1999/01/01 by Josef A. Mazanec, Mazanec, Josef
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Computer Science · #Image Retrieval and Classification Techniques #Rough Sets and Fuzzy Logic #Sensory Analysis and Statistical Methods
paper · pdf · doi:10.57938/f4e4306d-ce9e-4ef7-9e10-0834b32402db
openalex publication_date 1999/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Given the recent abundance of brand choice data from scanner panels market researchers have neglected the measurement and analysis of perceptions. Heterogeneity of perceptions is still a largely unexplored issue in market structure and segmentation studies. Over the last decade various parametric approaches toward modelling segmented perception-preference structures such as combined MDS and Latent Class procedures have been introduced. These methods, however, are not taylored for qualitative data describing consumers' redundant and fuzzy perceptions of brand images. A completely different method is based on topology-sensitive vector quantization (VQ) for consumers-by-brands-by-attributes data. It maps the segment-specific perceptual structures into bubble-pie-bar charts with multiple brand positions demonstrating perceptual distinctiveness or similarity. Though the analysis proceeds without any distributional assumptions it allows for significance testing. The application of exploratory and inferential data processing steps to the same data base is statistically sound and particularly attractive for market structure analysts. A brief outline of the VQ method is followed by a sample study with travel market data which proved to be particularly troublesome for conventional processing tools. (author's abstract)