Privacy-Motivated Switching Behaviour Scale

What it measures

Measures a customer's likelihood of switching to a comparable firm that does not collect personal data in the same way, as a response to data vulnerability. Adapted from Palmatier, Scheer, and Steenkamp (2007). Represents a behavioural response to data vulnerability that is partially mediated by violation and trust.

Response format

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

Scale items

• If another company offered the same product/services but did not collect any data about your activities, how likely would you be to: Shift all of my business to this new company.
• If another company offered the same product/services but did not collect any data about your activities, how likely would you be to: Try this new company's offering.
• If another company offered the same product/services but did not collect any data about your activities, how likely would you be to: Pay a premium to use this new company.

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

Usage notes & scoring

Adapted from Palmatier, R.W., Scheer, L.K., & Steenkamp, J.B.E.M. (2007). Customer loyalty to whom? Managing the benefits and risks of salesperson-owned loyalty. Journal of Marketing Research, 44(2), 185–199. Note that the switching scenario explicitly frames the alternative as one offering equivalent products/services without data collection — making this measure specific to privacy-motivated defection rather than general switching intent.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Martin, K.D., Borah, A., & Palmatier, R.W. (2017). Data privacy: Effects on customer and firm performance. Journal of Marketing, 81(1), 36–58.

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