O processo de escolha de um produto é bastante complexo, pois depende de variáveis como características intrínsecas e extrínsecas do produto, situação de compra, percepções, memórias e estilo de vida dos consumidores. O produto vinho pode ser caracterizado pela alta complexidade de fatores envolvidos em seu processo de escolha. Nesse contexto, país de origem é um dos atributos que possui uma série de particularidades nas preferências dos consumidores. Assim, o objetivo desse trabalho é identificar como o país de origem do produto interfere na escolha do consumidor de vinho. O efeito país de origem no processo de escolha foi analisado sob três enfoques distintos: diferenças entre produtos tipificados e não tipificados, diferenças conforme proximidade do consumidor ao centro produtor, e diferenças oriundas do envolvimento do consumidor com o produto. Aderente à teoria de escolhas, o método utilizado no trabalho foi a implementação de experimentos de escolha utilizando a técnica da choice-based conjoint analysis. A amostra comtemplada foi formada por consumidores frequentes de vinho, residentes em dois estados do Brasil. Os resultados encontrados revelam que vinho é um produto em que o país de origem assume grande relevância como qualificador para o processo de escolha, ao contrário do que acontece com saca-rolhas, que é um produto associado ao consumo de vinho, mas sem associação clara com marca ou país de origem. Ao comparar um estado próximo ao centro produtor de vinhos (Rio Grande do Sul) com um estado afastado do centro produtor, mas ainda assim com grande consumo de vinho (São Paulo), percebe-se uma clara diferenciação entre as preferências conforme o país de origem do produto. Vinhos brasileiros apresentaram a maior utilidade para consumidores do Rio Grande do Sul, mas a menor utilidade para consumidores de São Paulo. No que se refere ao envolvimento, consumidores mais envolvidos com vinho apresentaram maior utilidade associada ao país de origem quando comparados com consumidores com menor envolvimento. A partir da análise das escolhas dos consumidores de vinho no Brasil, contemplando características como o grau de envolvimento e proximidade ao centro produtor, este trabalho oferece uma contribuição em relação à identificação de diferentes efeitos de país de origem no contexto de consumidores brasileiros. / The process of choosing a product is quite complex because it depends on variables such as intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of the product, purchase situation, perceptions, memories, and consumer lifestyle. The wine product can be characterized by the high complexity of factors involved in its process of choice. In this context, the country of origin is one of the attributes that has a series of particularities in the preferences of consumers. Thus, the objective of this work is to identify how the country of origin of the product interferes in the choice of the wine consumer. The country-of-origin effect in the choice process was analyzed under three different approaches: differences between typified and non-typified products, differences according to the proximity of the consumer to the producer center, and differences arising from the consumer\'s involvement with the product. Adhering to choice theory, the method used in the work was the implementation of experiments of choice using the technique of choice-based conjoint analysis. The contemplated sample consisted of frequent wine consumers living in two Brazilian states. The results show that wine is a product in which the country of origin assumes great relevance as a qualifier for the process of choice, unlike what happens with corkscrews, which is a product associated with wine consumption, but without a clear association with brands or country of origin. When comparing a state close to the wine producing center of Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) with a state away from the producer center, but still with great consumption of wine (São Paulo), a clear differentiation between the preferences according to the country of origin of the product can be noticed. Brazilian wines presented the greatest utility for consumers in Rio Grande do Sul, but the lowest utility for consumers in São Paulo. With regard to the involvement, consumers more involved with wine had more utility associated with the country of origin when compared to consumers with less involvement. Based on the analysis of the choices of wine consumers in Brazil, considering the characteristics of the degree of involvement and proximity to the producer center, this work offers a contribution in relation to the identification of different country of origin effects in the context of Brazilian consumers.

