Exploring the Role of Interaction Effects in Visual Conjoint Analysis

Abstract

In conjoint analysis, interaction effects characterize how preference for the level of one product attribute is dependent on the level of another attribute. When interaction effects are negligible, a main effects fractional factorial experimental design can be used to reduce data requirements and survey cost. This is particularly important when the presence of many parameters or levels makes full factorial designs intractable. However, if interaction effects are relevant, main effects design can create biased estimates and lead to erroneous conclusions. This work investigates consumer preference interactions in the nontraditional context of visual choice-based conjoint analysis, where the conjoint attributes are parameters that define a product's shape. Although many conjoint studies assume interaction effects to be negligible, they may play a larger role for shape parameters. The role of interaction effects is explored in two visual conjoint case studies. The results suggest that interactions can be either negligible or dominant in visual conjoint, depending on consumer preferences. Generally, we suggest using randomized designs to avoid any bias resulting from the presence of interaction effects.

The impact of vehicle silhouettes on perceptions of car environmental friendliness and safety in 2009 and 2016: a comparative study

“…These considerations indicate the presence of interaction effects amongst the shapes, which has been noted as an important area of study in visual studies of this kind (Sylcott et al. 2015).…”

“…However, it is important to note that shape 9 happens to be one of the vehicles that is considered to be optimally balanced in terms of safety and PEF ratings. These considerations indicate the presence of interaction effects amongst the shapes, which has been noted as an important area of study in visual studies of this kind (Sylcott et al 2015).…”

“…An understanding of the inter-relationship and interplay of these factors will help car designers to create more optimized shapes for customers. In addition, future studies may involve carrying out an experiment design on the creation of the shapes to more tightly control the shape variables and performing a more in-depth study to consider interaction effects among variables (Sylcott et al 2015). Table 8.…”

“…In addition, future studies may involve carrying out an experiment design on the creation of the shapes to more tightly control the shape variables and performing a more in-depth study to consider interaction effects among variables (Sylcott et al. 2015).…”

Design for Marketing Mix: The Past, Present, and Future of Market-Driven Product Design

“…Visual conjoint analysis has been proposed and fielded in [51][52][53] to understand the interaction between product form and customer preference. These works explored how a shape can be parameterized and presented to a series of respondents so that preference structure could be estimated using a choice-based conjoint analysis.…”