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The effect of synchronizing consumers' diurnal preferences with time of response on data reliability

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Abstract

Daily rhythms of arousal explain a broad range of variations in biological, behavioral, and cognitive patterns among humans. In this paper, we consider the effects of individual variations in optimal time-of-day on the stability of consumer responses. Specifically, we explore the effects of gathering questionnaire responses at times of day that match (versus mismatch) consumers' temporal preferences on data reliability. Two studies were conducted using two different scales. Our findings confirm a synchrony effect between participants' testing time and test–retest reliability results. Specifically, we found greater (lower) stability in test–retest scores for surveys administered during times-of-day matching (mismatching) consumers' temporal preferences. We discuss theoretical and practical implications and opportunities for future research.

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Notes

  1. For all Alpha's we have also calculated their confidence intervals using the computation procedure suggested by Iacobucci and Duhachek (2003).

  2. The following formula was used, throughout the paper, to calculate the magnitude of all experimental effects (effect size): \( r = \left( {\text{eta}} \right) = \sqrt {\frac{{(F)\left( {df\,{\text{effect}}} \right)}}{{(F)\left( {df\,{\text{effect}} + \left( {df\,{\text{error}}} \right)} \right)}}} . \) Rosenthal and Rosnow (1984, p. 356).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Recanati Graduate School of Business, Tel Aviv University, Tel- Aviv, 69978, Israel

    Jacob Hornik

  2. Ecole Supérieure de Gestion (ESG Paris), Paris, France

    Jacob Hornik

  3. Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27705, USA

    Aner Tal

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  1. Jacob Hornik
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  2. Aner Tal
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Correspondence to Jacob Hornik.

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This research was financially supported by the Henry Crown Center for Business Research, Israel.

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Hornik, J., Tal, A. The effect of synchronizing consumers' diurnal preferences with time of response on data reliability. Mark Lett 21, 1–15 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-009-9080-7

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