Up to date, it is unclear how Choice-Based Conjoint (CBC) models perform in terms of forecasting (external) real world aggregate shop data. In this contribution, we measure the performance of a Latent Class CBC model - not with an experimental holdout sample - but with aggregate real world scanning data. We find that the CBC model does not accurately predict real world market shares. In order to improve the forecasting performance, we propose a correction scheme based on external scanner data. Our analysis based on 8 brands shows that the use of the proposed correction vector improves the performance measure considerably. (author's abstract) / Series: Working Papers SFB "Adaptive Information Systems and Modelling in Economics and Management Science"

Orientation: Organisations operating in multiple countries and continents, referred to as multinationals, often experience cultural barriers when interacting with employees from the host county. These barriers, in turn, frequently result in counterproductive outcomes for the organisation. Being able to adapt Human Resource (HR) policies and practices to the cultural values and norms of the host country, multinationals will be better able to attract, motivate and retain their host country employees and achieve the strategic objectives they have set. Research purpose: The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between an individual's reward preference and his/her cultural orientation by means of a novel methodological approach, while further investigating this relationship in two culturally distinct countries to allow for a comparison to be made. Motivation for the study: Research linking rewards to cultural orientation is characterised by mixed findings, which could be related to cross-cultural measurement issues (for example, issues of level of analysis and the reference-group effect). By measuring at an individual level of analysis and exploring the use of choice-based conjoint analysis, the present study aimed to advance the field of cross-cultural remuneration research. The study aimed to show that, by linking cultural orientation and reward preference, multinationals can be helped to optimize their remuneration policies and practices in a way that brings about desired organisational outcomes. Research design: A descriptive research design using quantitative methods was employed. Data was collected from employees in both South Africa (n = 132) and the Netherlands (n = 152). Survey items, responded to on a Likert-type response scale were used to measure an individual's reward preference and cultural orientation. To explore the potential bias introduced by the reference-group effect in cross-cultural reward research, a choice-based conjoint analysis was included to measure reward preference. Data from the field survey was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Choice-based conjoint analysis was used to determine the relative importance of each reward element. Main findings: The results of the Multiple Regression analysis revealed that certain cultural orientations were significantly positively related to reward preference. These included the relationship between collectivism and group bonuses; uncertainty avoidance and job security; uncertainty avoidance and base pay; and long-term orientation and future oriented rewards. Uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation were positively related to financiallyoriented reward elements. The conjoint analysis allowed for further differentiation between these elements. Practical implications: Multinationals will be able to better align their reward policies and practices with the preferences of employees who come from different cultures and who therefore possess differing cultural orientations. By doing so, multinationals will be able to improve their capability to attract, motivate and retain employees that come from distinct cultural backgrounds. Research contributions: By taking a different methodological approach using choice-based conjoint analysis, this study showed that the preference for particular reward packages can not be solely reduced to linear relationships. In contrast to previous studies, this study was able to incorporate a single sample for both the dependent and the independent variables by measuring the cultural orientations at an individual level of analysis.

