Best-Worst Scaling Approach to Predict Customer Choice for 3PL Services

A Best-Worst Scaling Study of the General Population's Preferences for Activities in Living Arrangements for Persons With Dementia

BACKGROUND

Activity involvement is a central element of dementia care. However, few studies have examined preferences for types of activities for persons who may be in need of care in the future. In this study, a best-worst scaling (BWS) was conducted to gather insights on preferred activities in small-scale living arrangements for dementia in the general population aged 50-65 years from rural and urban regions.

METHODS

BWS tasks were developed based on literature searches and focus groups. The final BWS contains ten activities, namely 'interaction with animals', 'gardening', 'painting, handicrafts, manual activities', 'household activities (e.g., folding laundry, cooking)', 'watching television', 'practicing religion', 'listening to music and singing familiar songs', 'conversations about the past', 'walks and excursions', 'sport activities (e.g., gymnastics)'. Each participant had to fill out subsets of four objects each and identify them as best and worst. A postal survey was sent to a total of 4390 persons from rural and urban regions aged between 50 and 65 years. Results were analyzed by count analysis and logit models. It was examined if preferences differ with respect to gender, religiousness, and informal caregiving experience.

RESULTS

A total of 840 questionnaires were returned, and 627 surveys were included in the analysis. In the rural sample, the highest relative importance (RI) was assigned to 'walks and excursions' (RI: 100%), 'sport activities (e.g., gymnastics)' (RI: 56%), 'gardening' (RI: 28%), and 'interaction with animals' (26%). In the urban sample, 'walks and excursions' (RI: 100%), 'sport activities (e.g., gymnastics)' (RI: 37%), 'interaction with animals' (25%) and 'gardening' (RI: 22%) were perceived as most important. In both groups, household activities and practicing religion were of lowest importance. Importance ranks differed between subgroups. Results of the logit models with random effects showed the same order as results from the count analyses.

DISCUSSION

Our findings show that respondents generally favored activities with an outdoor component, while the household activities that are part of many concepts were of low importance to respondents. Thus, our study can inform the design of a preference-based specific range of activities in small-scale living arrangements for dementia.

Measuring the importance of different barriers to opioid agonist treatment using best-worst scaling in an Australian setting

OBJECTIVE

Opioid agonist treatment (OAT) is an effective treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), however several client barriers to OAT are reported. Client importance of these barriers using economic preference elicitation measures have not been identified. This paper determines the most important OAT barriers using best-worst scaling (BWS) and compares the results of BWS to Likert scale.

METHODS

Cross-sectional self-completed survey with 191 opioid dependent clients who attended Australian needle and syringe sites. Participants were presented 15 Likert scale barriers and 15 BWS barrier scenarios. The BWS data was presented using count analysis, multinomial logit and mixed logit models. The ranking of barrier items was completed using three BWS methods and one Likert scale method, with share preference results (BWS) or mean scores (Likert) used to rank the 15 barriers.

RESULTS

The most important client barriers were 'enjoy using opioids', 'lack of support services' and 'hard to access'. The four ranking methods produced different barrier rankings for the most important barriers, but similar results for the least important barriers.

CONCLUSION

Policies around OAT as a harm reduction approach, increased support services and increased availability of OAT services would be beneficial in improving OAT uptake. Comparing BWS and Likert methods produced different highest ranked barriers, indicating the method used to identify preferences has significant implications on the type of intervention prioritised.

Selecting E-Mobility Transport Solutions for Mountain Rescue Operations

This study introduces e-mobility for humanitarian purposes and presents the first investigation of innovative e-mobility transport solutions (e.g., e-bike, e-stretcher, and drone) for mountain rescue. In practice, it is largely unclear which e-mobility transport solutions might be suitable and what selection attributes are to be considered. The subsequent study supports the technology selection process by identifying and measuring relevant selection attributes to facilitate the adoption of e-mobility in this domain. For the purpose of this study, a multi-method research approach that combines qualitative and quantitative elements was applied. In the first step, results of a systematic search for attributes in literature were combined with inputs gained from unstructured expert interviews and discussions. The perceived importance of the identified selection attributes was then measured by analyzing survey data of 341 rescue workers using the best-worst scaling methodology. Finally, the results were reiterated in another expert discussion to assess their overall validity. Study results indicate that e-mobility transport solutions need to primarily enhance operational performance and support the safety of mountain rescue personnel. Surprisingly, economic and sustainability aspects are less of an issue in the process of technology selection.

Comparison of statistical analysis methods for object case best-worst scaling

Aims: Different methods have been used to analyze "object case" best-worst scaling (BWS). This study aims to compare the most common statistical analysis methods for object case BWS (i.e. the count analysis, multinomial logit, mixed logit, latent class analysis, and hierarchical Bayes estimation) and to analyze their potential advantages and limitations based on an applied example. Methods: Data were analyzed using the five analysis methods. Ranking results were compared among the methods, and methods that take respondent heterogeneity into account were presented specifically. A BWS object case survey with 22 factors was used as a case study, tested among 136 policy-makers and HTA experts from the Netherlands, Germany, France, and the UK to assess the most important barriers to HTA usage. Results: Overall, the five statistical methods yielded similar rankings, particularly in the extreme ends. Latent class analysis identified five clusters and the mixed logit model revealed significant preference heterogeneity for all, with the exception of three factors. Limitations: The variety of software used to analyze BWS data may affect the results. Moreover, this study focuses solely on the comparison of different analysis methods for the BWS object case. Conclusions: The most common statistical methods provide similar rankings of the factors. Therefore, for main preference elicitation, count analysis may be considered as a valid and simple first-choice approach. However, the latent class and mixed logit models reveal additional information: identifying latent segments and/or recognizing respondent heterogeneity.

