JUDGMENTAL MODELING AS A TOOL FOR ANALYZING MARKET-STRUCTURE - AN APPLICATION IN THE PLASTICS INDUSTRY

This article indicates how judgmental modeling, when combined with the use of word-models, can be used as a tool for analyzing market struct ure. It is based on a sample of buyers in a sector of the plastics ind ustry in Europe. The study shows how data collected with this approach can be used both to assess attribute importance and as an input to pe rceptual mapping. The results have been of immediate use to the firm i nvolved, and the approach is potentially applicable across a range of industrial market environments.