Customer Orientation of Integration Scale

What it measures

Three-item scale measuring the extent to which postmerger integration decisions are driven by customer-related considerations rather than internal criteria such as cost reduction, power distribution, or managerial preferences. Items assess whether customer needs were decisive for integration activities, whether they formed the central focus of the integration process, and whether integration aimed to increase customer benefit. Adapted from Narver and Slater (1990) for the PMI context.

Response format

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

Scale items

• Customer needs were decisive for the realization of integration activities.
• Customer needs were the central focus during the integration process.
• Integration activities were focused on the increase of customer benefit.

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

Usage notes & scoring

Composite reliability = .95; average variance extracted = .85. Factor loadings: .80, .99, .77. Acts as a moderator: high COI weakened the negative effect of integration extent on market-related performance (H7b supported). Operationalisation influenced by Narver and Slater (1990) but reworded for the integration decision context.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Homburg, C., & Bucerius, M. (2005). A marketing perspective on mergers and acquisitions: How marketing integration affects postmerger performance. Journal of Marketing, 69(1), 95–113.

Keywords