The Theory-Setting-Testable Hypothesis Model:

A Framework to Assist Doctoral Students in Linking

Theory and Empirical Research
John E. Swan and Warren S. Martin

An important goal of doctoral education in marketing is to prepare students to plan and

conduct original research, which requires skills in integrating philosophy of science
concepts concerning theory, the application of empirical research methods, and
understanding a substantive topic. Often these skills are taught in separate courses. The
authors address this problem by proposing a theory-setting-testable hypothesis model as an
aid for doctoral students. They discuss the three-step process of developing theoretically
linked hypotheses and its utilization in a philosophy of science seminar.

A fundamental goal of doctoral training in marketing is

to prepare students to undertake original research
that makes a contribution to marketing knowledge,
that is, advancing theoretical understanding of phenomena
that are within the domain of marketing. The student must
develop an understanding of both marketing theory and how
theory can be tested in an empirical study. Toward that end,
marketing education at the doctoral level often includes
seminars in research methods, philosophy of science, and
substantive topics. However, it has been our experience that
doctoral students find it difficult to integrate "research meth-
ods" and "philosophy of science" perspectives and develop
a theoretically grounded research proposal to investigate a
substantive topic. Our purpose is to present a framework that
we have used successfully to help doctoral students leam
how to (1) tie theory to empirical research and (2) identify
opportunities for further research. In addition, some of the
problems that our framework treats can be found in recently
published research, so the framework may be of value to
some experienced researchers as a reminder of points to
cover.
This article covers (1) the problem of gaining skills in
integrating theory, method, and research topics; (2) a three-
step model; and (3) how the model has been incorporated in
a doctoral seminar. It is important to note that our model
draws from the realist approach to the philosophy of science
(Hunt 1991). However, the seminar in which the model is
employed does provide an introduction to qualitative/ethno-
graphic research.
JOHN E. SWAN is a Professor of Marketing and Health Services
Administration, and WARREN S. MARTIN is a Professor of
Marketing, Department of Marketing, The University of Alabama
at Birmingham. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance
of two anonymous reviewers, the section editor, and Raymond W.
LaForge for their insightful and constructive comments on an ear-
lier version of this article.
Roots of the Problem: The Integration Gap
The problem experienced by doctoral students in bridging
theory, a substantive topic, and empirical research is rooted
in the difficult task of achieving congruence between theo-
ry, topic, and method. Essentially, the doctoral student faces
the task of finding a research topic that integrates three
essential components: (1) an empirical phenomena, such as
salesperson turnover; (2) a theoretical explanation of the
phenomena; and (3) some hypotheses derived from the the-
oretical material that can be tested empirically. Each of the
three components just mentioned are treated extensively in
articles and text material, but usually not in an integrated
fashion or in a form that is easy for doctoral students to
understand. The integration gap must be closed by market-
ing educators. However, the literature on marketing educa-
tion does not offer a treatment of how the integration gap
can be closed. The main purpose of this article is to present
a theory-setting-testable hypothesis (abbreviated as theory-
setting-test) model for closing the gap and providing mar-
keting educators with some ideas that we hope will be use-
ful in solving the integration problem. To develop the inte-
gration gap, we give an overview of it, followed by a brief
treatment of why doctoral students' exposure to the existing
literature does not seem to be a completely effective means
of teaching integration skills.
Works on the philosophy of science and empirical
research in marketing have made it clear that theory, topic,
measurement, and method are all part of a holistic research
process (Bagozzi 1984; Brinberg and McGrath 1985).
However, closing some gaps between those components is
difficult. As an example, Bagozzi (1984) has noted that the
conceptual meaning of a term in a theory, such as source
credibility, should correspond with its empirical meaning or
measurement. If the conceptual meaning of a term is not
clearly reflected in its empirical meaning, an integration gap
has occurred. Our concept of an integration gap refers to any
lack of congruence between elements of theory, the research
setting, and a hypothesis used to test empirically a relation-
ship between variables drawn from the theory. To help close
possible integration gaps, a research article should contain a

