The authors present a model that maps competitive market structures by
identifying the preference structure of each consumer segment. By mar
rying two different data types - switching probabilities and attribute
ratings - their model divides a market into several homogeneous subma
rkets in which consumers consider a distinctive subset of brands (cons
ideration set or competitive group) with a segment-specific rule for a
ttribute evaluations and a segment-specific ideal point. using data pu
blished in Harshman and colleagues' (1982) work, the authors examine t
he U.S. car market and find brand-loyal segments for all car types exc
ept those favored by first-time buyers, a universal market, and five s
witching segments that consider car groups differing in the nation of
origin, size, and luxury level. Breaking the switching segment into fi
ner partitions gives a better account of the data than the Colombo-Mor
rison model or an asymmetric generalization of that model. The authors
advocate the development of marketing goals with respect to each of t
he segment maps in the hope that it will lead to more synergistic mark
eting strategies for brands encountering multifaceted competition.