Abstract
Conventional methodology for validating measures in consumer research relies on structural equation modeling. But, this procedure requires a fairly large sample size and a clear conceptualization of the relationship between individual items and various scale dimensions. Neither of these requirements may be met in exploratory cross-national studies. Hence, this paper addresses scale validation issues in exploratory cross-national research, where sample size is a major concern. Specifically, it uses cross-national data on the vanity measure as an exemplar and a battery of descriptive analytics to show how to assess scaling assumptions, reliability, and dimensionality of consumer behavior measures. The scale validation procedure the authors describe in this paper has implications for researchers who use multi-item rating scales as measures of consumer behavior constructs. Keywords: cross-cultural, scale validation, exploratory research, cross-national, scale applicability JEL Classification: L1, L13, D11, D12, M31
Highlights
International business studies typically involve application of consumer behavior measures to investigate cross-national differences (Halkias, Davvetas and Diamantopoulos, 2016; Durvasula and Lysonski, 2015)
The goal of this paper is to develop a tool kit of descriptive analytics that helps to assess scaling assumptions and the crossnational applicability of measures used in consumer research
While structural equation modeling (SEM) is preferred for large samples, and when prior knowledge is a vailable on scale dimensionality of measures, they are not useful when working with small samples
Summary
International business studies typically involve application of consumer behavior measures to investigate cross-national differences (Halkias, Davvetas and Diamantopoulos, 2016; Durvasula and Lysonski, 2015). While some of those studies may have used established measures (e.g., CETSCALE, SERVQUAL), others may be exploratory in nature. The validity of measurement scales, is based on certain assumptions (e.g., internal consistency, external consistency, and unidimensionality) When those scaling assumptions are not met, we have no way of knowing whether observed cross-national consumer differences on the summed scores are due either to translation problems, country-specific differences in the definition of the consumer behavior construct, or due to true consumer differences on the underlying construct. It is crucial to design valid crossnational measures that satisfy underlying scaling assumptions (Steenkamp and Baumgartner, 1998)
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