When estimating economic value associated with changes in water quality, recreation demand models typically depend upon either (i) biophysical measures of water quality as collected by natural scientists or (ii) the perception of water quality by recreationists. Models based upon biophysical metrics (such as oxygen concentration, pollutant concentrations, Secchi depth measurements, etc.) operate on the assumption that people can perceive and respond to these metrics, or respond to factors that are, indeed, correlated with the biophysical measure. Economists have often estimated willingness-to-pay (WTP) measures associated with unit changes in biophysical measures without examining the degree to which the measures are truly correlated with perceptions. Recreation demand models that are based upon respondents’ perceptions of water quality necessarily assume that perceptions correlate well with the measures used by scientists to evaluate water quality. Again, WTP for unit changes in perceptions have been estimated without examining the relationship to the underlying biophysical measures. The relationship between biophysical metrics and perceptions is rarely addressed, yet it has profound implications for water quality management and policy. Consider a federal or state agency wishing to manage the quality of its waters in an economically efficient way. Through mandated water quality monitoring regulations, an agency may have many years of biophysical measurements, but these measures are in no way linked to people’s perceptions of water quality and, thus, to WTP. Using biophysical measures of water quality and recreation use data recently collected in Utah, this study links technical measures of water quality at a water body to survey respondents’ perceptions of water quality at the same site. This approach is akin to estimating an ecological production function wherein biophysical measures are “inputs” to water quality perceptions (the output). Truncated Negative Binomial models of water-based recreation are used to estimate welfare effects of changes in water quality as measured through (i) unit changes in biophysical measures, (ii) unit changes in perceptions, and (iii) unit changes in biophysical as they change perceptions through the ecological production function.

Aiming at exploring the issue of duality of the Swedish government system and the possible influence of a detached public administration, a study of bureaucrats’ characteristics, potential preferences and consequent willingness to pay (WTP) for certain policies was needed. This research attempts therefore at investigating how acceptance of CO2 emissions reduction programs among public agents is influenced by factors such as the cost of the program, concerns with air quality, impacts on biodiversity, improvements in the fuelling stations infrastructure, the use of electricity as fuel and individual characteristics such as gender. Subsequently what impact these predictors have on bureaucrats from different public agencies’ WTP for the same programs. For the estimates, binary probit regressions were performed. The results revealed significance of the attributes for the decision over accepting one of the scenarios, particularly the additional information of a budget constraint. However, it was possible to conclude that WTP did not vary significantly among agencies.

This study analyzed preferences for wetland-loss prevention in coastal Louisiana. Data were obtained through a contingent-valuation mail survey of a random sample of Louisiana households. Results, based on 511 responses, indicate that respondents have a strong preference for a short-run program (72.41% chose this program over a long-run program or no action). Respondents that had higher incomes, were white, had prior knowledge of ongoing restoration efforts, and had confidence in government were more likely to support some program relative to no action, as were those citing hurricane, environmental, and/or climate-change protection as their primary concern. Older respondents and those with negative perceptions of climate change were more likely to prefer the short-run over the long-run program. Median net present value of willingness to pay (assuming 18.37% discount rate) was estimated at $17,491 per household for the multinomial logit model and $3,307 under the Turnbull lower-bound method.

This research introduces a new value elicitation method for non-market valuation, referred to as the “quasi-double-bound (QDB)” method, applied to the case of barrierisland restoration in Mississippi. The objective of this thesis is to implement the QDB method in an actual stated-preference survey instrument and to test empirically whether the method elicits consistent responses and yields more efficient welfare estimates relative to the more-commonly used single-bound (SB) method. To test the QDB method, several models were estimated to derive a variety of welfare estimates for comparison to the estimates derived from the SB method. The QDB method introduced here results in a median willingness to pay (WTP) that was higher than the estimate of median WTP using the SB method in three of the five models estimated. The variances (i.e., confidence interval) of the QDB models were generally lower than those of the SB models.

High-profile outbreaks in the U.S. have been increasingly linked to the consumption of leafy greens (Xue et al. 2007), making traceability an important issue (Corkery and Popper 2018). Consumers' increasing attention to traceability (Hansstein 2014) has led to the implementation of blockchain-based traceability systems. This study measures U.S. consumers' willingness-to-pay (WTP) for blockchain-based traceability information in packages of romaine lettuce and spinach. We conduct two online Discrete Choice Experiments (DCEs) and surveys to understand consumer preferences for USDA-certified organic leafy greens, access to blockchain-based traceability information via QR codes, and the FDA's voluntary labeling guidelines involving growing region information. Our findings suggest that some U.S. consumers are willing to pay a premium for food products with blockchain-based traceability or standard traceability information delivered via QR-codes. Findings also reflect some consumers' interest in organic products, and in knowing the detailed growing region information, particularly if leafy greens are grown in Arizona.

