The applications of conjoint analysis and their possible uses in Sensometrics

This paper presents a history of conjoint analysis and the basics of the approach, focusing on the possible areas of intersection of conjoint analysis with Sensometrics research. The paper presents 10 substantive applications, ranging from an analysis of element performance, on to the scalability of conjoint analysis in order to accommodate many hundreds of elements, and into concept-response segmentation. The paper then deals in depth with Internet-based interviews, the evolution of conjoint analysis from text + pictures to purely visual approaches, and the introduction of response time as another dependent variable along side direct ratings. The paper finishes with two new areas. One area is the assessment of pair-wise interactions and their magnitude, a topic that is easy to do in response surface analysis but difficult to do in studies where the variables are ‘absent/present’. The second area comprises the integrated databases using linked conjoint analyses, with extensive classification questionnaires. This approach, stimulated by the genomics revolution, aims to create a multi-faceted snapshot of a large-scale category, such as beverages, across products and over time.