shopping for ornamental plants. An ordered logit model is employed to understand price conscious consumers’ purchase patterns and choice outcomes. Overall, price conscious consumers are less attentive to price information. Being price conscious tends to reduce purchase likelihood, ceteris paribus. Increasing visual attention to price decreases consumers’ purchase likelihood, which is amplified for price conscious consumers. Price conscious consumers tend to be quicker decision makers than non-price conscious consumers. Results are beneficial to retailers interested in targeting or primarily catering to price conscious consumers.

Does a time constraint modify results from rating-based conjoint analysis? Case study with orange/pomegranate juice bottles

People do not usually process all the available information on packages for making their food choices and rely on heuristics for making their decisions, particularly when having limited time. However, in most consumer studies encourage participants to invest a lot of time for making their choices. Therefore, imposing a time-constraint in consumer studies may increase their ecological validity. In this context, the aim of the present work was to evaluate the influence of a time-constraint on consumer evaluation of pomegranate/orange juice bottles using rating-based conjoint task. A consumer study with 100 participants was carried out, in which they had to evaluate 16 pomegranate/orange fruit juice bottles, differing in bottle design, front-of-pack nutritional information, nutrition claim and processing claim, and to rate their intention to purchase. Half of the participants evaluated the bottle images without time constraint and the other half had a time-constraint of 3s for evaluating each image. Eye-movements were recorded during the evaluation. Results showed that time-constraint when evaluating intention to purchase did not largely modify the way in which consumers visually processed bottle images. Regardless of the experimental condition (with or without time constraint), they tended to evaluate the same product characteristics and to give them the same relative importance. However, a trend towards a more superficial evaluation of the bottles that skipped complex information was observed. Regarding the influence of product characteristics on consumer intention to purchase, bottle design was the variable with the largest relative importance in both conditions, overriding the influence of nutritional or processing characteristics, which stresses the importance of graphic design in shaping consumer perception.

Do Consumers Want More Nutritional and Health Information on Wine Labels? Insights from the EU and USA.

The global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol launched in 2010 by the World Health Organization includes, amongst several areas of recommended actions, providing consumer information about, and labelling, alcoholic beverages to indicate alcohol-related harm. Labelling requirements worldwide for alcoholic drinks are currently quite diverse and somewhat limited compared to labelling on food products and on tobacco. In this context, the current paper contributes to the academic and political debate on the inclusion of nutritional and health information on wine labelling, providing some insights into consumer interest in, and preferences for, such information in four core wine-producing and -consuming countries: Italy, France, Spain, and the United States of America. A rating-based conjoint analysis was performed in order to ascertain consumer preferences for different formats of additional information on wine labels, and a segmentation of the sample was performed to determine the existence of homogeneous groups of consumers in relation to the degrees of usefulness attached to the nutritional and health information on wine labels. Our results highlight the interest expressed by European and United States consumers for introducing nutrition and health information on wine labels. However, the results of conjoint analysis show some significant differences among stated preferences of the information delivery modes in different countries. In addition, segmentation analysis reveal the existence of significant differences between consumer groups with respect to their interest in receiving additional information on wine labels. These differences are not only linked to the geographic origin of the consumers, or to socio-demographic variables, but are also related to wine consumption habits, attitudes towards nutritional information, and the degree of involvement with wine. This heterogeneity of consumer preferences indicates a need for a careful consideration of wine labelling regulations and merits further investigation in order to identify labelling guidelines in terms of the message content and presentation method to be used.

Influence of evoked contexts on rating-based conjoint analysis: Case study with lamb meat

The aim of the present work was to evaluate the influence of two evoked consumption contexts on consumers’ intention to purchase lamb meat cuts using rating-based conjoint analysis. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the evoked consumption contexts: a celebratory lunch with family over the weekend (n=157), and a dinner at home after a day’s work (n=171). Rating-based conjoint analysis was used to evaluate the influence of four independent variables on consumers’ intention to purchase lamb meat in each of the two evoked consumption contexts: type of cut, presentation, seasoning and price. Intention to purchase scores were significantly affected by the evoked context. Consumers were more willing to purchase lamb meat when the celebratory weekend lunch context was considered, compared to the weekday dinner. In the two contexts, price was the most important variable affecting willingness to purchase lamb meat, followed by type of cut. However, at the aggregate level the utility values were similar for the two contexts: consumers expressed higher intention to purchase for leg cuts without seasoning at the highest price. In the two contexts different consumer segments were identified, which gave different relative importance to the variables included in the conjoint task. However, conclusions regarding consumers’ segmentation were affected by evoked consumption context. The findings suggest that evoked consumption contexts influence results from conjoint analysis, which suggests that they may be an interesting methodological alternative to increase the validity of conjoint tasks.

