Website Community Features

What it measures

Three items assess whether a website provides community-oriented features — including user-generated content, philanthropic activity, and chat rooms — that allow customers to interact and share experiences.

Response format

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

Scale items

• The site allows user direct input or posting to site (e.g., bulletin board, e-mail, personals).
• Evidence of the site participating in philanthropy/charity is present.
• A chat room is available where consumers can discuss their experience with the site and/or its products.

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

Usage notes & scoring

One of several website subscales from Bart et al. (2005). Items reflect a factual assessment of specific website features rather than attitudinal evaluation. The philanthropic/charity item may be less applicable to purely commercial websites.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Bart, Y., Shankar, V., Sultan, F., & Urban, G. L. (2005). Are the drivers and role of online trust the same for all web sites and consumers? A large-scale exploratory empirical study. Journal of Marketing, 69(4), 133–152.

Keywords