A sequential approach to exploiting the combined strengths of SP and RP data: Application to freight shipper choice

The possibility of and procedure for pooling RP and SP data have been discussed in recent research work. In that literature, the RP data has been viewed as the yardstick against which the SP data must be compared. In this paper we take a fresh look at the two data types. Based on the peculiar strengths and weaknesses of each we propose a new, sequential approach to exploiting the strengths and avoiding the weaknesses of each data source. This approach is based on the premise that SP data, characterized by a well-conditioned design matrix and a less constrained decision environment than the real world, is able to capture respondents' tradeoffs more robustly than is possible in RP data. (This, in turn, results in more robust estimates of share changes due to changes in independent variables.) The RP data, however, represent the current market situation better than the SP data, hence should be used to establish the aggregate equilibrium level represented by the final model. The approachfixes the RP parameters for independent variables at the estimated SP parameters but uses the RP data to establish alternative-specific constants. Simultaneously, the RP data are rescaled to correct for error-in-variables problems in the RP design matrixvis-à- vis the SP design matrix. All specifications tested are Multinomial Logit (MNL) models.The approach is tested with freight shippers' choice of carrier in three major North American cities. It is shown that the proposed sequential approach to using SP and RP data has the same or better predictive power as the model calibrated solely on the RP data (which is the best possible model for that data, in terms of goodness-of-fit figures of merit), when measured in terms of Pearson's Chi-squared ratio and the percent correctly predicted statistic. The sequential approach is also shown to produce predictions with lower error than produced by the more usual method of pooling the RP and SP data.