Consumer Empowerment by Firm

What it measures

Three items capture the extent to which a consumer feels that a particular company gives them a sense of agency and influence. Adapted from a six-item empowerment scale, it was used across three studies examining how power-distance beliefs shape responses to user-designed products.

Response format

9-point Likert (1=strongly disagree, 9=strongly agree)

Scale items

• _____ makes me feel that I can make a difference.
• _____ makes me feel like I have power on the firm's __________.
• _____ makes me feel that I have been empowered.

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

Usage notes & scoring

Alphas were .97 (Study 3) and .96 (Studies 4 and 5). AVEs ranged from .91 to .93 across the three studies; discriminant validity from brand preference was supported. The company name should be placed in the first blank of each item. The second blank in item 2 should be filled with a brief phrase indicating the domain of influence (e.g., 'product offerings'). Note that the response format is 9-point, not 7-point.

Citation

Paharia, N., & Swaminathan, V. (2019). Who is wary of user design? The role of power-distance beliefs in preference for user-designed products. Journal of Marketing, 83(3), 91–107.

Keywords