A knowledge acquisition method for determining utilities of linguistic values for product factors

This paper proposes a fuzzy knowledge acquisition method to discover simplified fuzzy if-then rules, where the antecedent and consequent parts of a fuzzy if-then rule are referred to as a combination of linguistic values and the corresponding utility, respectively, from questionnaire data regarding the consumers’ subjective evaluation for a product or service. The main aim of the proposed method is to support decision makers in making appropriate marketing strategies, by identifying factors of concern to consumers through the analysis of the combinations of linguistic values with higher or lower utilities. To demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed method, computer simulations and possible marketing strategy analysis are performed on the rice taste data and the questionnaire data that evaluates the service quality of fast food stores.