The ongoing pursuit of understanding how consumers’ expectations can be achieved or exceeded has long been an area of interest for academics and practitioners alike. A multitude of measures of satisfaction have been developed, applied, and adopted with the end goal of understanding how satisfied individuals, or groups of individuals, are with a given product, service, or specific attribute of a product. And, while both academic and practical research has identified and focused on explicit attributes relevant to particular products or services, the general consensus appears to support the thinking that higher satisfaction is better. But this may not hold true when one considers that not all attributes are equal in terms of their effect on overall customer satisfaction or that different customer segments may value product attributes differently. From this premise, the current research proposes a model that may be used to classify product and process attributes within the services industry, and augments the traditional method of data analysis in an effort to improve the efficacy of the information gathered. The theoretical foundation of the study is based on a modified Kano Model, a research model that has been widely applied across a variety of industries and products. Responses from 3,231 consumers were collected in a nationwide survey conducted in the United States. A random sampling method was used with the intention of achieving sufficient heterogeneity among the study participants. This study provides a comprehensive review of literature related to the Kano Model that has also been summarized in a tabular form (Table 3), providing the readers with a robust synthesis of literature (1984-2010) to include authors, publication dates, sources, titles, research contexts, etc. Further, since the Kano Model was initially developed more than 20 years ago in iii 1984 with a focus on manufacturing and durable goods, this study introduces a Modified Kano Model that may be better suited for evaluation of attributes related to services. In the Modified Kano Model, the attributes of the original Kano Model (Attractive Quality, One-Dimensional Quality, Must-be Quality, Reverse Quality, and Indifferent Quality) have been modified to better reflect the intangibility and other distinctive characteristics of services. The revised attribute categories have been titled as Desirable Attributes, Positive Attributes, Critical Attributes, Negative Attributes, and Zone of Indifference. The study also provides an extensive discussion of conjoint analysis techniques, historical evolution, and a review of application of conjoint analysis across various industries; including research within and beyond the hospitality industry. Essentially this study delivers a primer on conjoint methodology. Related to the conjoint analysis components for this research, this study employs Sawtooth Software as the platform for the web-based questionnaire, as well as the data analysis. Sawtooth Software’s products are the most widely used conjoint analysis systems in the world providing a variety of solutions from traditional full profile conjoint analysis to more advanced adaptive choice conjoint analysis techniques. This study employs the Choice-Based Conjoint technique; one of the most commonly used techniques in academic research. Choicebased conjoint provides respondents a series of set choices from which they express preferences for specific attribute combinations. Choice-based conjoint analysis is widely used due to its ability to simulate consumer behavior in the marketplace more precisely. Through the use of the Modified Kano Model and choice-based conjoint analysis, this study assessed the role of process and product attributes in consumers’ willingness to pay for and utilize products in the vacation ownership industry. The current study has identified product and process attributes that are preferred by the customer, categorized the attributes according to their iv anticipated effect on customer satisfaction, and quantified customer preferences of each in order to establish customer attribute preferences within the vacation ownership industry. In a twopronged approach, this study explored two distinct aspects of the consumer’s vacation ownership experience: the purchase process and the use of the lodging product. Since it has been shown that the Kano Model is effective in categorizing attributes according to the anticipated effect on customer satisfaction in a manufacturing environment, a modified version of this model was extended to a service sector, the vacation ownership industry. This Modified Kano Model was used to determine consumers’ preferences for the vacation ownership product during its use, as well as throughout the purchase process. In addition, the Kano methodology was augmented through the use of Fong’s test of statistical significance and Conjoint Analysis in an effort to improve the quality of the information gathered, and advance the efficiency and applicability of the instrument. This study identified attributes of the vacation ownership product that are positively related to customer satisfaction. Specifically, the following attributes were categorized by the respondents as being positively related to their product satisfaction: 1) a sales executive to guide the prospective purchaser through the sales process, 2) a purchase incentive, 3) resort-like hotel services, i.e., concierge, 4) affiliation with an exchange company, 5) resort amenities, i.e., fitness center, 6) ability to trade for hotel program benefits, and 7) a vacation counselor to assist with vacation planning. In the Modified Kano Model they are described as Positive Attributes based on the relationship to product satisfaction. Perhaps equally as important as understanding the positive effect of attributes is understanding which attributes have no incremental effect on product satisfaction. In this study, the majority of the respondents categorized the availability of a finance package and the presence v of onsite activities as attributes that neither added to their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the product. These attributes are termed as Zone of Indifference in the Modified Kano Model since they neither add to nor detract from overall product satisfaction. In an effort to quantify consumer preference for particular attributes, this study employed conjoint analysis to test the presence/absence of the study attributes in a series of simulations. Two fixed choice sets and a “none option” were also employed to improve the reliability of the results. The result of the conjoint simulation revealed that willingness to pay for the vacation ownership product varied based on product features, and it also varied across respondents. Possibly the most imperative outcome of this research is that this study uncovered attribute preferences that have a significant influence on satisfaction or price paid for the vacation ownership product. The findings of the research were consistent with previous literature in that it was found that attributes of the product could be classified using the Modified Kano Model, and that consumers are satisfied with the product purchased. However, this research goes beyond previous studies in that it specifies the anticipated effect on satisfaction and consumer willingness to pay at the attribute level for both the purchase and use of the vacation ownership product. Further, while this research identified that consumers’ basic needs are being met and the industry is delivering on expectations related to attributes that contribute to overall satisfaction, it also uncovered opportunities for product development and pricing strategies that may assist in attracting new customers and expanding the vacation ownership segment of the lodging industry. In addition to an explicit discussion of the results, this dissertation provides specific practical implications based on the findings. This research could be considered unique as it is a comprehensive view into customer satisfaction and willingness to pay related to both the vi purchase and the consumption of a vacation product. As a result, an additional contribution could be the establishment of a benchmark for future studies.

