Extent of Marketing Integration Scale

What it measures

Measures the extent to which marketing systems, structures, activities, and processes were made similar between two firms following a horizontal merger or acquisition. Items tap eight marketing facets: product/service offering, new product development, pricing, communication, sales system, sales force management, information systems, and internal marketing support. Higher scores indicate greater harmonisation between the two organisations’ marketing approaches.

Response format

7-point scale (1 = no integration, 4 = partial integration, 7 = complete integration)

Scale items

• To what extent were the following aspects made similar between the two firms after the merger or acquisition? (1) Products/services offered (e.g., harmonization of product ranges, brand names)
• To what extent were the following aspects made similar between the two firms after the merger or acquisition? (2) New product development
• To what extent were the following aspects made similar between the two firms after the merger or acquisition? (3) Prices (e.g., harmonization of the price positioning)
• To what extent were the following aspects made similar between the two firms after the merger or acquisition? (4) Communication (e.g., harmonization of advertisement)
• To what extent were the following aspects made similar between the two firms after the merger or acquisition? (5) Sales system (e.g., harmonization of sales channels, sales partners, sales offices)
• To what extent were the following aspects made similar between the two firms after the merger or acquisition? (6) Sales force management (e.g., harmonization of the incentive and provision systems)
• To what extent were the following aspects made similar between the two firms after the merger or acquisition? (7) Information systems (e.g., harmonization of the marketing/sales information systems)
• To what extent were the following aspects made similar between the two firms after the merger or acquisition? (8) Internal marketing/sales support

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

Usage notes & scoring

Composite reliability = .96; average variance extracted = .74. Items partly based on Datta (1991) and extended through field interviews with M&A practitioners. New product development item has lowest individual reliability (.40). Validated in a sample of 232 horizontal M&A in German-speaking Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland).

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.

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