Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 104 p. : col. maps. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-88).

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, June, 2005. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 52-55)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Iowa, 2007. / Supervisors: Gary J. Russell, Sri Devi Duvvuri. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-109).

Business models integrating the internet into their value propositions have demonstrated varying levels of viability. In particular, firms offering information-based products via the internet commonly are unable to generate sufficient revenue and, consequently, experience financial losses. Researchers continue to examine factors which motivate individuals' willingness-to-pay for online content. One factor from the marketing literature which has been argued to affect consumer behavior is social influence. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of the three levels of social influence, micro-, meso-, and macro-, on both willingness-to-pay for online content and each other. This is accomplished by examining social influence in the context of online gaming, which has proven to be one of the most successful industries in integrating the internet as a delivery channel for information-based goods. Our results suggested that all levels of social influence play a considerable role in the product valuation process. While micro-level influences, such as attitude, arguably serve as the best predictors of WTP, we found that macro-level social influence, in the form of reputation, played the greatest role in affecting the formation of individual attitudes and behaviors. This was due not only to its direct effect on WTP, but also a consequence of several significant indirect effects. Our hypothesis that an interaction effect occurs between social influences such that their effect on WTP would be "greater than the sum of their parts" was not supported. Nonetheless, our study demonstrates social influence's ability to affect an individual is not a straight forward process. Only examining the relationships between constructs occurring at different levels of social structure does the magnitude of interaction which occurs between them becomes apparent.

How does one estimate the value of an individual's time? One possible way is to estimate how much a person is willing to pay for time savings. The majority of transportation studies have used stated preference surveys to estimate an individual's willingness to pay (WTP) for travel time savings. However, stated preferences approaches are subject to hypothetical bias since they elicit WTP for hypothetical outcomes instead of real outcomes. One study used a revealed preference approach in a natural experiment to elicit WTP for travel time savings but the data was for a non-recurring event, which was not replicable. The purpose of this pilot study is to explore new methods, using procedures from a replicable field experiment, to elicit individual WTP for travel time savings. By using a revealed preference approach in an experimental setting, we address the legitimate concern over hypothetical bias while allowing the experimental methods and resulting data set to be replicated in other settings. The results show that the proposed field experiment is feasible, and that a sample of college students places a value of $22.43 on an hour of time. This estimated value is significantly greater than zero. We also find that individual WTP for travel time savings is significantly larger than the average wage rate, and that this WTP varies significantly across certain demographics. We conclude by reviewing the simplifying assumptions made within the study and offer extensions of how our data set can be replicated in the future for more complete analysis.

Recent medical studies have led cardiologists to revise theories regarding the cause of heart attacks. Rather than a gradual clogging of the arteries, eruption of a vulnerable plaque is thought to be the cause of approximately 75% of all heart attacks. As a result, traditional risk factors are no longer sufficient indicators of who is at risk for a heart attack. Therefore, this research investigates the willingness to pay (WTP) for a new, hypothetical detection (screening) and treatment method for vulnerable plaque. For this study, two survey instruments were developed that take advantage of the visual and interactive aspects of the Internet. Individuals report their perception of heart attack risk both prior to and after receiving new information on who cardiologists currently believe to be at risk for a heart attack. In addition, respondents are provided with information about the effectiveness and risks associated with screening and treatment. Using webbased surveys, which follow a contingent valuation format, an iterative bidding process is used to elicit the respondents WTP for either the screening or treatment method. Internet, on-line surveys are often prone to coverage bias; however, the survey valuing screening (a simple blood test) used a Knowledge Networks panel and resulted in a sample of 268 adults that is essentially representative of the general population. The survey valuing treatment (a more invasive heart catheterization procedure) was administered only to individuals with doctor-diagnosed heart problems, who are presumably more familiar with these types of medical decisions, and resulted in a sample of 295 adults. The mean for screening is $69 and the mean WTP for treatment that is 85% effective is $5,816. A two-part model is used to identify the factors that influence WTP, as well as the decision to receive the screening/treatment. The data suggests that these factors vary across genders. The data obtained for this study demonstrate construct validity; therefore, the results may provide useful information for policy analysis regarding the screening and treatment of heart attack.

