Brand fidelity: Scale development and validation

The goal of this research is to develop and validate a multi-dimensional scale measure of brand fidelity. This paper reports the rigorous process of scale development, through two separate studies involving 592 US consumers. Study 1 involves scale item generation, content validation and scale purification, while Study 2 involves a two-wave data collection method, evaluating the refined brand fidelity scale within a nomological network of relationships. The results demonstrate the 20-item brand fidelity scale to have strong construct validity as a first-order reflective, second-order formative scale. The findings suggest that if consumers engage in the behaviours/cognitions (as defined within the brand fidelity scale), then consumer/brand relationships are likely to be stable and predictable; are likely to endure the ravages of time; and, importantly, are likely to remain monogamous. For practitioners, the overall brand fidelity score can be used to track brand performance over time and for industry benchmarking purposes. Additionally, the measured brand fidelity dimensions provide specific direction upon which remedial marketing action can be implemented.     

Measuring customer aggression: Scale development and validation

Despite increasing levels of customer aggression being identified within the retail and services sector, no comprehensive tool has been developed to measure such behaviour, thus limiting empirical examinations of this phenomenon. Five studies were undertaken, comprising a student survey, a Delphi-style expert panel review and three retail worker surveys. The results identify a four-factor, 19-item Customer Aggression scale. The nomological validity of the scale was established by demonstrating the impact of customer aggression on employee emotional exhaustion, job stress, organisational deviance and intention to leave. This research contributes a parsimonious, reliable and valid scale to measure such behaviours, facilitating further scientific inquiry.     

Hofstede's individual-level indulgence dimension: Scale development and validation

In spite of the important role of culture in consumer behavior, there has been no study of the effects of indulgence vs. restraint, the sixth dimension of Hofstede's cultural framework, at the individual level. This is mainly because there has been no scale to measure indulgence vs. restraint at the individual level. Given that ascribing national-level cultural scores to individuals may cause an ecological fallacy, the four studies of this research conceptualize and develop a valid and reliable measure for individual-level indulgence. In study 1 (n= 290), using PCA, the items were purified to the final six items. The result of an EFA in study 2 (n=230) suggested a unidimensional six-item structure for the scale. This structure was confirmed by a CFA in study 3 (n=257). Study 3 established the reliability, convergent, discriminant, and criterion validities of the scale. In study 4 (n=219), through developing and testing the nomological network, the nomological validity of the scale was supported by showing that the impacts of individual-level indulgence on hedonic attitudes and repurchase intentions are mediated by positive post-purchase emotions and hedonic attitudes, respectively.     

The concept of consumer vulnerability: Scale development and validation

Although studies of nonrational consumer behaviour in the fields of psychology and marketing are widespread, few scholars have discussed this issue from the integrated perspective of individual characteristics and consumer welfare. Extant research has introduced the concept of consumer vulnerability to deepen the study of nonrational behaviour. The present research defines consumer vulnerability as an individual characteristic, that is, a tendency to be influenced by an external stimulation or temptation that leads to decisions harmful to the person's own welfare. To operationalize this concept, this study develops a consumer vulnerability scale. Results from exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis reveal the following seven dimensions of consumer vulnerability: product knowledge, product promotion, marketing and emotional stress, social pressure, purchasing power, refunds policy and discrimination ability. After verifying the scale's reliability and validity, this study confirms that it can be applied to measure the degree to which consumer welfare has been harmed and predict nonrational decision‐making behaviour. Limitations and future research directions also are discussed.     

Determinants of holistic passenger experience in public transportation: Scale development and validation

Transportation literature is shifting its focus from passengers’ perception of transit quality to understanding passenger experience from a holistic perspective. Few studies have investigated passenger experience factors from a holistic perspective; however, they are explored independently. A holistic approach can help the transport service providers to understand the complete journey of the passenger. This study proposes the concept of holistic passenger experience (HPX) and identifies the determinants of HPX in the context of public transportation with specific reference to Indian Railways. The study develops a comprehensive scale that measures the influence of these determinants on HPX to address this gap. Following a systematic scale development process, this study identified and validated (content, construct, convergent, and discriminant validity) a seven factor structure scale that determines HPX. Of these seven factors, four factors (vehicle maintenance, comfort & security, off board service, and travel information) constitute the core services offered by the transport service provider. Interestingly these four factors can be effectively managed by the service provider. The other three factors (social environment, supporting services, and accessibility) cannot be entirely managed by the transport service provider effectively, as these factors fall beyond the scope of the service provider.Nomological validity results are explained by constructing a matrix (holistic passenger experience Matrix) which reveals that most of the constructs that are can be managed by the transport service provider can be mapped to the cognitive component of customer experience, whereas most of the factors which go beyond the scope of the transport service provider could be mapped to the emotional component of customer experience. The findings can assist the transport sector executives to identify the key determinants to deliver superior passenger experiences throughout the journey.     

