The scale measures anticipated positive reactions from a friend upon learning they've been referred, using nine trait-based items applicable across a wide range of referral contexts. Because the wording never specifies what's being referred, the same items transfer flexibly across products, services, or promotions — useful for word-of-mouth and referral-marketing research.
7-point unipolar Likert (1=strongly disagree, 7=strongly agree)
Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.
Gershon, Cryder, and John (2020) refer to this construct as anticipated reputational benefits; its source wasn't identified and it appears to be the authors' own creation. It showed very high internal consistency (α = .96–.97) across three uses, and the authors demonstrate its flexibility by applying it across varied contexts including personality quizzes and loyalty programs. Validity wasn't separately assessed.
Gershon, R., Cryder, C., & John, L.K. (2020). Why Prosocial Referral Incentives Work: The Interplay of Reputational Benefits and Action Costs. Journal of Marketing Research, 57(1), 156–172.
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