Influence of label design on children’s perception of two snack foods: Comparison of rating and choice-based conjoint analysis

The contribution of package design to the marketing of food products targeted at children has increased in the last years, which makes it necessary to study how label design affects children’s perception of food products in order to inform policy design and development. Considering that methodological selection is one of the major challenges when conducting research with children, the present work aimed at comparing rating and choice-based conjoint to study the influence of three design variables (cartoon characters, nutrition claims and traffic-light system) on the hedonic reaction of school-aged children towards labels of two popular snack foods: yogurt and sponge cake. A total of 238 children in grades 1–6 from a private primary school in Montevideo (Uruguay) participated in the study. Participants were divided into two groups of similar size who performed either a rating or a choice-based conjoint task. The rating-based conjoint involved the evaluation of 8 labels using a hedonic scale, whereas in the choice task children had to select the label they would like the most from each of 8 pairs of labels. None of the variables was found to significantly affect children’s hedonic scores in the rating-based conjoint analysis. On the contrary, choice-based conjoint proved to be easily understood and enabled to discriminate among labels. Results from this approach showed that the inclusion of cartoon characters and nutrition claims positively influenced children’s preferences. Implications for research and policy making in label design for children are discussed.

New Conjoint Approaches to Scaling Brand Equity and Optimising share of Preference Prediction

Ratings-based conjoint analysis suffers two problems: the distortion raised by consumer perceptions of brand equity, and the lack of efficiency of probabilistic models for estimating preference shares. This article proposes two new approaches to scale customer-based brand equity using repeated measures and structural equation modeling and to estimate the share of preferences on the basis of a randomized first choice. The outcome is a new tool to predict accurate preference shares, taking into account product utilities (estimated by rating-based conjoint analysis) and the brand equity related to product attributes (estimated as a latent variable with structural equation modeling). An example with three products illustrates this new approach.

What Matters to Women When Making Decisions About Breast Cancer Chemoprevention?

Despite the effectiveness of chemoprevention (tamoxifen and raloxifene) in preventing breast cancer among women at high risk for the disease, uptake is low. The objective of this study was to determine the tradeoff preferences for various attributes associated with chemoprevention among women not currently taking the drugs. We used rating-based conjoint analysis to evaluate the relative importance of a number of attributes associated with chemoprevention, including risk of side effects, drug effectiveness, time needed to take the drugs, and availability of a blood test to see if the drugs were working in an Internet sample of women. We generated mean importance values and part-worth utilities for all attribute levels associated with taking chemoprevention. We then used multivariable linear regression to examine attribute importance scores controlling for participant age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, educational level, and a family history of breast cancer. Overall interest in taking chemoprevention was low among the 1094 women included in the analytic sample, even for the scenario in which participants would receive the greatest benefit and fewest risks associated with taking the drugs. Time needed to take the pill for it to work and 5-year risk of breast cancer were the most important attributes driving tradeoff preferences between the chemoprevention scenarios. Interest in taking chemoprevention among this sample of women at average risk was low. Addressing women's concerns about the time needed to take chemoprevention for it to work may help clinicians improve uptake of the drugs among those likely to benefit.

Fertility clinicians and infertile patients in China have different preferences in fertility care

