Menu-based choice

What is Menu-based choice (MBC)?

Menu-based choice (MBC) is advanced discrete choice modeling software for multi-check choice experiments.  The main difference between MBC and CBC is that  MBC studies ask respondents to build their preferred option via multiple selections rather than asking respondents to choose just one from among a set of multiple pre-configured options.

How does MBC work?

MBC software includes a sophisticated point-and-click interface for modeling how the items (and often prices for those items) on the menu affect the multiple choices respondents make.  MBC employs MNL (aggregate logit) and HB-MNL for these models.  MBC includes an integrated market simulator or can write out market simulators to Excel files.

MBC requires more expertise to use properly than our other conjoint analysis tools. MBC software doesn’t automatically design and program an MBC study.  Instead, researchers typically employ a traditional CBC design along with customized survey questions they program in Lighthouse Studio. This will usually require knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

The MBC user should have solid background in CBC and multivariate statistical modeling, especially in terms of building models (regression, MNL) and the theory behind coding independent variables. While the software manages most details involving the data processing, independent variable coding, model estimation and simulations, the user must understand and direct the process intelligently.

The statistical routines used in MBC are the same as used in CBC. However, the model specification and sheer number of inter-related models is more complex and greater in MBC. MBC software manages a complicated process with elegance and simplicity. During the model specification process, the researcher can preview the design matrix, so the process is transparent and never becomes "black-box." Own-effects, cross-effects, availability effects, conditional dependencies, linear, log-linear, and part-worth terms are supported. Despite the flexibility, MBC automatically handles the coding aspects that can occupy so much time if attempted manually.  The software takes a data processing and analysis process that can take experienced analysts from one to two weeks to do and compresses the timeline to 1 to 2 days.

The final deliverable of an MBC project is usually the market simulator. MBC software provides a simulator that can project what percent of the respondents are likely to pick each item from a menu, given a set of menu prices. If using HB estimation of the parameters, MBC can also simulate expected combinations of items that respondents are most likely to pick.

When to use MBC?

When the actual purchase decision involves making multiple selections from a menu to configure the product or service, then this seems like a situation more applicable to MBC rather than CBC.  However, MBC studies usually require larger sample sizes than CBC.  Moreover, the programming effort and analysis time/expertise is much greater for MBC than a CBC study.

Product details

MBC requires more expertise to use properly than our other conjoint analysis tools. It is not a component of Lighthouse Studio, so for fieldwork the researcher would typically employ a traditional CBC design with customized survey questions. This will usually require knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

For using the MBC software once data has been collected, the user should have solid background in CBC and multivariate statistical modeling, especially in terms of building models (regression, MNL) and the theory behind coding independent variables. While the software manages most details involving the data processing, independent variable coding, model estimation and simulations, the user must understand and direct the process intelligently.