Data Management Fairness Scale

What it measures

New scale measuring a customer's perception that a firm's collection and use of their personal information is fair, equitable, and ethical. Developed and used as a control/moderator in post hoc analyses of Martin et al.'s Study 3. Fairness was found to moderate the effect of data vulnerability on cognitive trust (but not emotional violation), suggesting it operates through rational rather than affective pathways.

Response format

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

Scale items

• I believe their use of my customer information is fair.
• I believe the company accesses my information in a fair way.
• I believe the company's use of my information is ethical.
• The company manages my information in an equitable way.

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

Usage notes & scoring

New scale (labelled as such in Appendix B of Martin et al. 2017). Post hoc analyses showed fairness (and value) moderated the vulnerability–trust relationship, suggesting rational appeals about the benefits of data sharing can buffer cognitive trust erosion, though they do not suppress emotional violation responses.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Martin, K.D., Borah, A., & Palmatier, R.W. (2017). Data privacy: Effects on customer and firm performance. Journal of Marketing, 81(1), 36–58.

Keywords