| This dissertation research compares two means of eliciting and representing consumer perceptions about brands. The first method is the now classic technique of multidimensional scaling (MDS) which is well-known to marketers. Newer to marketers is an approach that draws conceptually from associative networks and methodologically from structural (i.e., social) networks. Specifically, brand-related associations are elicited directly from consumers using the technique called the "Kelly Repertory Grid." Once collected, the data are analyzed using various graph-theoretic manipulations and represented as networks of brand associations. In addition to being grounded in cognitive psychology, the research has ready managerial implications, including the purposes of determining market segmentation, market structure, brand positioning, and new product introductions. |
