Agency (External)

What it measures

A three-item scale measuring the degree to which a consumer perceives their outcomes to be determined by, and under the responsibility and control of, a specific external entity. Items contain a blank to be filled with the name of the focal agent — a brand, organisation, person, or abstract force — that the study frames as the source of external control. The scale operationalises externally attributed agency in consumer contexts and is designed as a companion to the Personal Agency scale, together capturing the locus of perceived control over outcomes.

Representative items

• My outcomes seem determined by _____.
• _____ has responsibility for my outcomes.
• _____ has control over my outcomes.

Citation

Beck, Joshua T., Ryan Rahinel, and Alexander Bleier (2020). Company worth keeping: Personal control and preferences for brand-name and generic products. Journal of Marketing Research, 57(5), 874–891.