Laddering in the practice of marketing research: barriers and solutions

Abstract

Purpose The paper seeks to present discussion on laddering application in the practice of marketing, considering both academic and market researches. Design/methodology/approach It provides summary points of laddering as a qualitative research technique and the importance it can have in better understanding behaviour. Findings The paper argues that laddering is a useful and powerful technique but still underused by scholars and practitioners. The authors consider that the main apparent barriers precluding its proper use can be related to the following aspects: time‐consuming and expensive interviews; artificial set of answers; researcher biases; and simplistic analysis of the results. Originality/value This paper contributes to a better practice of laddering since it highlights its limitations and suggests alternatives to cope with them.