Questionnaires using Likert-type rating scales are an important source of data in marketing research. Researchers use different rating scale formats with varying numbers of response categories and ...varying label formats (e.g., 7-point rating scales labeled at the endpoints, fully labeled 5-point scales, etc.) but have few guidelines when selecting a specific format. Drawing from the literature on response styles, we formulate hypotheses on the effect of the labeling of response categories and the number of response categories on the net acquiescence response style, extreme response style and misresponse to reversed items. We test the hypotheses in an online survey (
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1207) with eight experimental conditions and a follow-up study with two experimental conditions (
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226). We find evidence of strong effects of scale format on response distributions and misresponse to reversed items, and we formulate recommendations on the choice of a scale format.
There has been little research on how market disruptions affect customer—brand relationships and how firms can sustain brand loyalty when disruptions occur. Drawing from social identity theory and ...the brand loyalty literature, the authors propose a conceptual framework to examine these issues in a specific market disruption, namely, the introduction of a radically new brand. The framework focuses on the time-varying effects of customers' identification with and perceived value of the incumbent relative to the new brand on switching behavior. The authors divert from the conventional economic perspective of treating brand switching as functional utility maximization to propose that brand switching can also result from customers' social mobility between brand identities. The results from longitudinal data of 679 customers during the launch of the iPhone in Spain show that both relative customer—brand identification and relative perceived value of the incumbent inhibit switching behavior, but their effects vary over time. Relative customer—brand identification with the incumbent apparently exerts a stronger longitudinal restraint on switching behavior than relative perceived value of the incumbent. The study has important strategic implications for devising customer relationship strategies and brand investment.
Modeling capabilities for longitudinal data have progressed considerably, but questions remain on the extent to which method bias may negatively affect the validity of longitudinal survey data. The ...current study addresses the stability of individual response styles. We set up a longitudinal data collection in which the same respondents filled out 2 online questionnaires with nonoverlapping sets of heterogeneous items. Between data collections, there was a 1-year time gap. We simultaneously modeled 4 response styles that capture the major directional biases in questionnaire responses: acquiescence, disacquiescence, midpoint, and extreme response style. Drawing from latent state-trait theory, we specified a 2nd-order factor model with time-invariant and time-specific response style factors and a specifically designed covariance structure for the residual terms. The results indicate that response styles have an important stable component, a small part of which can be explained by demographics. The meaning and implications of these findings are discussed.
Organizational innovation adoption has received increasing attention in the marketing and management literature over the past two decades. Insight into adoption processes, its inhibitors and ...stimulators helps suppliers of innovations to market their new products more effectively. The objective of this paper is to discuss the main findings on organizational adoption and integrate them within a framework. The framework that we propose addresses the adoption decision at two levels, i.e. the organizational level and the individual adopter within an organization. We integrate research on innovation adoption and technology acceptance that have emerged in the marketing and management literature and identify several research issues that need further attention.
This paper introduces the proximity effect model. The proximity effect model explains the correlation between two items as a function of (1) items' conceptual relationship (i.e., nonreversed items ...measuring the same construct; reversed items measuring the same construct; or items measuring unrelated constructs), and (2) items' proximity in a questionnaire. The proximity effect model draws from the belief-sampling literature. We first conduct cognitive interviews to better understand the ways that respondents process items in a questionnaire depending on items' conceptual relationships and proximity. Next, we quantitatively test the resultant model using primary data (
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3114). Finally, we use simulated correlation matrices to assess the impact of the proximity effect on factor structure and reliability. The results indicate that the (positive) correlation between a nonreversed item pair decreases with increasing inter-item distance. In contrast, the (negative) correlation between reversed item pairs decreases (i.e., becomes stronger) with increasing inter-item distance. This is partly due to the fact that respondents tend to minimize retrieval of additional information when answering nearby nonreversed items, and they tend to maximize retrieval of new and different information when answering nearby reversed items. The proximity effect model leads to a set of key recommendations pertaining to questionnaire construction (i.e., the use of reversed items dispersed throughout the questionnaire) and data analysis (i.e., the use of a confirmatory factor analysis model specification including a response style factor).
In the recent methodological literature, various models have been proposed to account for the phenomenon that reversed items (defined as items for which respondents' scores have to be recoded in ...order to make the direction of keying consistent across all items) tend to lead to problematic responses. In this article we propose an integrative conceptualization of three important sources of reversed item method bias (acquiescence, careless responding, and confirmation bias) and specify a multisample confirmatory factor analysis model with 2 method factors to empirically test the hypothesized mechanisms, using explicit measures of acquiescence and carelessness and experimentally manipulated versions of a questionnaire that varies 3 item arrangements and the keying direction of the first item measuring the focal construct. We explain the mechanisms, review prior attempts to model reversed item bias, present our new model, and apply it to responses to a 4-item self-esteem scale (N = 306) and the 6-item Revised Life Orientation Test (N = 595). Based on the literature review and the empirical results, we formulate recommendations on how to use reversed items in questionnaires.
This study examines the dynamics of consumer–brand identification (CBI) and its antecedents in the context of the launch of a new brand. Three focal drivers of CBI with a new brand are examined, ...namely: perceived quality (the instrumental driver), self–brand congruity (the symbolic driver), and consumer innate innovativeness (a trait-based driver). Using longitudinal survey data, the authors find that on average, CBI growth trajectories initially rise after the introduction but eventually decline, following an inverted-U shape. More importantly, the longitudinal effects of the antecedents suggest that CBI can take different paths. Consumer innovativeness creates a fleeting identification with the brand that dissipates over time. On the other hand, company-controlled drivers of CBI—such as brand positioning—can contribute to the build-up of deep-structure CBI that grows stronger over time. Based on these findings, the authors offer normative guidelines to managers on consumer–brand relationship investment.
Cross-mode surveys are on the rise. The current study compares levels of response styles across three modes of data collection: paper-and-pencil questionnaires, telephone interviews, and online ...questionnaires. The authors make the comparison in terms of acquiescence, disacquiescence, and extreme and midpoint response styles. To do this, they propose a new method, namely, the representative indicators response style means and covariance structure (RIRSMACS) method. This method contributes to the literature in important ways. First, it offers a simultaneous operationalization of multiple response styles. The model accounts for dependencies among response style indicators due to their reliance on common item sets. Second, it accounts for random error in the response style measures. As a consequence, random error in response style measures is not passed on to corrected measures. The method can detect and correct cross-mode response style differences in cases where measurement invariance testing and multitrait multimethod designs are inadequate. The authors demonstrate and discuss the practical and theoretical advantages of the RIRSMACS approach over traditional methods.
The authors propose a symbolic-instrumental interactive framework of consumer-brand identification (CBI) and explore its predictiveness across 15 countries. Using multinational data, they show that ...the negative impact of the misalignment between self-brand congruity and perceived quality on CBI is universal. The interaction among CBI, perceived quality, and uncertainty avoidance orientation in motivating consumers' identity-sustaining behavior is weak. However, the synergy between CBI and perceived quality in motivating consumers' identity-promoting behavior is stronger among collectivist consumers. The authors derive a typology of symbolic-instrumental misalignments to help international marketing managers motivate consumers to identify with and promote brands.
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