The effect of different options on willingness to pay and decision making time: an experiment using the theory of planned behavior
Date
2016
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Vickrey auctions are commonly used to capture the true willingness to pay (WTP) of participants in experimental settings. However, to what extent does the experimental design of these auctions, as well as changes in modeling specification, impact the results? This study uses results from Vickrey auctions to determine the impact on WTP when the choices offered to participants change, both in terms of quality and number of options. This study also examines the impact of increasing the amount of options offered on decision making time. If the impact is significant, it could indicate participants are altering their decision making processes. Finally, this study tests if including independent variables related to Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) improves the predictive power of Tobit models regressing WTP for local and organic food products.
Auction experiment sessions took place in Delaware with a sample size of 128 participants from the general population. A fourth-price Vickrey auction was used to collect bids on a number of food products, specifically focusing on steak, chicken, eggs, and ice cream. For steak and chicken, the quality of the options presented to participants was varied while, for the eggs and ice cream, the number of options presented was varied. Bid data was analyzed using Wilcoxon signed rank tests and Tobit model regressions.
While results varied, they offer evidence that auction bids can be influenced by the mix of products presented. The overall decision making time increased when the number of options increased. However the change in decision making time per option offered was not significant. Finally, results show that including independent variables related to Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) improves the predictive power of Tobit models regressing WTP for local and organic food products.