Eutrophication caused by nutrient loads from human activities is considered as one of the most serious environmental threats to the Baltic Sea. Due to climate change, cyanobacterial blooms are expected to increase in the future. This could affect people’s utility of beach recreation negatively in countries surrounding the Baltic. Based on a web survey carried out in south-eastern Sweden, public’s reactions and attitudes to cyanobacterial blooms are analysed. Possible economic impact on Gotland of more widespread blooms are estimated, and public demand for better information is evaluated. The result shows that 30% of the respondents from south-eastern Sweden would consider cancelling their plans of travelling to Gotland with knowledge about forthcoming algal blooms around the island. Determinants of tourists’ tendency to cancel their travel arrangements are earlier negative experiences of algal blooms and concerns regarding their pets’ bathing. The annual local economic loss for Gotland’s tourism industry is estimated to between 15 and 221 million SEK. The median willingness to pay for a mobile application which provides one-day forecasts of algal blooms is 25 SEK on Gotland and 20 SEK in southeastern Sweden. Boat owners, people who visit beaches often and those who travel to Gotland frequently, are more likely to pay for the mobile application. People who think algal blooms are natural show less demand for information.

Mass customization (MC) constitutes a promising strategy for companies which aim to provide products which are better adapted to individual customers' aesthetic and functional preferences. Drawing on commodity theory, we argue that the perceived uniqueness of a self-designed product is a second driver of utility in MC. We find that in addition to the significant effect of aesthetic and functional fit, the perceived uniqueness of a self-designed product (1) contributes independently to the utility a customer experiences, and (2) that this effect is moderated by the consumer's need for uniqueness. In product categories which can serve this counterconformity motive for consumers, this suggests that MC toolkits should be constructed with the objective of facilitating the creation of unique products as well as providing affirmative feedback that this uniqueness has been achieved. (authors' abstract)

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Vincent R. Amanor-Boadu / While understanding consumer decisions about food choices is complex, the nature of wines makes it even more difficult to decipher how consumers arrive at their choices. Given the perceived importance of "local", how willing are consumers to pay for locally-produced wine? And, what characteristics of the wine influence the premium that consumers pay for it? These are the two related questions that this research seeks to address. The research uses a case study approach to explore how five wine characteristics of local Kansas wine influence the premium consumers are willing to pay. The five characteristics are appearance, aroma, body, taste and finish. The study uses four pairs of wine in the following groups: sweet white, dry white, semi-sweet red and dry red. Each pair is made up of a Kansas wine and a non-Kansas wine. A very well-defined set of focus group participants were invited to taste these wine without knowing the identity of the wines and score them according to their characteristics and then provide an indication of how much they are willing to pay. The case results indicate that the focus group participants were willing to discount Kansas wines in all cases of the four pairs. The factors affecting the discount were finish for sweet white wines, appearance for sweet red wines, taste and aroma for dry white and dry red wines. The implication of this exploratory case study is that while most local residents proclaim their willingness to pay a premium for local wines, when tested against national or international competitors, consumers are unwilling to pay a premium for these local wines because the local wines lack the desired quality the international wines have. The information is important because it provides direction for an entrepreneur seeking to develop local wines to focus on understanding and addressing the characteristics which influence consumers' willingness to pay a premium even as she determines which particular wines current players in the local Kansas industry has the potential to be competitive if they address the characteristics upon which they are penalized by consumers. This, despite this being an exploratory case study, it provides important direction for entrepreneurial action.

Benefits and consequences of controversial products are debated in the public arena for the protection of consumers and to evaluate the market decisions made by industry and government. The food industry continues to develop new foods as well as processes to bring food to the market. Some of these processes bring to issue the safety of the products or the impact on the market, workers, or environment. Such controversial products or processes include BSE (mad cow disease), genetically modified organisms (GMO), antibiotics, pesticides, carbon monoxide modified atmosphere packaging, and food irradiation. This thesis sets out with the objective of understanding, developing, and utilizing methodologies similar to those used in other contingent valuation studies to evaluate how consumers are influenced by varying information using food irradiation as a focus subject. Food irradiation is a technological food process that continues to be debated and much information favoring and opposing it is readily available to the public, making it a suitable subject about which to study information effects and consumer acceptance. To accomplish this objective, consumers were surveyed in grocery stores in the state of Texas during the spring of 2006. As irradiated foods are not currently widely available, a hypothetical product, irradiated mangoes, was used to elicit information from survey participants. The survey was comprised of two parts. First general information regarding consumer knowledge and trust of food irradiation as well as willingness to pay (WTP) was collected. Second, varying information regarding food irradiation (positive, negative, or mixed) was presented and questioning was reaccomplished. Evaluation of the survey data was made in three papers, each comprising its own chapter in this thesis. The first paper evaluates consumers’ initial trust and knowledge of food irradiation and how these factors interact with information in changing WTP. The second paper assesses responses for a “cheap talk” effect. Cheap talk is informing consumers of the existence of hypothetical bias in studies of this type with the goal being to reduce this bias to real life response equivalence. The third paper evaluates not only WTP, but also how consumer trust is affected by varying forms of information.