A Parametric Multidimensional Unfolding Procedure for Incomplete Nonmetric Preference/Choice Set Data in Marketing Research

Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 499-516, 1997

19 Pages Posted: 9 Jun 2016

See all articles by Wayne S. DeSarbo

Wayne S. DeSarbo

Pennsylvania State University

Martin R. Young

Massey University - School of Economics and Finance

Arvind Rangaswamy

Pennsylvania State University - Department of Marketing

Date Written: November 1, 1997

Abstract

Multidimensional unfolding (MDU) is one of the most powerful conceptual and methodological tools used in marketing for product positioning analysis. Unfortunately, the majority of the commercial software programs available for performing such analyses (especially nonmetric analyses) suffer from serious limitations including degenerate solutions, interpretation difficulties, lack of supporting statistical inference and model selection procedures, excessive number of parameters to estimate, requirements of full data sets, and difficulties with local optima. The authors propose a new parametric approach to nonmetric unfolding (PARFOLD) to extend methodological developments in the econometrics and marketing science arenas. The authors develop the technical aspects of the proposed procedure, including options for accommodating incomplete rank orders, constraints, and reparameterizations. Two marketing-related applications are provided: one deals with preferences for snack food items involving complete rank orders, and the second involves incomplete data in which students rank order Master of Business Administration schools in their consideration/application sets. Comparisons are made with existing nonmetric MDU procedures including ALSCAL, PREFMAP, and KYST with respect to several newly proposed diagnostic indices of solution degeneracy and positioning implications. Finally, the authors summarize limitations of the proposed model and offer directions for further research.

Suggested Citation

DeSarbo, Wayne S. and Young, Martin R. and Rangaswamy, Arvind, A Parametric Multidimensional Unfolding Procedure for Incomplete Nonmetric Preference/Choice Set Data in Marketing Research (November 1, 1997). Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 499-516, 1997, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2791762

Wayne S. DeSarbo (Contact Author)

Pennsylvania State University ( email )

University Park
State College, PA 16802
United States

Martin R. Young

Massey University - School of Economics and Finance ( email )

Private Bag 11222
Palmerston North, 4442
New Zealand

Arvind Rangaswamy

Pennsylvania State University - Department of Marketing ( email )

University Park, PA 16802-3306
United States

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