Picking winners: new product concept testing with item response theory
Chunyu Li
Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, People's Republic of China
Ling Peng and Geng Cui
Lingnan University, Hong Kong
Introduction
Suppose that you are the brand manager of Coca-Cola and plan to introduce an extension to the cola line and call it ‘Zero’. Although the result of the initial concept testing is encouraging, public reaction to the new product is devastating. After all, who would want to call a new product ‘Zero’, which surely sounds like a loser? You certainly do not want...