Measuring the shopper's attitude toward the point of sale display: Scale development and validation

In Europe alone, marketers invest several hundred million of Euros in marketing activities at the point of sale every year. A prominent role is assigned to display promotions. However, despite their large practical importance, surprisingly, there is no measure to pre-evaluate different displays and their design facets so that the display which reached the best pre-evaluation results may be identified and, if poor rated facets were found, those may be altered before production and rollout of the display in question. Therefore, this paper develops and validates a scale to measure the shopper's attitude toward a point of sale display reflecting all relevant facets of a display from the shopper's point of view. Examination of the scale led to satisfactory results in terms of reliability, validity, and its predictive power for purchase intention. Summarizing, the scale can help to improve display designs prior to rollout, thus, enhancing the efficiency of display promotions.     

Entrepreneurial failure and discrimination: lessons for small service firms

This paper draws lessons from a case decided by the USA Supreme Court, wherein the firm failure was perceived by the minority entrepreneur as an outcome of racial discrimination. Implications of this case are significant because the failure rate of minority-owned US businesses has been consistently higher than the average failure rate of US business. We argue that the impact of discrimination by a customer is greater for small service firms. Through the Domino's Pizza case, we assert that issues relating to equal employment, inter-company contracting and choice of business organisation must be managed by the owner of a service firm.     

Entrepreneurial learning from failure: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

This article develops a deeper conceptualisation of the process and content dimensions of learning from venture failure. I propose that recovery and re-emergence from failure is a function of distinctive learning processes that foster a range of higher-level learning outcomes. This qualitative research demonstrates that entrepreneurs learn much not only about themselves and the demise of their ventures but also about the nature of networks and relationships and the “pressure points” of venture management. This article also provides evidence that these powerful learning outcomes are future-oriented, increasing the entrepreneur's level of entrepreneurial preparedness for further enterprising activities.     

Entrepreneurial network development: Trusting in the process

An entrepreneur's network can provide a significant source of social capital, which, in turn, may increase a new venture's likelihood of success. Entrepreneurship research has frequently examined how such networks develop, and reviewing extant studies suggests that trust plays a significant role in this process. Despite its recognized importance, limited research exists examining how trust evolves during and interacts with the entrepreneur's venture network development. Accordingly, we propose that an entrepreneur's reliance on exchange relationships based on affective and cognitive trust will vary as the entrepreneur moves through the network development process. We conclude by discussing both the model's implications and future research avenues.     

Development and validation of the Personal Nostalgia Scale

This research conducts five studies and uses 1185 respondents to develop and validate a six-item, seven-point Likert scale capable of measuring a personal nostalgia response to an advertisement. Traditional forms of scale development and a variety of experimental conditions are undertaken to develop and validate the scale. Statistical techniques include t-tests, correlation, regression, confirmatory factor analysis and a multitrait–multimethod matrix. This research fulfils a significant gap in the current knowledge as the current scales neither distinguish between the distinct types of nostalgia nor measure personal nostalgia as a response to advertising independently of other reactions. This is despite personal nostalgia being considered as a distinct form of nostalgia with a suggested differing influence on a number of important consumer behaviour responses. The scale has implications for researchers undertaking future studies exploring personal nostalgia's influence on consumer behaviour reactions. Nostalgia is also a commonly used and has effective advertising appeal, and this research provides practitioners with a parsimonious instrument to measure the level of personal nostalgia experienced as a result of advertising exposure. This assists in ensuring accuracy when predicting consumer reactions.     

Experiential value: Multi-item scale development and validation

The present study aims to explore the underlying dimensions of experiential value to provide a holistic view. The study proposes a 16-item scale ‘CEXPVALS’ capturing four distinct dimensions which may be termed as cognitive value, hedonic value, social value and ethical value. The scale items demonstrated that experiential value may be apprehended holistically in terms of quality of services, time, effort and convenience (cognitive value); enjoyment, pleasure and escapism (hedonic value); status, esteem and social approval (social value); trust and privacy (ethical value). Predictive modeling indicated that experiential value predict purchase intention. The extant literature revealed that no study so far has captured a holistic view of experiential value. Thus, this could be seen as a unique and significant contribution to the literature.     

Brand love: development and validation of a practical scale

Batra et al. (Journal of Marketing 76, 1–16, 2012) created a new conceptualization of brand love but did not develop a pragmatically useful measure for studies where questionnaire length is a constraint. The current research develops a more parsimonious brand love scale, with three nested versions of 26, 13, and 6 items, respectively. This research also validates the scales, and in so doing conducts several important validity tests not considered by Batra et al. The 26-item scale is able to predict consumer loyalty, word of mouth, and resistance to negative information, with an R ² of .90, after correcting for measurement error.     

