Valuing Consumer Preferences with the CUB Model: A Case Study of Fairtrade Coffee

In recent years, in the field of consumer behaviour, a large number of new models and instruments for preference analysis have been proposed. This strand of the literature has developed along two different lines. The first has produced approaches that have a more solid economic basis, but which at the same time require increasingly complex econometric analysis. Moreover, in this research field, based on stochastic utility theory and choice experiments, less weight is given to the socio-economic and psychometric characteristics of the individual in determining preferences. By contrast, the second strand has given rise to many methods to analyse consumer behaviour based on quality approaches such as laddering or focus groups where behavioural characteristics and lifestyles have regained primary importance in explaining the choices and “tastes” of individuals.