Consumer Powerlessness Toward Brand

What it measures

Measures the extent to which a consumer believes they lack the leverage or persuasive ability to shift a brand and its employees toward their preferred position in a dispute or conflict. Adapted from a service firm power scale by Grégoire, Laufer, and Tripp (2010), with items reframed to emphasise the absence of power over a brand. Used in research on brand sabotage — the phenomenon where highly dissatisfied consumers take deliberate action to damage a brand they feel powerless to influence through conventional means. Items were confirmed via personal correspondence with the lead author.

Response format

7-point Likert (1=I completely disagree, 7=I completely agree)

Scale items

• I did not have any leverage over the brand (and its employees).
• I did not have the ability to influence the decisions made by the brand (and its employees).
• Despite my conviction, I was unable to get my way with the brand (and its employees).
• Despite my strong conviction of being right, I was unable to convince the brand (and its employees).

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

Usage notes & scoring

Response anchors: I completely disagree (1) to I completely agree (7). Items confirmed by Kähr (2018). Adapted from Grégoire, Laufer, & Tripp (2010) by reframing positive power statements as negated powerlessness statements.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Kähr, A., Nyffenegger, B., Krohmer, H., & Hoyer, W.D. (2016). When hostile consumers wreak havoc on your brand: The phenomenon of consumer brand sabotage. Journal of Marketing, 80(3), 25–41.

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