Marketing Education Review Vol. 4 (Fall 1994), 2-15

 Marketing Education Review
number of items (see Table 1), which are explicated in more
detail as we present our framework.
We believe that the integration gap is rooted in a combi-
nation of the instructional material available to doctoral stu-
dents and the organization of doctoral courses and masters
level professional education. Text material and the market-
ing literature on the philosophy of science and research
methods are relevant to obtaining theoretically linked
testable hypotheses, but neither source is complete.
Philosophy of science is pertinent but not sufficient to theo-
ry-hypothesis linkage for two basic reasons: First, the phi-
losophy of science is a very broad topic and procedures that
are especially helpful for hypotheses development are
included within more general topics (Hunt 1983, 1991;
Zaltman, LeMasters, and Heffering 1982; Zaltman, Pinson
and Angelmar 1973) and second, a major emphasis in such
works (see Anderson 1983; Hunt 1991) is on what philoso-
phy of science is most appropriate for marketing and logical
criteria for metatheory (theory of theory), rather than linking
theory to hypotheses.
Some works in the literature (Bagozzi 1984; Brinberg and
McGrath 1985; Hunt 1991) are concerned with the need to
integrate theory, topic, and method and are important
sources in terms of several considerations toward that end.
However, it has been our experience that those and similar
Table 1. TST Model: Theory-Setting -Testable
Step 1. Theory
Substeps
Identify theoretical statement
Define concepts
Specify the linkage between concepts, how the concepts are related
State the theoretical linkage or explanation
Test the explanatory process using partial formalization
Step 2. Setting and Proposition
Substeps
The setting: Industrial sales
Ladder of abstraction—domain of the concepts can range from the
general to the specific setting
Step 3. Testable Hypothesis
Substeps
Operational definitions—measurements of concepts
Bridge laws—tie the setting specific concepts to the theoretical
concepts
Consistency of operational linkage and statistical test
Domain should be consistent between theoretical statement and
hypothesis
sources are difficult for students to follow because they lack
a set of relatively straightforward guidelines. Bagozzi
(1984) does stress the need for the integration of theory and
method, but he does not cover in much detail how a
researcher can move from step to step, as does the theory-
setting-test model. Brinberg and McGrath (1985) discuss
research as a holistic process, but to simplify their presenta-
tion, they discuss the steps of research as separate "units."
We address the overlap between steps. The process of devel-
oping theories, propositions, and testable hypotheses is quite
complex, and as a result the theory-setting-test model is
helpful when used as a supplement to, not a substitute for,
other treatments of theory and research.
Research methods is a second stream of literature that can
contribute to integrating theory and hypotheses. A major
limitation of such material is that works on research tech-
niques concentrate almost all their attention on testing
hypotheses in isolation from the theory that served as a
foundation for the hypotheses. An example of a research
method topic that is essential to hypotheses development is
measurement and scale construction. Churchill (1979)
makes the major point that the operational measure must be
consistent with the theoretical construct that it is designed to
measure.
Examples/Detail
As extrinsic job satisfaction (X) decreases, job seeking (Y) increases
Extrinsic satisfaction includes the following characteristics (domain)
and excludes the following characteristics (distinction)
Negative Linkage: As satisfaction decreases, job seeking increases
Tell why decreasing extrinsic job satisfaction results in job seeking
To check that the set of explanatory statements are logically consistent
Examples/Details
As the extrinsic job satisfaction of industrial salespeople decreas-
es, the salesperson is more likely to take steps to leam of other
sales jobs that offer more material rewards
Workers' extrinsic job satisfaction
Salesworkers' extrinsic satisfaction
Industrial salesworkers extrinsic satisfaction
Examples/Details
Extrinsic job satisfaction measure—pay component of INDSALES
The pay component of INDSALES is within the domain of the the-
oretical concept
The operational linkage should be the same for theory, proposition,
and hypothesis. The linkages are negative and direct.
Since intrinsic job satisfaction is a boundary condition, only sales-
people who are intrinsically satisfied fall within the domain.
 The Theory-Setting-Testable Hypothesis Model
Readings on major areas of inquiry in marketing, such as
consumer behavior or marketing channels, constitute a third
source of knowledge from which the doctoral student can
draw in developing a dissertation research proposal. A limi-
tation of substantive works in terms of learning how to inte-
grate theory and research is that the "conceptual essay" does
not include research methods and the typically empirical
report only presents a discussion of the specific research
methods that were used. Usually, philosophy of science
ideas remain implicit. As an example, the conceptual and
empirical meanings of terms should be congruent, and that
can be aided by careful definition at both the conceptual and
empirical levels. Different types of definitions are discussed
in works on the philosophy of science (Hunt 1991).
However, such considerations are typically absent from sub-
stantive articles and would not even be considered appropri-
ate for most empirical articles.
The divisions between theory, method, and substantive
topics noted here are, we believe, reflected in the content of
doctoral level courses. In a recent effort to plan a seminar,
we contacted a number of schools with well-recognized
doctoral programs and requested syllabi for both substanfive
and philosophy of science courses. The divisions we discuss
seem evident. It is certainly possible that the faculty closes
the gaps over a series of seminars. However, a seminar that
addresses the issues that our model covers could help devel-
op essential integration skills earlier in the doctoral
