Giving stated preference respondents "time to think": Results from four countries by Joseph Cook, Marc Jeuland, Brian Maskery, Dale Whittington
Evans School Working Paper No. 2010-01 (384 KB PDF)
Abstract: Previous studies have found that contingent valuation (CV) respondents who are given overnight to reflect on a CV scenario have 30 - 40% lower average willingness-to-pay (WTP) than respondents who are interviewed in a single session. This "time to think" (TTT) effect could explain much of the gap between real and hypothetical WTP observed in experimental studies. Yet giving time to think is still rare in CV or choice experiment studies. We review the literature on increasing survey respondents' opportunities to reflect on their answers and synthesize results from parallel TTT studies on private vaccine demaind in four countries. Across all four countries, we find robust and consistent evidence from both raw data and multivariate models for a TTT effect: giving respondents overnight to think reduced the probability that a respondent said he or she would buy the hypothetical vaccines. Average respondent WTP fell approximately 40%, and houshold WTP (to vaccinate all member) fell 30%. Respondents with time to think were also more certain of their answers, and a majority said they used the opportunity to consult with their spouse or family. We conclude with a discussion of why researchers might be hesitant to adopt the TTT methodology.
Multisectoral network evolution: Entrepreneurial coordination strategy during austere exogenous conditions by Joaquin Herranz Jr.
Evans School Working Paper No. 2010-02 (102 KB PDF)
Abstract: This article addresses the research question of whether and how a network coordination approach has a relationship to the evolution of a multisectoral (i.e., governmental, nonprofit, for-profit) organizational network during an economic recession. The question is addressed by providing a framework that integrates and extends Ebers’ (1997) concept of network development (i.e., interorganizational processes related to resource exchange, mutual expectations, and information use) with Herranz’s (2008) concept of multisectoral network coordination strategy (i.e., entrepreneurial, community, and bureaucratic orientations). The framework is illustrated with an analysis of a workforce development network in Boston that evolved in response to: 1) changed federal policies; and 2) changed labor market conditions—economic expansion between 1997 and 1999, and the economic recession between 2000 and 2002. This study finds a relationship between an entrepreneurial coordination strategy and the evolution of the network and its services. The article discusses the contributions and implications of the proposed framework for the research and practice of network-based governance under austere exogenous policy and economic conditions.