Although virtual tours for properties have existed for some time, it has recently become a highlyrelevant marketing tool for real estate agents. As it enables them to keep up with thecompetition, it has proven especially effective for hard-to-showcase properties. Willingness topay (WTP) explains how much customers are WTP for a product by observing and analyzingthe maximum amount customers feel comfortable paying. There aren't any specific studies thatanalyze what affects this final WTP for property, rather previous research focuses on intentionto purchase. This study aims to fill that gap and answer if consumers are WTP more for aproperty because they are exposed to virtual tours and what effects influence this result throughWTP supported by theory of planned behavior (TPB). TPB works as a mediating factor byexploring different elements which influence the intention to purchase property. Data collectedfrom 65 participants were part of an experimental study analyzing how being exposed to avirtual tour compared to the norm of only seeing 2D pictures would affect potential buyersWTP for property. Respondents were overall willing to pay more when not being exposed tovirtual tours as of this study's observations. This however is likely due to the small sample sizeresulting in big standard deviations as well as no significant findings being observed as allhypotheses were rejected, as most factors could very likely have occurred by chance. However,in line with previous research self-image, perceived behavioral control, attitude, and perceivedvalue were the strongest factors positively affecting the respondents when looking at anapartment through virtual tours compared to only seeing pictures. Seeing yourself live in theapartment, as well as having more control over your purchasing behavior seemed to increasethe intention to purchase the property quite a lot. The general attitude towards it and the valueyou seem to associate the apartment with also had a strong correlation with the intention topurchase the property. Overall, however, no hypotheses were supported and concreteconclusions would be unwise to draw as most observations have a high likelihood of occurringby random error, thereby making them hard to apply in other practices. Instead, further researchis needed to conclude if the positive observations could indeed have significant importancewhen applied through similar methods.

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Studien har utförts med en strategisk urvalsmetod, semistrukturerade intervjuer samt en kvalitativ innehållsanalys om sjöfarten i Furusundsleden. På så sätt kunna se att sjöfartstrafiken skapar erosionsskador på strandzonen. Med teorin "willingness to pay” utreds om sjöfarten är ekonomiskt motiverbart kontra de miljöskador som uppstår av sjöfartstrafiken. Slutsatsen är att Furusundsleden inte brukas på ett hållbart sätt av sjötrafiken gentemot de skador som orsakas av erosion i den strandnära miljön, men kan ses som motiverbart ur ett ekonomiskt perspektiv då den gynnar Stockholms stad. Den sociala och ekologiska hållbarheten blir lidande då det är den enskilda fastighetsägarna längst Furusundsleden som blir påverkade genom att erosionsskadorna minskar deras fastigheter och den akvatiska miljön försämras. / The study has been conducted using a strategic selection method, semi-structured interviews, and a qualitative content analysis on the marine traffic in Furusundsleden. Using these methods, it was possible to observe that marine traffic causes erosion damage to the beach zone. Using the theory “willingness to pay” investigates whether shipping is financially defensible versus the environmental damage caused by shipping traffic. The conclusion is that the marine traffic through Furusundsleden is not sustainable due to it causing erosion damage to the marine and waterfront environment. It may be justifiable though through the economical view of the municipality of Stockholm. The social and ecological sustainability suffers as it is the individual property owners along Furusundsleden who are affected by the erosion damage and the deteriorating aquatic environment.