Brand Exploitation

What it measures

A six-item scale measuring the degree to which a consumer perceives a brand or firm as exploiting its customer base — taking advantage of customers, treating them disrespectfully, and causing them harm through its business practices. One item is reverse-scored. Developed in research on market power and price fairness, the scale captures the moral dimension of brand power perception — specifically the extent to which consumers view the firm's behaviour as ethically violating the consumer relationship.

Response format

7-point Likert

Scale items

• The brand is taking advantage of its customers.
• Customers are being exploited by the brand.
• The brand isn't doing anything wrong to its customers. (r)
• Customers are not being treated with the respect they are due.
• The brand is hurting its customers.
• Customers are experiencing harm due to the firm's actions.

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

Usage notes & scoring

Alpha ranged from .90 to .92 across Studies 2, 3, and 5 — Lu, Bolton, Ng & Chen (2020). VALIDITY: Convergent and discriminant validity evidence provided in web appendix; AVE ranged from .61 to .68 across studies. One item is reverse-scored ('The brand isn't doing anything wrong to its customers'). Scale source not identified — appears original to the authors.

Citation

Lu, Zhi, Lisa E. Bolton, Sharon Ng, and Haipeng (Allan) Chen (2020). The price of power: How firm's market power affects perceived fairness of price increases. Journal of Retailing, 96(2), 220–234.

Keywords