CenSoC uses tools from econometrics, mathematics/statistics, marketing and psychology to build mathematical models of consumer and firm decision-making behaviour. These models can be used to predict how consumers or firms will respond to changes in the environment they face. Prime examples are predicting market shares for new products introduced into markets, or changes in market shares for existing products if their prices or other attributes are changed.

CenSoC’s primary research areas are:

• Basic/applied Choice research that leads to better consumer and managerial decisions and choices, and better methods for new product development (NPD);
• Theory and Methods that provide new ways to study, model and improve managerial and consumer decision and choice processes; and
• Applications that use existing/new theory and methods to solve significant practical problems.

CenSoC’s major research programs include:

•Theory & methods

• Modelling single individuals
• Modelling choice variability
• Modelling negotiation behaviour
• Modelling attribute information sets
• Optimal design of choice experiments
• Identifying decision rules in choice experiments

• Applications

• Modelling New Product Introductions
• Modelling ethical product choices
• Improving museum visitation choices
• Integrating data mining & choice modelling
• Modelling consumer healthcare choices
• Modelling consumer health insurance choices