THE USE OF PROPENSITY SCORE MATCHING IN ELIMINATING SELF-SELECTION BIAS IN MARKET SURVEYS
Keywords:
survey participation, customer satisfaction survey, conditional independence, common supportAbstract
For most firms, the conduct of a census in market research is more manageable than a survey. Participation of concerned units in this set-up is usually independently decided so that some units may not actually provide information. As a result, unreliable estimates are usually the basis of a firm’s marketing strategy if it fails to adjust for self-selection bias incorporated in the outcomes of the census. This study explores the use of propensity score matching in eliminating self-selection bias in market surveys. An experimental customer satisfaction survey was conducted to replicate the self-selection process. Results showed that with the use of propensity score matching, self-selection bias incorporated in the data was largely reduced. This suggests that given that assumptions on conditional independence and common support were attainable and with proper input and judgment from the researcher, propensity score matching can be a useful tool in minimizing the error of self-selection.
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