Entitlement from the Online Store

What it measures

This scale measures how much a consumer believes they deserve to be treated better than other customers by a particular online retailer. Li and Fumagalli (2022) used it in Studies 1b, 1c, 2, and 3, drawing ideas and some phrasing for the items from Polyakova, Zackary, and Andrea (2020) and Reczek, Haws, and Summers (2014).

Response format

7-point Likert scale

Scale items

• I feel that I deserve _____ from this online retailer.
• I feel that I should be treated in a special way by this online retailer.
• I feel that I should be treated better than other customers of this online retailer.
• I feel that I should always receive _____ from this online retailer.

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

Usage notes & scoring

Alphas were .83 (Study 1b) and .90 (Studies 1c, 2, and 3) (Li and Fumagalli 2022, pp. 421, 422, 424, 425). Validity was not discussed. The authors drew ideas and some phrasing from Polyakova, Zackary, and Andrea (2020) and Reczek, Haws, and Summers (2014) rather than adapting either scale directly. As used by Li and Fumagalli (2022), the focal item in the two blanks referred to free shipping; the scale seems usable with other benefits and rewards to which consumers could feel entitled, e.g., discount codes for future purchases, extra free items, or early notice of limited-availability products.

Citation

Li, Yi and Elena Fumagalli (2022), "Spoiled Rotten: How and When Discontinuation of Repetitive and Regular Delight Offers Increases Customer Desire for Revenge," Journal of Retailing, 98 (3), 412-431.

Keywords