Communal Orientation of the Organization

What it measures

A four-item scale measuring the degree to which a consumer perceives an organisation as being guided by communal relationship norms — prioritising beneficence, care for the other party, and responsiveness to needs without expectation of equivalent return. Items tap perceptions of the organisation's genuine concern for consumers, caring orientation, willingness to give more than received, and prioritisation of consumer benefit. Grounded in Clark & Mills's (1979) communal-exchange relationship theory.

Response format

7-point Likert

Scale items

• This organization tries to benefit its customers.
• This organization is sensitive to the needs of customers.
• This organization gives customers more than expected.
• This organization is more concerned about their customers than about themselves.

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

Usage notes & scoring

Single alpha: α = .85 — Woolley & Sharif (2021, Study 3; n not specified). VALIDITY: Not reported. Adapted from Aggarwal (2004), who developed the original communal brand relationship norms scale. Items here were adapted by Woolley & Sharif (2021) for an organisational rather than brand context. Companion to Exchange Orientation of the Organization (EXOR, ID 2120) from the same Woolley & Sharif (2021) study — both scales are used together to assess the communal-exchange norm framework.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Aggarwal, Pankaj (2004). The effects of brand relationship norms on consumer attitudes and behavior. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(1), 87–101. [Applied by: Woolley, Kaitlin and Marissa A. Sharif (2021). Incentives increase relative positivity of review content and enjoyment of review writing. Journal of Marketing Research, 58(3), 539–558.]

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