Free-riding is a serious challenge in group projects. While there are various methods to reduce free-riding, marketing educators still face a difficult task when selecting an appropriate method for their course. In this study, we propose a students’ preferences-based approach that supports marketing educators with the selection of methods to detect and handle free-riding. To measure these preferences, students completed an online survey based on a choice task about two methods to detect free-riding and a ranking task about four methods to handle free-riding (n = 254). Their answers were analyzed using chi-squared tests, Borda scores, and rank-ordered logit models. The results show that (a) neither Dutch nor international students have a clear preference for one of the two detection methods (the reporting system vs. the process evaluation system), (b) grade discussion (a possible reduction of the free-rider’s grade based on a conversation with the course coordinator about each student’s contribution) is the most preferred method to handle free-riding, and (c) international students have a stronger preference for stricter handling methods. Marketing educators can apply the proposed approach, or use our specific findings, for designing methods to reduce free-riding in their courses.

搭便车是小组项目中的一项严峻挑战。尽管有各种各样的方法可以减少搭便车，但是市场教育工作者在为他们的课程选择合适的方法时仍然面临着艰巨的任务。在这项研究中，我们提出了一种基于学生偏好的方法，该方法通过选择检测和处理搭便车的方法来支持市场教育工作者。为了衡量这些偏好，学生基于一项关于选择两种方法来检测搭便车的选择任务以及一项关于四种方法来处理搭便车的排名任务（n= 254）。他们的答案使用卡方检验，Borda得分和按顺序排列的logit模型进行了分析。结果表明：（a）荷兰学生和国际学生都没有明显地偏爱两种检测方法之一（报告系统与过程评估系统），（b）成绩讨论（可能会降低搭便车者的成绩）基于与课程协调员关于每个学生的贡献的对话）是处理搭便车的最佳方法，并且（c）国际学生更倾向于采用更严格的处理方法。营销教育者可以采用建议的方法，也可以使用我们的特定发现，来设计减少课程中搭便车的方法。