Rejoinder—Temporal Stochastic Inflation in Choice-Based Research
Linda Court Salisbury,
Fred M. Feinberg
Carroll School of Management, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467
Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
salisbli{at}bc.edu
feinf{at}umich.edu
We examine the specification and interpretation of discrete-choice models used in behavioral theory testing, with a focus on separating "coefficient scale" from "error scale," particularly over time. Numerous issues raised in the thoughtful commentaries of Louviere and Swait [Louviere, J., J. Swait. 2009. Discussion of "Alleviating the constant stochastic variance assumption in decision research: Theory, measurement, and experimental test." Marketing Sci., ePub ahead of print November 3, http://mktsci.journal.informs.org/cgi/content/abstract/mksc.1090.0474v1] and Hutchinson, Zauberman, and Meyer [Hutchinson, J. W., G. Zauberman, and R. Meyer. 2009. On the interpretation of temporal inflation parameters in stochastic models of judgment and choice. Marketing Sci., ePub ahead of print November 3, http://mktsci.journal.informs.org/cgi/content/abstract/mksc.1090.0511v1] are addressed, specifically the roles of response scaling, preference covariates, actual versus hypothetical consumption, "immediacy," and heterogeneity, as well as key differences between the experimental setup in Salisbury and Feinberg [Salisbury, L. C., F. M. Feinberg. 2009. Alleviating the constant stochastic variance assumption in decision research: Theory, measurement, and experimental test. Marketing Sci., ePub ahead of print November 3, http://mktsci.journal.informs.org/cgi/content/abstract/mksc.1090.0464v1] and those typifying intertemporal choice and construal level theory. We strongly concur with most of the general conclusions put forth by the commentary authors, but we also emphasize a central point made in our research that may have been lost: that the temporal inflation effects observed in our empirical analysis could be attributed to stochastic effects, deterministic influences, or an amalgam; appropriate inferences depend on the nature of one's data and stimuli. We also report on further analyses of our data, as well as a meta-analysis of HZM's Table 1 that is consistent with our original findings. Implications for, and dimensions relevant to, future research on temporal stochastic inflation and its role in choice-based research are discussed.
Key Words: brand choice; choice models; construal level theory; decisions under uncertainty; decision making over time; econometric models; intertemporal choice; measurement and inference; probability models; stochastic models
History: Received: July 3, 2009;
accepted: August 4, 2009.
Copyright © 2009 by INFORMS.
