Relationship Norm Orientation (Communal vs. Exchange)

What it measures

The scale measures whether a customer perceives their relationship with a business as communal — resembling a friendship built on mutual care — or as a purely transactional exchange. Items ask respondents to rate how much the business feels like a close friend or family member versus simply a service provider, a foundational distinction used in relationship marketing to explain how customers respond to different service styles.

Response format

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

Scale items

• A close friend?
• A family member?
• A person with whom I will have a personal relationship outside of business?
• A person with whom I will want to interact outside of business?
• A person whom I will genuinely care about?
• A person with whom I will interact only for business purposes?
• A person whom I will regard only as a professional merchant?
• A person with whom I will interact only to receive the service that I’ve paid for?

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

Usage notes & scoring

Leung, Kim, and Tse (2020), who refer to the construct as relationship expectations, used the scale across six studies. Reliability was strong where reported (α = .89 in two studies; not consistently reported elsewhere). Some validity evidence came from a CFA conducted alongside related items.

Citation

Leung, F.F., Kim, S., & Tse, C.H. (2020). Highlighting Effort Versus Talent in Service Employee Performance: Customer Attributions and Responses. Journal of Marketing, 84(3), 106-121.

Keywords