Altruistic Word-of-Mouth Motivation

What it measures

Captures the degree to which a person shared information about an experience or product with the primary intention of helping and protecting the recipient. Items are phrased relative to a specific sharing episode and assess whether the motivation was recipient-focused — to help, warn, or fully prepare the other person — rather than self-expressive. Originally used in a restaurant review context examining how social closeness shapes the valence of shared information. Conceptually inspired by Hennig-Thurau et al.'s (2004) typology of eWOM motivations.

Response format

7-point Likert (1=strongly disagree, 7=strongly agree)

Scale items

• because I wanted to help the message recipient.
• primarily to protect the message recipient.
• with the intent to fully inform the message recipient so s/he is best prepared for the experience.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Insert the object of discussion (e.g., product, restaurant, service) in the blank. Response scale anchors were not reported; Likert-type strongly disagree/agree endpoints are appropriate. Phrased as a retrospective measure of sharing motivation in a specific episode.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Dubois, D., Bonezzi, A., & De Angelis, M. (2016). Sharing with friends versus strangers: How interpersonal closeness influences word-of-mouth valence. Journal of Marketing Research, 53(5), 712–727.

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