Gandhian values and consumption behavior: scale development and validation

Researchers have long been interested in the measurement of human values. Gandhi was a leading figure in the independence of India and also in the fight against racialism in South Africa. His teachings are invaluable and have inspired generations all over the world. Following standard procedure for scale development, we aim to identify the various Gandhian values that can be imbibed by an individual. We validate the applicability of the instrument by assessing its relationship with potentially related constructs like socially responsible consumption behavior and consumer frugality. We also assess its relationship with a negatively valenced construct of materialism. To develop the Gandhian values scale, we used a mix of both qualitative and quantitative methods. We conducted three data collection rounds corresponding with four separate phases of scale development. We ensured the stability of the Gandhian value scale across different contexts by testing and validating it across three different sets of sample. To the best of our knowledge, our scope of research is second only in the line of similar research like the Confucian values. Our primary contribution is the development and testing of a parsimonious Gandhian values scale that captures the value system of individuals.     

Brand portfolio coherence: Scale development and empirical demonstration

Pressure to manage complex and dynamic brand portfolios has posed a serious challenge for firms in protecting their brand identity and retaining loyal customers. To help firms overcome this challenge, the authors propose the new construct of brand portfolio coherence (BPC) to describe consumers' perceptions that (sub-)brands in a brand portfolio share a common underlying logic of features reflected in design, personality, and status. Through three comprehensive studies, the research develops and validates a multi-dimensional measure of BPC and differentiates it from relevant constructs, such as brand fit, connection, positioning, trust, and loyalty. Nomological examination shows that perceived BPC improves (re)purchase decisions with regard to brands in the portfolio. Furthermore, the research uncovers the mechanisms through which BPC exerts its impact and identifies customer-, product-, and brand strategy–related boundaries of the effect. Overall, the BPC construct and measure offer useful tools and managerial implications for firms to effectively manage brand portfolios to retain and grow customer base.     

A fear-based view of wisdom: The role of leader fear of failure and psychological empowerment

Leader wisdom is crucial to effective organizations because it is one of the greatest human capacities. However, understanding what factors impact leader wisdom is still developing. In this paper, we rely on a fear-based view of wisdom and empirically examine through a quantitative study of 249 leaders if one of the primary regulators of human behavior (fear) is positively related to wisdom. We are specifically focused on the role of fear of failure and wisdom. Additionally, because we recognize that fear has a negative connotation and has a tipping point regarding leader effectiveness, we propose that psychological empowerment serves as a coping mechanism for fear and mediates the relationship between fear of failure and wisdom. Through structural equation modeling (SEM), we demonstrate that fear of failure does positively impact leader wisdom and that this relationship is mediated by psychological empowerment. This study contributes to the literature by advancing the fear-based view of wisdom which unites two of the most powerful concepts in human history: fear and wisdom. Although wisdom has a resurgence of interest in business literature, fear is not given much attention. By theoretically and empirically linking fear of failure with wisdom, we shed light on how fear is an important motivating mechanism. The study also contributes to practice by suggesting leaders should fear failure and avoid minimizing fears to be wise.     

Conceptualising consumer economic nationalistic tendencies: scale development and validation

Economic nationalism has been identified as a critical component of nationalistic sentiment, influencing cognitions, attitudes, evaluation and purchase intentions. While a distinction is made between economic nationalism and other measures of national and international orientation (i.e. consumer ethnocentrism), previous empirical studies explore the concept in a ‘unified’ form. This study bridges this gap by developing a scale specifically tailored to measure consumer economic nationalistic tendencies. Scale generation, purification, validation and confirmation are achieved through four studies.     

Internal brand orientation: conceptualisation,scale development and validation

Internal branding is increasingly acknowledged as a potential route to acquiring sustainable competitive advantage. However, to date no systematic attempt has been made to operationalise from an organisational perspective all imperatives for achieving brand internalisation. To address this omission, we introduce internal brand orientation as a new construct that provides a measurable and more succinct picture of internal branding. Following the literature in measurement theory, we report a series of complementary studies and develop a scale which comprises two dimensions: top management brand commitment and shared brand values. The new scale demonstrates strong psychometric evidence of reliability and validity, facilitating future research in the area. Findings can be used as a guidance by business executives in their effort to turn employees into brand ambassadors and motivate everyone in the organisation towards brand supportive behaviours.     

Cross-Cultural Reliability and Validity of a Scale to Measure International Entrepreneurial Capability in Emerging Markets

The purpose of this article is to validate a measurement scale of international entrepreneurial capability (IEC) across cultures. Firm-level survey data from exporting firms was collected from China and South Korea to evaluate the cross-cultural invariance of the scale of IEC. The configural, metric, variance, and covariance invariance of an existing IEC scale across Chinese and South Korean samples of export firms suggest that firms in emerging markets with different cultures and with different characteristics can use the IEC scale to evaluate relationships between IEC and various outcomes.     

Entrepreneurial exit as a critical component of the entrepreneurial process: Theoretical development

By demonstrating the importance of entrepreneurial exit to the entrepreneur, the firm, the industry, and the economy I contend that our understanding of the entrepreneurial process is incomplete without the inclusion of entrepreneurial exit. I define entrepreneurial exit and demonstrate how this conceptualization provides concepts that are unique from those addressed by researchers in other domains; thus outlining a space for it within the literature. In each phase of the entrepreneurial process I explore the development of an exit strategy, reasons for exit and options for exit.