Research Methodology

Abstract

In order to test the previously derived hypotheses, an experiment with a total of 90 loan officers working for different banks in Germany was conducted. The experimenter collected data on (1) bank loan officers’ decision making strategies using a conjoint approach, (2) participants orientation toward SEW using a post-experimental questionnaire and (3) other controls like e.g. family background or education on the level of loan officers and their employers. In a first step, the conjoint experiment was conducted before collecting the other data in order to minimize the potential threat of response bias. Data was then analyzed with a HLM approach. In the following, the distinct methodological components will be discussed in more detail.