An exploratory investigation of consumer decision making for selected professional and nonprofessional services

Uses services classification schemes to distinguish a professional service (doctors) from two nonprofessional services (photo finishers and dry cleaners). New residents to a community evaluate profiles for each of these service providers. Uses conjoint analysis to identify the relative importance of six attributes for each service in consumers’ decision making. As expected, finds differences in the use of attributes between the professional and the two nonprofessional services. Contrary to expectations, finds differences between the two nonprofessional services. Discusses managerial implications.