Research Article

Exploring the Types of Casinos Preferred in Japan via Conjoint Analysis of Relevant Words

Table 1

Extraction of words expressing factors based on the four Ps.

FactorExtraction protocol

(Place): Location“Place” of the casino means its location. Here, the relevant term is “Location.”

(Price): Restrictions on bettingWords pertaining to money are extracted and regarded as factors corresponding to “Price.” Casino money matters include (principally) entrance fees and bets. Entrance fees are controlled by Japanese governmental regulations; visitors cannot choose how much to pay. Also, the casino must charge only the legal fee. Therefore, we targeted words pertaining to betting. The word “Price” can be replaced by “The size of bets.” It is necessary to keep in mind that the specific rewards vary by the games played and one’s success rate. Thus, it is difficult to extract level-specific words. Many subjects will not know the situation that pertains if a specific level of betting is allowed. Subjects may choose their bets freely.

(Promotion): AtmosphereThis refers to promotion within the marketing mix. The purpose of promotion is to send a message to a target customer that increases the recognition of a product or service, improves its public image, and enhances sales [18]. It is indisputable that promotion directly influences consumption; moreover, promotion can also improve brand equity [19]. Promotion should not be viewed as a short-term approach to increasing sales. Indeed, promotional efforts should enhance brand equity in the long-term [20]. For casinos, brand equity involves awareness and a positive societal image. Given our focus on brand equity, we identified “atmosphere” as being important in terms of casino image.

(Product): Operating organizationAs a casino is a single product, we extracted words reflecting reliability and quality. The characteristics of a product include safety, reliability, and suitability. When choosing electrical appliances and clothes, a consumer may focus on the country of origin and the manufacturer; these represent reliability [21]. The organization managing the casino is analogous to a manufacturer. The type of organization will influence whether a prospective customer would prefer to go to a casino or elsewhere.