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Impact of satisficing behavior in online surveys on consumer preference and welfare estimates

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  • Gao, Zhifeng
  • House, Lisa
  • Bi, Xiang

Abstract

Conducting online surveys through consumer panels has become increasingly popular for researchers to assess consumers’ preferences and attitudes for the purpose of obtaining welfare estimates because they are inexpensive, flexible, and allow for fast feedback. Interestingly, few studies have examined the behaviors of online survey panelists, particularly their satisficing behaviors on welfare measures. This study demonstrates the use of validation questions (trap questions) to detect survey respondents’ satisficing behavior and its impact on consumer choice, willingness to pay (WTP), and consumer surplus (CS) estimates. We find that respondents who fail a validation question (VQ) are more likely to violate the weak axiom of revealed preferences (WARP) in the choice experiment. The estimates for preference parameters, WTP, and CS are statistically different between those who pass and those who fail the VQ. In addition, the WTP and CS from respondents passing the VQ in general have smaller variances than those from respondents failing the VQ. These results indicate that without controlling for potential satisficing behaviors, online surveys may produce less efficient estimates (estimates with larger variance) of welfare measures.

Suggested Citation

  • Gao, Zhifeng & House, Lisa & Bi, Xiang, 2016. "Impact of satisficing behavior in online surveys on consumer preference and welfare estimates," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 26-36.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:64:y:2016:i:c:p:26-36
    DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2016.09.001
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    17. Erpeng Wang & Zhifeng Gao, 2017. "Chinese Consumer Quality Perception and Preference of Traditional Sustainable Rice Produced by the Integrated Rice–Fish System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-13, December.
    18. Liu, Jianhui & Kassas, Bachir & Lai, John, 2023. "Investigating How Political Messaging Matters for Food in the United States," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335511, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    19. Erpeng Wang, 2023. "Revitalize Traditional Agriculture: Chinese Consumer Perception and Preference of “Modern” Organic and Sustainable Traditional Rice Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-12, June.
    20. Aaron M. Shew & Heather A. Snell & Rodolfo M. Nayga & Mary C. Lacity, 2022. "Consumer valuation of blockchain traceability for beef in the United States," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(1), pages 299-323, March.
    21. Han, Fei & Zhou, Jiehong & Yan, Zhen & Yin, Shijiu, 2022. "Nudge to be Green? The Influence of Social Comparison on Consumers' Consumption Behaviors: A Case Study of Green Takeaway Packaging," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322228, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Survey data quality; Choice experiment; Willingness to pay; Seafood; Validation question; Satisficing behavior;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q13 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Markets and Marketing; Cooperatives; Agribusiness
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis

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