The Validity of Hierarchical Information Integration Choice Experiments to Model Residential Preference and Choice

Integrated conjoint choice models have recently been introduced in the consumer choice literature as an approach to include a large number of influential attributes in a choice experiment and statistically test its assumed hierarchical structure. In the present article, the validity of integrated conjoint choice models is tested using housing choice as an example. The results of this study suggest that the parameters of housing utility functions derived from integrated conjoint choice models are not statistically different across experiments nor are they different from those derived from nonhierarchical conjoint models. This yields support for the validity of these models. Implications of these findings are discussed.