Widespread car usage of around 800 million of cars travelling 30 billion of kilometres on a daily basis has led to many benefits but also to significant environmental and societal impacts such as congestion, air and noise pollution and urban sprawl. This thesis aims to investigate the stakeholder values of car parking in order to support and inform the decision makers who are tasked with how best to resolve challenging car parking dilemmas. A two phase progressive methodology is involved. Phase one begins with conducting a series of in-depth semi-structured interviews with eight academics to identify whom the stakeholders are that are affected by car parking. Then a second series of 20 interviews are conducted with sector leaders of stakeholder groups to establish how the stakeholders are affected by car parking and importantly, how they value car parking. Finally a third series of nine interviews are conducted with nine different experts to help to bridge the gap between phase one and phase two. Phase one found that a broader reach of stakeholders (classified into four different groups) are affected by car parking than the literature might imply, and that they value car parking in eight different key ways. It also found that the values emerged from a context of governmental, social and consumer concerns. Phase two of the methodology was quantitative and used the findings from phase one to develop four additional attributes considered meaningful across all four stakeholder groups, namely: safety, politics, public spaces and weekly household council tax. Choice based conjoint analysis was used to incorporate the attributes into three hypothetical scenarios namely; driver, strategy and social, as these were considered to be reflective of the value context unearthed previously in phase one. The scenarios were disseminated across England as part of a wider survey and achieved a sample size of 1107 responses. The results of which were then interpreted through willingness to pay (WTP) values. Key findings included: how a persistent political undertone can impact on car parking policy setting; that the car parking industry is under pressure to provide a service chiefly motivated by a perceived consumer intolerance of market prices; and that stakeholders can not only appreciate but also experience the impact of car parking choices on other stakeholder groups. Conclusions drawn included that the different stakeholder groups took issue with national government leadership believing it to currently be deficient in setting the standards for British car parking. Moreover, decision makers wrongly perceive that consumers of car parking do not pass between the groups and are therefore hostile to policies which do not directly benefit them. The key implication being that decision makers are cautious to implement policies which are not necessarily advantageous to consumers but which may lead to gains for the remaining stakeholder groups. In short, this thesis recommends amongst others that the governmental stakeholder group should seek to provide direction and guidelines for tariff setting which is reflective of the provision of a service that is conscious of the range of parking industry stakeholder values. Furthermore, as safety is an industry held value, practitioners should seek to better understand how it impacts their market. They should explore the relevance of schemes such as Park Mark to operators and their customers, by fundamentally investigating to what extent safety exists as a valid concern inside car parks and how it applies to personal safety, vehicle safety or general perceptions of safety. In addition, where the governmental stakeholder group remain mindful of the significance of securing political backing, the car parking industry would benefit from appreciating the sensitivities of political challenges faced by the governmental group when lobbying for any changes in parking policy programmes. Indeed, the parking industry should collaborate between the two parties and seek to unite in finding agreeable solutions which benefit constituents either directly or indirectly. As car parking values might differ according to their geopolitical context and lead to the extraction of a different set of attributes, further work would include looking beyond England to first the UK and then to abroad to explore the effects of potential cultural differences and learn the relevant lessons.

One of the major demand related risks for companies that produce consumer electronics goods is change in consumer preferences over time as reflected in the weights they attach to the attributes of products. This contributes to the difficulty of predicting whether consumers will purchase a new product or not and the accuracy of such forecasts can have significant ramifications for companies’ strategies, profitability and even their chances of survival. Knowledge of attribute-weights and accurate forecasts of new products can give companies better insights during the product development stages, inform go-no-go decisions on whether to launch a developed product and also support decisions on whether a recently launched product should be withdrawn or not due to poor early stage sales. Despite the important implications of change in attribute-weights, no research has investigated the extent to which such changes occur and impact on the accuracy of forecasts of the future market share of these products. Prior to the current research, it was assumed that the weights are constant over time – even when the nature of the attributes was assumed to change. To investigate these concerns choice based conjoint (CBC) was applied to data gathered in a longitudinal survey of consumer choices relating a range of consumer electronic products, where innovation has different rates and the product life cycles are various. This allowed an assessment of the extent to which the weights of attributes of choice-based conjoint models change over a six months period for consumer durable products and the degree to which this variability is dependent on the nature of the product. It demonstrates that the change in weights is greater for products that have high technological complexity and shorter lifecycles and also links the changeability of weights to the characteristics of potential consumers. The results of thesis demonstrate that the assumption of constant weights can potentially lead to inaccurate market share forecast for high-tech, short life-cycle products that are launched several months after the choice-based modelling has been conducted.

Choice-Based Conjoint (CBC) models are often used for pricing decisions, especially when scanner data models cannot be applied. Up to date, it is unclear how Choice-Based Conjoint (CBC) models perform in terms of forecasting real-world shop data. In this contribution, we measure the performance of a Latent Class CBC model not by means of an experimental hold-out sample but via aggregate scanner data. We find that the CBC model does not accurately predict real-world market shares, thus leading to wrong pricing decisions. In order to improve its forecasting performance, we propose a correction scheme based on scanner data. Our empirical analysis shows that the hybrid method improves the performance measures considerably. (author's abstract) / Series: Report Series SFB "Adaptive Information Systems and Modelling in Economics and Management Science"

