Resort Word-of-Mouth Intention

What it measures

Three items measuring a consumer's intention to spread positive word of mouth about a resort and recommend it to friends. Lim, Lee, and Foo (2017) developed both a positive and a negative version of the scale, which they labelled 'positive voice-to-public' and 'negative voice-to-public' respectively. The positive version is captured here, with the negative version noted in items_full. Both versions were adapted from Maxham and Netemeyer (2002) and used in Study 4 (n=163 students) in an experiment examining the effects of frontline employee nonverbal cues on service outcomes.

Response format

7-point scale (1=not at all, 7=very likely)

Scale items

• I will spread positive word of mouth about this resort. [Negative version: replace 'positive' with 'negative']
• I will recommend this resort to my friends. [Negative version: add 'not' before 'recommend']
• I will encourage my friends to stay at this resort. [Negative version: replace 'encourage' with 'discourage']

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

Usage notes & scoring

Alphas were .94 (positive version) and .95 (negative version). Validity was not formally discussed. The negative version reverses the valence of each item: 'negative' replaces 'positive' in item 1; 'not recommend' replaces 'recommend' in item 2; 'discourage' replaces 'encourage' in item 3. While developed for resort contexts, the scale is likely adaptable to other lodging or service contexts by substituting 'resort' with the appropriate service entity.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Lim, E.A.C., Lee, Y.H., & Foo, M.D. (2017). Frontline employees' nonverbal cues in service encounters: A double-edged sword. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 45(5), 657–676.

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