Education

Fields of Interest

Consumer behavior, sustainable consumption behavior, neuroeconomics, context effects in decision-making situations, preference measurement, research methods and statistical procedures, health economics.

Current Research Projects

MentalBurden – Economic Impacts of Mental Health

Mental illnesses are among the most common causes of work incapacity in Germany. While direct treatment costs are well documented, little is known about the broader economic consequences for those affected. The project investigates how depression and anxiety disorders affect work productivity, income, consumption behavior, saving decisions, and wealth accumulation.

The research focuses on Saxony-Anhalt, a region with an above-average burden of disease and, at the same time, an undersupply of therapeutic care. Using a large-scale survey conducted via the DigiHero pool, health and economic data are combined in order to quantify the actual costs of mental illness from the perspective of those affected.

Further information is available at: https://forschung-sachsen-anhalt.de/project/mentalburden-individuelle-last-gesellschaftliche-28591

Research Methods and Measurement Procedures

TasteNet-MNL is a neural-network-embedded discrete choice model that combines the interpretability of utility-based choice models with the flexibility of neural networks. A feed-forward network learns individual utility coefficients as nonlinear functions of respondent characteristics, which are then fed into a classical logit model. This enables data-driven consumer segmentation and creates a direct bridge between machine learning and applied market research. The approach is currently being applied to existing conjoint datasets and compared with established methods such as HB-MNL.

A study combining incentive alignment with adaptive choice experiments has already been completed, improving the predictive accuracy of conjoint analyses (Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science). As part of this work, an open-source R package was also developed, enabling the analysis of adaptive conjoint designs for the first time without paid software. Another project focuses on compositional data analysis methods that improve statistical efficiency in the analysis of Likert-scale data.

Sustainable Consumer Behavior

Several studies examine which factors influence consumer decisions regarding sustainable products and services. These include, among others, the influence of information design and labeling on preferences for renewable energy, as well as the role of uncertainty in the demand for repair services for electronic devices.

Selected related Publications 

Bengart, P. & Vogt, B. (2025). The impact of uncertainty in repair service attributes on consumer preferences. Journal of Industrial Ecology.
Sablotny-Wackershauser, V., Lichters, M., Guhl, D., Bengart, P., & Vogt, B. (2024). Crossing incentive alignment and adaptive designs in choice-based conjoint. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.
Bengart, P., Declerck, C., Neumann, T., & Vogt, B. (2025). The effect of acute tryptophan depletion on beliefs in a Stag Hunt game. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization.
Bengart, P. & Vogt, B. (2023). Effects and interactions of labels’ color scheme and lay rationalism on pro-environmental choices. Journal of Environmental Psychology.
Bengart, P. & Vogt, B. (2021). Fuel mix disclosure in Germany – Consumer preferences for renewable energy. Energy Policy.
Lichters, M., Bengart, P., Sarstedt, M., & Vogt, B. (2017). What really matters in attraction effect research. Marketing Letters.

Selected related Conference Contributions

ASSA 2026 Annual Meeting (AEA), Philadelphia, USA – Compositional data approach for Likert scale analysis
Academy of Marketing Science Annual Meeting 2025, Montreal, Canada – Uncertainty and repair service preferences
ASSA 2025 Annual Meeting (AEA), San Francisco, USA – Ambiguity in repair service offers
Society for Neuroeconomics, 17th Annual Meeting, Dublin – Tryptophan depletion and negative reciprocity
International Conference on Energy Research & Social Science 2022, Manchester, UK – Decision-making styles and willingness to pay for renewable energy
80th VHB Annual Conference, Magdeburg – Labeling of electricity products