Consumer preference measurement is a quantitative field of study for modeling, collecting and analyzing product decisions by consumers. Discovering how consumers choose products is an important area of marketing research and recognized as a successful partnership between academic theory and practice over the past forty years. Despite preference measurement’s success in consumer products, little guidance is available for its application to software product management. This paper assesses the feasibility of applying advanced preference measurement techniques to software products and suggests a framework for conducting such studies. A summary of the methods is provided to give guidance to software product managers seeking to apply preference measurement to common product decisions. The paper concludes by recommending a technique called ‘maximum difference scaling’ to elicit customer feedback to help measure the importance of new features for software product improvement. / text

Conjoint analysis is one of the most important tools to support product development, pricing and positioning decisions in management practice. For this purpose various models have been developed. It is widely accepted that models that take consumer heterogeneity into account, outperform aggregate models in terms of hold-out tasks. The aim of our study is to investigate empirically whether predictions of choice-based conjoint models which incorporate heterogeneity can successfully be generalized to a whole market. To date no studies exist that examine the real world performance of choice-based conjoint models by use of aggregate scanner panel data. Our analysis is based on four commercial choice-based conjoint pricing studies including a total of 43 stock keeping units (SKU) and the corresponding weekly scanning data for approximately two years. An aggregate model serves as a benchmark for the performance of two models that take heterogeneity into account, hierarchical Bayes and latent class. Our empirical analysis demonstrates that, in contrast to the performance using hold-out tasks, the real world performance of hierarchical Bayes and latent class is similar to the performance of the aggregate model. Our results indicate that heterogeneity cannot be generalized to a whole market and suggest that aggregate models are sufficient to predict market shares. (author's abstract) / Series: Report Series SFB "Adaptive Information Systems and Modelling in Economics and Management Science"

In many studies, choice based conjoint analysis is used to build a market simulator to develop marketing strategies; i.e., shares-of-preference are taken as market share forecasts. However, conjoint data are collected in interview situations, which may differ considerably from real shopping behavior. In this paper, we test the internal and external validity of four commercial choice based conjoint pricing studies including a total of 43 brands. We use conjoint and sales data to assess the relative performance of two modern approaches to estimate conjoint parameters: the segmentation based Latent Class model and the individual level Hierarchical Bayes approach. Our paper confirms previous results of the internal superiority of the Hierarchical Bayes approach. The main result of our investigation is that internal validity does not predict external validity and that Latent Class shows the same real world performance as Hierarchical Bayes. Both models show an average error of 4.2% in market share level prediction and a correlation of 69% between conjoint forecasts and real market shares. (author's abstract) / Series: Working Papers SFB "Adaptive Information Systems and Modelling in Economics and Management Science"

Since social media has been growing rapidly, the restaurant industry has been exploring this area extensively. Given that social media provides restaurant consumers with an opportunity to share their dining experiences, several studies have examined the impact of social media on consumer restaurant selection (Tran, 2015). As a part of the social media umbrella, online reviews are significant factors that influence consumer restaurant selection (Park & Nicolau, 2015; Yang, Hlee, Lee, Koo, 2017). However, there is a lack of understanding with regard to which attributes of restaurant online reviews are the most influential when it comes to customer decision making. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relative importance of online review attributes in consumer restaurant selection. Particularly, this study focuses on the number of online reviews, the overall restaurant rating, and the following restaurant attributes: food quality, service quality, atmosphere, and price, to address the purpose of the research. Based on the recommendation of Orme, (2010), 353 respondents are recruited via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, and a choice-based-conjoint (CBC) analysis is performed. The CBC analysis reveals the relative importance of each attribute for customer decision making. Based on the CBC analysis, the results confirms that food quality is the most important attribute in consumer restaurant selection. This factor is followed by overall restaurant rating, price, service quality, the number of online reviews, and atmosphere. Additionally, the overall restaurant rating is determined to be a substantially important factor that influences consumer restaurant selection, while the rest of the attributes vary in their rank. The market simulation calculated the preference estimates for the products for each respondent. This approach predicts the impact of each attribute on the market share. Food quality and overall restaurant rating are used for the market simulations. Therefore, it is also found that in relation to the market simulation, the decrease of food quality influenced the market share by about 58.88%. The findings of this study contribute greatly to the knowledge of the importance of food quality, and as a result, an overall restaurant rating. Therefore, restaurant managers should prioritize these key attributes to manage strategies for the restaurant