How logistics performance is affected by supply chain relationships

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of logistics collaboration, meetings, relationship history, and supplier selection on the logistics performance of shippers, carriers, and logistics services providers. Rather than focusing on collaboration and performance, the research provides a wide analysis of how logistics collaboration and performance interact with other organizational practices.

Design/methodology/approach

To investigate the interaction among the constructs, the authors proposed a structural equation model to understand the influence of meetings, relationship history, supplier selection, and collaboration on logistics performance. The data were obtained through a survey of 199 managers of Brazilian companies in the retail sector.

Findings

Supplier selection has the strongest effect on logistics collaboration, and relationship history has the strongest effect on logistics performance. Rather than meetings and operational features, the elements of interpersonal skills, organizational culture, and communication appear to be the most important contributors to logistics performance achievements; relationship history leads to better performance.

Originality/value

This study contributes to our understanding of how and with whom to collaborate by highlighting the relationships among supplier selection, relationship history, meetings, and logistics collaboration and logistics performance.

The impact of partner similarity on alliance management capability, stability and performance

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate significant impact of partner similarity on the success of horizontal alliances in logistics service providers (LSPs) from China.

Design/methodology/approach

Primary data were collected via questionnaire distribution to 380 Chief Executive Officers and Managing Directors in 262 small and medium logistics enterprises in China. There are 316 valid questionnaires for further analysis with 83 percent accuracy in response rate. Structural equation modeling was used to test the impact of partner similarity on alliance management capability, stability and performance.

Findings

Partner similarity and logistics alliance management capability (LAMC) are positively correlated to alliance stability and performance in horizontal alliances among Chinese LSPs, especially competence similarity and cultural similarity. Moreover, alliance stability mediates the impact of partner similarity and LAMC on alliance performance.

Research limitations/implications

The basic limitation of this research is to collect data just from small and medium logistics enterprises that operate in China with sample size (n=316). This research could further be extended to other regions in China or other countries.

Practical implications

This research verifies the positive relationship between partner fit and management capability. Besides, based on research findings, the research proposes guidelines for LSPs pursuing horizontal alliances

Originality/value

This research proposes an experimental model for Chinese LSPs to cooperate successfully and build horizontal alliances in order to increase their effective customer response capability.

Experimental measurement of preferences in health and healthcare using best-worst scaling: an overview

Best-worst scaling (BWS), also known as maximum-difference scaling, is a multiattribute approach to measuring preferences. BWS aims at the analysis of preferences regarding a set of attributes, their levels or alternatives. It is a stated-preference method based on the assumption that respondents are capable of making judgments regarding the best and the worst (or the most and least important, respectively) out of three or more elements of a choice-set. As is true of discrete choice experiments (DCE) generally, BWS avoids the known weaknesses of rating and ranking scales while holding the promise of generating additional information by making respondents choose twice, namely the best as well as the worst criteria. A systematic literature review found 53 BWS applications in health and healthcare. This article expounds possibilities of application, the underlying theoretical concepts and the implementation of BWS in its three variants: 'object case', 'profile case', 'multiprofile case'. This paper contains a survey of BWS methods and revolves around study design, experimental design, and data analysis. Moreover the article discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the three types of BWS distinguished and offered an outlook. A companion paper focuses on special issues of theory and statistical inference confronting BWS in preference measurement.

The incidence of calorie labeling on fast food choices: A comparison between stated preferences and actual choices

In order to test the effect of calorie information on fast food choices, we conducted a questionnaire employing two types of stated preferences methods (the best-worst-scaling and intentional questions) and a follow-up randomized field experiment in a sample of 119 participants. This combined approach allowed us to test the internal validity of preferences for fast food meals across elicitation scenarios. The results showed that calorie information reduces the probability of selecting high calorie meals only in the questionnaire, while it did not have any significant impact on actual purchasing behavior in the field experiment. Thus, the findings show that there is a clear difference between the role of calorie information on immediate stated preference choices, and the relatively low level of responsiveness in real choices in a restaurant. We believe that the current results are quite suggestive, indicating the limits of predicting actual fast food behavior, and may open the way to using data sources that combine stated methods with field experiments.

Willingness to pay for midwife-endorsed product: An Australian best-worst study

This article examined the impact of midwife endorsement on stated choice preferences in one of the highest volume baby care product categories, diapers. An online survey was conducted testing 12 alternatives of which six were midwife endorsed. A total of 215 responses were analyzed using best-worst and multinomial logit modeling. Results indicate that package size, price, and brand are more sensitive predictors of stated choice preferences than midwife endorsement. Respondents were willing to pay 2.3% more for a diaper that was endorsed by midwives. These findings suggest that midwife endorsement should be pursued by health marketers.

Eliciting expert opinion on the effectiveness and practicality of interventions in the farm and rural environment to reduce human exposure to Escherichia coli O157

Few hard data are available on emergent diseases. However, the need to mitigate and manage emergent diseases has prompted the use of various expert consultation and opinion elicitation methods. We adapted best-worst scaling (BWS) to elicit experts' assessment of the relative practicality and effectiveness of measures to reduce human exposure to E. coli O157. Cattle vaccination was considered the most effective and hand-washing was considered the most practical measure. BWS proved a powerful tool for expert elicitation as it breaks down a cognitively burdensome process into simple, repeated, tasks. In addition, statistical analysis of the resulting data provides a scaled set of scores for the measures, rather than just a ranking. The use of two criteria (practicality and effectiveness) within the BWS process allows the identification of subsets of measures judged as potentially performing well on both criteria, and conversely those judged to be neither effective nor practical.