Measurement in marketing

We distinguish three senses of the concept of measurement (measurement as the selection of observable indicators of theoretical concepts, measurement as the collection of data from respondents, and measurement as the formulation of measurement models linking observable indicators to latent factors representing the theoretical concepts), and we review important issues related to measurement in each of these senses. With regard to measurement in the first sense, we distinguish the steps of construct definition and item generation, and we review scale development efforts reported in three major marketing journals since 2000 to illustrate these steps and derive practical guidelines. With regard to measurement in the second sense, we look at the survey process from the respondent's perspective and discuss the goals that may guide participants' behavior during a survey, the cognitive resources that respondents devote to answering survey questions, and the problems that may occur at the various steps of the survey process. Finally, with regard to measurement in the third sense, we cover both reflective and formative measurement models, and we explain how researchers can assess the quality of measurement in both types of measurement models and how they can ascertain the comparability of measurements across different populations of respondents or conditions of measurement. We also provide a detailed empirical example of measurement analysis for reflective measurement models

Effects of Rating Scale Direction under the Condition of Different Reading Direction

Because response scales serve as orientation for respondents when mapping their answers to response categories, it can be expected that the decremental (from positive to negative) or incremental (from negative to positive) order of a response scale provides information that influences response behavior. If respondents interpret the first category on a scale as signifying "most accepted," then starting an agree/disagree scale with "agree completely" or "disagree completely" may result in their forming different subjective hypotheses about the "most acceptable" response. If this principle applies in general, respondents' reactions to horizontal response scales with different orders of response categories should be similar in the two directions of reading - right to left or left to right. This paper tests two hypotheses: first, that decremental scales elicit more positive responses than incremental scales; second, that this pattern holds under the condition of different reading direction. These hypotheses were tested using a German and an Israeli student sample. Seven-point decremental and incremental scales were applied in each sample; only the scale endpoints were verbally labeled. The questions asked related to extrinsic and intrinsic job motivation and achievement motivation. For data collection, a split-ballot design with random assignment of respondents to decremental and incremental scales was applied in both samples. Results revealed that response-order effects occur similarly in the right-to-left and the left-to-right reading direction

Response styles in consumer research

In researchers’ efforts to better understand consumers, questionnaires are an indispensable source of data. In consumer surveys the Likert item format, where respondents rate their agreement with specific statements, is very popular. However, responses to such items may be biased by response styles, defined as respondents’ tendencies to disproportionately select specific response options. A well-known example is the acquiescence response style, i.e. the tendency to disproportionately use the response options expressing agreement, but respondents may also make disproportionate use of the extreme options, the midpoint option, or the options expressing disagreement. Despite repeated warnings regarding the biasing effect of response styles, most survey research does not control or correct for their impact. A reason for this may be the incomplete understanding of response styles and their antecedents, as well as the difficulties encountered in measuring response styles. The research programme reported in this dissertation aimed to contribute to the understanding of response styles in consumer research by further crystalizing the conceptualization of response styles, by optimizing measurement of response styles, and by explaining the processes that underly response styles. To this end, five empirical studies were carried out. A first study investigated respondents’ understanding of reversed items in questionnaires. Reversed items relate to the same construct as their non-reversed counterparts, but in the opposite direction (e.g. ‘I love to buy new products’ is a reversal of ‘I dislike the purchase of innovations’). This study indicated that responses to items are influenced by the presence of other items that measure the same construct. The exact functional form of this influence is different for reversals and non-reversals, indicating a difference in the way respondents process both types of items. Since this study questioned the validity of reversals for measuring response styles, in the subsequent studies a measurement method for response styles was proposed that captures response tendencies across random samples of items. In a second study, it was shown that response styles are tendencies which are largely stable over the course of a single questionnaire administration. Study 3 established response styles as largely stable tendencies across different questionnaire administrations with a one year time gap in between and using different sets of questions. A fourth study compared response styles across different modes of data collection (self-administered paper and pencil questionnaires, telephone interviews and self-administered online questionnaires). This study showed that there may be differences in response styles across modes of data collection that cannot be detected by the traditional measurement invariance tests. A fifth and final study found two major segments of respondents that differ in the way they satisfice, i.e. economize on the time and effort invested in responding to questionnaire items. One group tends to disproportionately use the midpoint when satisficing. A second group, when satisficing, disproportionately uses the midpoint as well as the negative and positive extremes of the response scale. In sum, though many questions remain unresolved, this dissertation contributes to a better understanding of response styles. More specifically, theory is enhanced by (1) a further delineation of the concept of response styles, which is translated in a proposed operationalization of response styles, (2) evidence in support of the stabililty of response styles, (3) the establishment of response styles as a potential biasing factor in cross-mode comparisons, and (4) a model that captures the relation of response styles to satisficing

