Opinion Leaders and Opinion Seekers Scale

What it measures

The most psychometrically rigorous measure of opinion leadership and opinion seeking available, validated across five studies and 1,128 respondents across multiple product categories (rock music, fashion, green products). Both OL and OS are confirmed as unidimensional via SEM across all studies. Alpha consistently 0.78–0.93 for OL and 0.81–0.93 for OS. Test-retest (n=127): OL r=0.82, OS r=0.75. OL and OS are correlated (r=0.15–0.35) but distinct. OL converges strongly with the King & Summers (1970) scale (r=0.72). Both scales predict perceived knowledge, innovativeness, enduring involvement, and fashion/green shopping behaviour. Strongly preferred over earlier OL measures for most research contexts.

Response format

7-point Likert (1=strongly disagree to 7=strongly agree); 6 OL items summed (range 6–42); 6 OS items summed (range 6–42). OL items 1–3 and OS items 2, 3, 6 require reverse scoring.

Scale items

Opinion Leadership (OL) — Likert 1–7. Items 1, 2, 3 require reverse scoring (R). Replace (PRODUCT CATEGORY) with relevant domain.

• My opinion on (PRODUCT CATEGORY) seems not to count with other people. (R)
• When they choose a (PRODUCT CATEGORY), other people do not turn to me for advice. (R)
• Other people rarely come to me for advice about choosing (PRODUCT CATEGORY). (R)
• People that I know pick (PRODUCT CATEGORY) based on what I have told them.
• I often persuade others to buy the (PRODUCT CATEGORY) that I like.
• I often influence people's opinions about (PRODUCT CATEGORY).

Opinion Seeking (OS) — Likert 1–7. Items 2, 3, 6 require reverse scoring (R).

• When I consider buying a (PRODUCT CATEGORY), I ask other people for advice.
• I don't like to talk to others before I buy (PRODUCT CATEGORY). (R)
• I rarely ask other people what (PRODUCT CATEGORY) to buy. (R)
• I like to get others' opinions before I buy a (PRODUCT CATEGORY).
• I feel more comfortable buying a (PRODUCT CATEGORY) when I have gotten other people's opinions on it.
• When choosing (PRODUCT CATEGORY), other people's opinions are not important to me. (R)

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

Usage notes & scoring

OL items 1, 2, and 3 require reverse scoring. OS items 2, 3, and 6 require reverse scoring. Replace '(PRODUCT CATEGORY)' with the relevant domain. Items summed within each subscale (range 6–42). OL and OS should be scored and interpreted separately. The OL-OS correlation is modest (r=0.15–0.35) — they represent distinct roles in social influence networks. This scale supersedes Reynolds & Darden (1971) and King & Summers (1970) for most research purposes.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Flynn, L.R., Goldsmith, R.E., & Eastman, J.K. (1996). Opinion leaders and opinion seekers: Two new measurement scales. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 24(2), 137–147.

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