Neural Networks and Statistical Techniques in Marketing Research : A Conceptual Comparison

Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) have many potential applications virtually in wide areas ranging from engineering to management. Recently, a great deal of interest (and effort) has been directed towards using ANNs in business practice. In particular, they have been used in areas which were once reserved for multivariate statistical analysis. Owing to this they are often considered to be statistical methods. Marketing researchers and managers who are not aware of the conceptual differences between these two methods cannot use this new “cutting‐edge” technology effectively. Discusses the conceptual differences and similarities between the two methods, having in mind market researchers and managers who are looking for new tools to support their decision making.