Reluctance to Criticize Companies

What it measures

The scale captures reluctance to publicly criticize a company, relevant to research on complaint behavior and consumer voice.

Response format

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

Scale items

• I feel uncomfortable expressing dissatisfaction to companies.
• I don’t like to tell companies what they are doing wrong.
• I like to avoid the discomfort of confronting brands that have left me dissatisfied.
• I like to avoid the conflict of telling companies what I don’t like.

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

Usage notes & scoring

Source not stated by Hydock, Chen, and Carlson (2020), who appear to have created the scale themselves; used across three studies. Reliability was strong (α = .91–.92 where reported). Validity information wasn't provided.

Citation

Hydock, C., Chen, Z., & Carlson, K. (2020). Why Unhappy Customers Are Unlikely to Share Their Opinions with Brands. Journal of Marketing, 84(6), 95–112.

Keywords