Title: A customer-based approach for selecting attributes and levels for preference measurement and new product development

Authors: Michael Steiner; Roland Helm; Verena Hüttl-Maack

Addresses: Chair of Marketing, University of Witten/Herdecke, Alfred-Herrhausen-Straße 50, 58448 Witten, Germany ' Department of Strategic Industrial Marketing, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstr. 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany ' Chair of Marketing & Consumer Behavior, University of Hohenheim, Fruwirthstraße 32, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany

Abstract: Preference measurement is commonly used to identify customer needs and to create products that satisfy these needs. Over the past few decades, most researchers have focused on developing new survey or estimation methods. However, researchers were paying little attention to the selection of attributes and levels for preference measurement. This study provides an overview of the common methods currently in use to define attribute sets for conjoint analysis, and it extends previous research by proposing an evoked set-based attribute selection method (EVAS). The EVAS is intended to aid the selection of appropriate attributes and levels by focusing on products that are acceptable from the consumer's perspective. An empirical study of this approach reveals that the applicability of attribute sets increases, and implausible estimates can be avoided.

Keywords: preference measurement; new product development; NPD; customer needs; attribute sets; conjoint analysis; attribute selection; product attributes.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPD.2016.080308

International Journal of Product Development, 2016 Vol.21 No.4, pp.233 - 266

Accepted: 07 Aug 2016
Published online: 11 Nov 2016 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article