Opinion Leadership and Information Seeking Scale
OL-ISOpinion leadership reflects the extent to which individuals give information about a topic and the extent to which information is sought from them by others. Information seeking captures the complementary tendency to actively seek out advice from others when making purchase decisions. Both are product/domain-specific rather than global constructs, and are key determinants of word-of-mouth influence in the diffusion of new products and services.
8 items
1971
α split-half 0.79 (OL); 0.73 (IS)
Free
Reynolds, F.D. & Darden, W.R.
What it measures
An early domain-specific operationalisation of opinion leadership and information seeking validated in a sample of 300 housewives using clothing as the product domain. The two-factor structure (OL and information seeking) was confirmed via factor analysis. Correlational validity supported across multiple chi-square tests. The OL factor is consistent with King & Summers (1970) conceptualisation but uses Likert-format items adaptable to any product category. Information seeking items capture the demand side of interpersonal influence — the tendency to actively solicit advice — complementing the supply-side OL construct. Useful for studies of dyadic influence, WOM networks, and social diffusion.
Representative items
- My friends and neighbors often ask my advice about clothing fashions. (OL)
- I sometimes influence the types of clothes my friends buy. (OL)
- I feel that I am generally regarded by my friends and neighbors as a good source of advice about clothing fashions. (OL)
- I often seek out the advice of my friends regarding which clothes I buy. (IS)
- My friends or neighbors usually give me good advice on what brands of clothes to buy. (IS)
Citation
Reynolds, F.D., & Darden, W.R. (1971). Mutually adaptive effects of interpersonal communication. Journal of Marketing Research, 8(4), 449–454.