APPLICATION OF CONJOINT ANALYSIS TO ELICIT GROWERS PREFERENCES FOR HORTICULTURAL LOCATION IN THE NETHERLANDS

Growers who are considering a relocation will, after a first screening of alternative locations, evaluate remaining alternative locations by making trade-offs on basis of the perceptions concerning different location attributes.
To obtain insight into the relative importance of the location attributes, conjoint analysis was executed to 72 growers.
The results were used to obtain insight into the preferences growers have for horticultural locations in the Netherlands.

Eight attributes were, based on expert knowledge, included in the conjoint analysis.
Light-intensity and length/width ratio of the parcel were most important of the attributes investigated.
The results indicated that Sexbierum was the most attractive location for horticultural production, especially for vegetable growers.
Cut flower/pot plant growers had a higher preference for locations in the neighborhood of the Westland when compared to vegetable growers.

Conjoint analysis can be meaningfully applied to determine the role attributes play in the evaluation process of growers looking for a new location.
To use this method to estimate overall preferences of growers for horticultural locations, it is very important that only relevant attributes are included in the analysis and that attribute levels are chosen well.

XIII International Symposium on Horticultural Economics

J.K.K. Hopman, J.H. van Niejenhuis, J.A. Renkema

Relocation, Decision making, Preferences, Conjoint analysis

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1996.429.22