Extant preference measurement research, including conjoint analysis, has
been silent on the explicit influence of others in the formation of
consumer preferences. This article proposes a new holistic framework of
preference, "PIE," as well as a measurement method to remedy this
problem. The new paradigm posits that consumers evaluate products on the
basis of different "needs" determined by three sources: (1) P, the
physical attributes of the product; (2) I, the individual
characteristics of the choice maker; and (3) E, characteristics of an
external peer group. To provide an empirically feasible method to
capture all three sources of information, the authors propose and test
an incentive-aligned approach, a "group-sourced mechanism," which mimics
a consumer's real-life consultation in the presence of his or her
friends when making a purchase decision. The results provide support for
the PIE framework, including superior predictive performance in a
conjoint task that is "stacked against it." The authors also show how
firms can apply the PIE framework for product design. Practitioners,
however, must carefully weigh the benefits of the group-sourced
preference measurement with the heavier cognitive burden on the
respondents in completing the task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]