Various models of site occupation preferences (SOPs) in multicomponent semiconducting compounds of zincblende structure type are discussed for the Cd1-xZnxTe case using our new experimental and calculated data. In order to resolve the microscopic mechanism of the phenomenon, appropriate two-body potentials and stability of all nearest neighbor (NN) tetrahedral configurations that can arise in the structure are computed using the ab-initio Linear Combination of Atomic Orbitals (LCAO) method. The obtained results are related to some known material properties and existing systematics.