The cross-cultural scale development process: The case of brand-evoked nostalgia in Belgium and the United States

Abstract

Scale development in a cross-cultural context is demanding and exacting. The purpose of this paper is to follow the necessary protocols to examine the emerging construct of brand nostalgia. This research contributes to the literature by developing a rigorously tested, reliable and valid scale to measure the multi-dimensional nature of brand nostalgia across two countries – Belgium and the U.S. Following the rigorous scale development procedures suggested by Churchill (1979) and Devellis (2003), emic (country and market-specific) scales are developed in Belgium and the United States through a series of iterative studies. By using items common to both emic scales, a derived etic scale is created and tested. The scale's robustness is validated via tests of invariance, dimensionality, reliability, discriminant and nomological validity. Suggestions for future research and managerial implications are provided.