The equivalence of Internet versus paper-based surveys in IT/IS adoption research in collectivistic cultures: the impact of satisficing

An increasing proportion of information technology (IT)/information system adoption research collects data using online surveys. However, a paucity of research assesses the equivalence of paper-based versus Internet-based surveys in collectivistic cultures. Furthermore, no theoretical or empirical research investigates how cultural differences between collectivistic and individualistic cultures influence the measurement equivalence (ME) of these survey modes. To explore these issues, online and paper-based surveys with comparable samples were carried out in both an individualistic (the USA) and a collectivistic culture (China). Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine the ME across both survey modes in these different cultures. Results indicate that the relatively larger satisficing discrepancy between paper and online surveys causes respondents in collectivistic cultures to have an increased likelihood of providing responses that vary as compared to respondents in individualistic cultures. The disparate responses, in turn, result in increased measurement variance between the two survey modes. The findings of this study bridge a gap in the literature and address the question of how culture influences online satisficing behaviour and how that behaviour causes measurement invariance across survey modes. This study also explains the possible underlying mechanisms by which different national cultures exert their influence on survey results. The findings provide important implications for IT researchers, especially those in collectivistic cultures or those who need to collect data in collectivistic cultures using online surveys or mixed-mode surveys that include an online survey mode

The influence of the information stimulus on the human information behavior

The use of multiple digital technologies to perform tasks or solve problems become a regular practice in the corporate environment while the amount of information available to people grows at an impressive pace. However, scant studies dedicated to understanding the influence of the actual use of multiple digital technologies and the influence of information stimulus on human information behavior. Recent literature on the information system positions the study of human information behavior as a critical research area for its power to predict and explain the human behavior. For this reason, this research focus on the influence of information stimulus on human information behavior during the use of multiple digital technologies, precisely the individual behavior in the organizational setting. This study developed three articles, comprehending a literature review, qualitative research, and quantitative research to validate the conceptualized the information stimuli and the proposed cognitive model. The central objective is to understand the influence of the use of multiple digital technologies on human behavior. The findings showed that the information load and information diversity represent the information stimulus that influences the capacity of the information workers to determine their information need, their ability to seek for specific information, and the use of information while performing a task. The recognition of the negative influence of the use multiple technologies was expressed in behaviors such as the need to focus, the strategies to prioritize tasks, the development of self-control, and the uncertainty. The quantitative research with 565 information workers presented support on the hypotheses between information diversity, information load, information need, information seeking, and information use. The results are important once they represent the measurement of the perception about the influence of the information stimulus on the human behavior. Finally, this research makes significant contributions conceptualizing human information behavior in the information system literature and providing a new approach to evaluate human information behavior in the context of high information stimuli

Absorptive capacity and relationship learning mechanisms as complementary drivers of green innovation performance

This paper aims to explore in depth how internal and external knowledge-based drivers actually affect the firms\u2019 green innovation performance. Subsequently, this study analyzes the relationships between absorptive capacity (internal knowledge-based driver), relationship learning (external knowledge-based driver) and green innovation performance. This study relies on a sample of 112 firms belonging to the Spanish automotive components manufacturing sector (ACMS) and uses partial least squares path modeling to test the hypotheses proposed. The empirical results show that both absorptive capacity and relationship learning exert a significant positive effect on the dependent variable and that relationship learning moderates the link between absorptive capacity and green innovation performance. This paper presents some limitations with respect to the particular sector (i.e. the ACMS) and geographical context (Spain). For this reason, researchers must be thoughtful while generalizing these results to distinct scenarios. Managers should devote more time and resources to reinforce their absorptive capacity as an important strategic tool to generate new knowledge and hence foster green innovation performance in manufacturing industries. The paper shows the importance of encouraging decision-makers to cultivate and rely on relationship learning mechanisms with their main stakeholders and to acquire the necessary information and knowledge that might be valuable in the maturity of green innovations. This study proposes that relationship learning plays a moderating role in the relationship between absorptive capacity and green innovation performance

Accommodating satisficing behaviour in stated choice experiments

Accumulating evidence suggests that respondents in stated choice experiments use simplifying strategies. Such behavior is a deviation from random utility theory and can lead to wrong inferences regarding preferences. This is a first attempt to systematically explore satisficing in stated choice experiments. We consider 944 satisficing rules and allow respondents to revise the rules adopted throughout the choice sequence. Only a minority of respondents used the same satisficing rule across the entire sequence. Allowing for updating reveals that the use of the heuristic changes over the choice sequence. Considering satisficing behavior leads to improved model fits and different marginal willingness-to-pay estimates