Techniques for determining importance: Balancing scientific method and subjectivity

Abstract

As researchers seek to find optimal techniques to help make customer satisfaction data more actionable, the question of how to obtain data on the importance of attributes impacting customer satisfaction continues to surface. This study examines the issue of identifying importance by using one method of stated importance and three methods of derived importance in an attempt to determine whether one method should be favoured over another. When methods yield apparently inconsistent results, the role of the researcher in interpreting data and in establishing the meaning and implications of the results of statistical analysis is, however, critical.