Purchase As Helping (Peer-to-peer)

What it measures

The scale measures how much a purchase feels like an act of helping another person, rather than a purely transactional exchange — for example, feeling that one supported a local community member or feels good about who profits from the sale. Items were developed to compare peer-to-peer platforms against traditional retail, in the context of the sharing economy.

Response format

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

Scale items

• I would feel like I helped someone if I spent money on a _____.
• If I chose to make a _____ purchase I would feel like I supported a member of the local community.
• I would feel good about who got the profits from a _____ purchase.

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

Usage notes & scoring

Costello and Reczek (2020), who refer to the construct as helping perceptions, used the scale across several studies with fictional business names in hypothetical scenarios; source not stated. Reliability was good to strong (α = .87–.93). Validity wasn't separately assessed.

Citation

Costello, J.P., & Reczek, R.W. (2020). Providers Versus Platforms: Marketing Communications in the Sharing Economy. Journal of Marketing, 84(6), 22–38.

Keywords