Niklas Heck

Niklas is enrolled in a master's programme (M.Sc.) in International Business Administration at the University of Vienna. As a business administrative specialisation he is focusing on international marketing. In addition to his studies, Niklas works for a risk broker as an account manager for incoming customers. In his thesis, Niklas elaborates which attributes of Voluntary Carbon Offset schemes in the aviation industry have a higher influence on the consumer‘s preference function.

While every forecast predicts an ever-increasing demand for flights, CO2 emissions are rising at the same time. However, in a 2017 survey, the EU Commission found that for 94% of respondents, sustainable protection of the environment is of personal importance to them. As this is a contradicting fact, Niklas investigates as to how Voluntary Carbon Offset schemes, offered by airlines and non-governmental organizations, need to be marketed in order to attract a higher number of potential customers and how to increase their willingness to pay simultaneously. Therefore, the product of an offset has been broken down into its attributes, such as the final price, the length of a flight (short-haul vs. long-haul), the receiver of the payment (airline, travel agency, or directly the organization that invests the payment) , the project, which the organization is ultimately spending the money for and method of payment (Miles vs. Money). The Conjoint analysis is supposed to ultimately generate the relative influence of each individual attribute, so its implications will significantly contribute to managerial and theoretical findings and experiences.

For his analysis, he uses the Choice-Based Conjoint Analysis (CBC) of Lighthouse Studio, provided by Sawtooth Software, Inc.