Do the preferences for fertility care of infertile Chinese patients differ from those of fertility care providers? Infertile Chinese patients attached the greatest importance to physicians' attitude but, in contrast, fertility care providers in China considered treatment effectiveness to be the most important factor in fertility care. In Europe, physicians underestimate the importance of patient-centred infertility care. A conjoint survey was distributed among 417 female infertile Chinese patients and 83 fertility care providers from February 2013 to August 2013. In this pilot study, 389 patients and 83 fertility care providers completed the survey at three reproductive medicine centres. Rating-based conjoint analysis was performed to elicit patients' and their caregivers' preferences regarding fertility care. Cluster analysis was used to explore the heterogeneity among patients' preferences. When searching for fertility care, patients valued the physicians' attitude the most, followed by success rates, distance from home to the fertility centre, physician continuity throughout the treatment period and type of fertility centre. Fertility care providers considered success rates (effectiveness) to be the most important factor when recommending a fertility centre. Fertility patients and care providers had significantly different views on the value of treatment effectiveness, physician attitude and physician continuity (P-values <0.05). Cluster analysis revealed that patients' preferences were heterogeneous. The sample size is relatively small, and there is insufficient power for heterogeneity analysis. Two levels for each of five design factors (2(5)) may not fully capture the characteristics of realistic fertility centres. Rating-based conjoint analysis could be inferior to choice-based conjoint analysis in terms of predictive accuracy. Fertility care providers in China significantly underestimate the importance of patient-centredness to infertile patients. To deliver optimal fertility care to infertile Chinese patients, fertility care providers need to understand the importance of patient-centred care, such as a friendly attitude, sympathy for patients' suffering, respect for patients' right to informed consent and a transparent treatment process. This study was not funded, and there are no conflicts of interest. None.

Interpretation, validation and segmentation of preference mapping models

In this paper we discuss an extension to preference mapping of the method proposed in [Endrizzi, I., Menichelli, E., Johansen, S. B., Olsen, N. V., & Næs, T. (2011). Handling of individual differences in rating-based conjoint analysis. Food Quality and Preference, 22, 241–254 ] for accommodating both population averages and individual differences in the same model. The method, based on average estimates and residuals, is a combination of ANOVA, PCA and PLS-DA, which are well-known techniques that can be run in almost all statistical software packages. Main attention is given to the relation between the double-centred residual matrix which highlights differences between consumers in their relative position as compared to the average consumer values and the standard centring in preference mapping. This approach has been found particularly useful for highlighting differences in preference pattern among the consumers. Furthermore, the interpretation and the segmentation, that is here taking place based on differences in acceptance pattern, are graphically oriented. In addition, some possible alternatives to the generally used validation method in PCA are suggested. The approach is then illustrated using two data-sets from consumer studies of apple and raspberry juice, showing that when individual differences are analysed by the present method, interesting results regarding individual differences in response pattern are detected.

Analysing conjoint data with OLS and PLS regression: a case study with wine

This paper presents a case study with wine where two statistical methods for the analysis of rating-based conjoint analysis data were applied. Traditionally, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression is used to estimate the relative importance of the experimental factors and the part-worth utilities of factor levels. Partial least squares (PLS) regression, which is a popular tool in sensory and consumer science, can also be used for the analysis of interval-level conjoint data. Using conjoint analysis, purchase intentions for Californian red and white wine were obtained from a convenience sample of young US adults (n ≈ 250). OLS and PLS regression uncovered the same systematic patterns in the data: negative utility associated with more expensive wine, and positive utility associated with famous wine regions. While OLS regression provided more accessible top-line results, an advantage of PLS regression was the graphical format of results. This provided easy insight to individual differences in the importance attached to the factors driving purchase intention. OLS and PLS regression can complement each other in the analysis of interval-level conjoint data. Dual analysis can help to ensure that the right insights are drawn from the study and communicated to internal/external clients. It may also facilitate communication within project teams.

Market Share Predictions: A New Model with Rating-Based Conjoint Analysis

Conjoint Analysis (CA) is a technique heavily used by industry in support of product development, pricing and positioning, and market share predictions. This generic term CA encompasses a variety of experimental protocols and estimation models (e.g. rating-based or choice-based), as well as several probabilistic models for predicting market share. As for the rating conjoint, existing probabilistic models from the literature cannot be considered as reliable because they suffer from the Independence of Irrelevant Alternatives (IIA) property, in addition to depending on an arbitrary rating scale selected by the experimenter. In this article, after a brief overview of CA and of models used for market share predictions, we propose a new model for market share predictions, RFC-BOLSE, which avoids the IIA problem, yields convergent results for different rating scales, and outputs predictions that match regression reliability. The model is described in details and simulations and a case study on truck tyres will illustrate the reliability of RFC-BOLSE.

Handling of individual differences in rating-based conjoint analysis

In this paper a method for handling individual differences in conjoint analysis is described and discussed. This method is a combination of ANOVA and PCA/PLS both of which are well-known techniques that can be run in almost all statistical software packages. Main attention will be given to the way individual differences in acceptance pattern are interpreted and related to consumer characteristics such as demographics, attitudes and habits. The approach is then illustrated using two data-sets from consumer studies of yoghurt and apple juice.