Financial Adviser Technical Service Quality

What it measures

Four seven-point Likert-type items assess the technical (outcome) dimension of financial adviser service quality, capturing perceptions of goal achievement, investment returns, portfolio protection, and investment appropriateness. This dimension is contrasted with functional (process-related) service quality in the nomological network. The scale was originally developed by Sharma and Patterson (1999) and replicated with high reliability.

Response format

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

Scale items

• My adviser has assisted me to achieve my financial goals.
• My adviser has performed well in providing the best return on my investments.
• My adviser has helped me to protect my current position by recommending the best investing options.
• My adviser has performed well in investing my money in appropriate investment options.

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

Usage notes & scoring

Originally developed by Sharma and Patterson (1999) with alpha of .84. Bell, Auh, and Smalley (2005) reported alpha of .96 with AVE of .85. EFA and CFA confirmed unidimensionality, convergent and discriminant validity. Best suited to long-term advisory relationships where investment outcomes can be meaningfully assessed.

Citation

Bell, S. J., Auh, S., & Smalley, K. (2005). Customer relationship dynamics: Service quality and customer loyalty in the context of varying levels of customer expertise and switching costs. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 33(2), 169–183.

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