program.
Two lines of evidence—doctoral work and our experience
with doctoral students—suggest that our framework could
be useful. First, some of the gaps addressed in our model can
be found in published research. The need to ground research
in theory is well documented, as are repeated calls for mar-
keting researchers to do so (Bagozzi 1984; Malhotra 1988).
Reiterated calls by tbe editors of the two most prominent
journals in marketing to ground research in theory suggests
that some researchers are failing to do so (Kinner 1991,
1992; Weitz 1992). Finally, we have served as reviewers for
a number of years, and a frequent reason for rejection of
manuscripts is that the empirical research lacked clear inte-
gration with a theoretical base.
Experience with doctoral students also points to a need
for the framework. In our institution, several students have
remarked that they had difficulty in seminars taken before
exposure to our model because the faculty seemed to assume
that they had a basic understanding of "theory." Most of our
incoming students have completed a professional master's
program, such as a master's of business administration, and
students find that our model helps in making the transition
in thinking from viewing topics from a professional to an
academic perspective. Early in our seminar, many students
find that the material is quite difficult, but gain skills over
the term.
In summary, the marketing educator must assist doctoral
students in learning how to bridge the philosophy of science,
empirical methods, and a substanfive topic. Next, tbe theo-
ry-setting-test framework is presented as a model for the
markefing educator to use as a resource in closing the inte-
grafion gap.
Overview of the Theory-Setting-Test
Framework for Hypotheses Development
The development of theory-linked hypotheses can be
thought of as involving three basic steps: (1) theory and pre-
dictions, (2) setting and propositions, and (3) testable
hypotheses and measurement (see Table 1). First the
researcher reviews the theoretical literature and prior
research on the topic and derives a set of predictions to be
tested empirically. Second, a setting is envisioned in which
the researcher can observe the variables and processes. In
the setfing, the theorefical predictions are expressed as spe-
cific propositions. Third, operational meastires are obtained
for concepts in the propositions. Operational definifions
make it possible to specify testable hypothesis that logically
relate the theory to empirical observafions. The theory-set-
fing-test framework has been used in this arficle to organize
the process of hypotheses development. The framework is a
logical reconstruction of the research process; not all
researchers would use the sequence of steps presented here.
The T Step: Theoretical Statements
and Prediction
The heart of a theory is a set of interrelated theorefical state-
ments. In its most basic form, a theoretical statement speci-
fies that an independent variable (X) is related to a depen-
dent variable (Y) (Hunt 1991). The theory seeks to provide
an explanafion of why some phenomena are consequences
of the independent variable included in the theory. As an ini-
fial step, the student is advised to search the literature on a
topic of interest for statements linking an independent vari-
able to a dependent variable. Once a theoretical statement
has been found, it can serve as a basis for a predicfion that
the independent variable (X) will be related to the dependent
variable (Y). A theory can contain theoretical statements
that relate more than two variables; however, for simplicity's
sake we have selected a single independent/dependent vari-
able form to present the theory-setfing-test framework.
Identification of Theoretical Statements
To illustrate tbe theory to prediction process, assume a stu-
dent was interested in voluntary sales force turnover. Prior
research has found that as job safisfaction decreased,
turnover increased (see Table 1). But the studies failed to
disfinguish between salespeople who were dissatisfied with
sales as an occupation compared with those who were dis-
safisfied with some aspect of their sales job. Theory suggests
that job satisfacfion is composed of two major components:
(1) intrinsic safisfaction with self-bestowed rewards from
the work itself and (2) extrinsic safisfaction with externally
bestowed rewards such as pay and other benefits (Churchill,
Ford, and Walker 1974). The student reasons that intrinsi-
cally satisfied workers who were dissatisfied with extrinsic
rewards would seek other employment in sales. On the other
hand, intrinsically dissafisfied workers would attempt to
change occupadons. The following theorefical statement
would be derived: If a worker is intrinsically satisfied, as
extrinsic job satisfaction decreases (X), the worker is
increasingly likely to seek another job in the same occupa-
fion (Y).
 Marketing Education Review
It may seem that the student has formed a hypothesis and
the task remaining would be to design the empirical part of
the study. However, to ensure that the hypotheses are inte-
grated with the theoretical statement, several steps can be
taken.
A major theme of this article is that a number of integra-
tion problems can occur that weaken the theory-hypothesis
linkage. We use the literature on service quality to show that
integration problems can be found in published research. As
a cautionary note, service quality has been selected only
because it has been used in our seminar. Our remarks are not
offered as a critique of any of the studies mentioned; that
task is beyond the scope of this article. In addition, although
the inclusion of the items that are discussed can generally
strengthen a research effort, it could well be counterproduc-
tive to place undue emphasis on always including each item.
In the early stages of research on a new topic, some of the
items may not have been developed.
Components of the Theoretical Statement
Recognition of three components of theoretical statements is
useful. First, the concepts should be defined. Second, the
form of the relationship should be noted—for example, as
extrinsic satisfaction decreases, the likelihood of seeking
another job increases. Third, the theoretical linkage—that is,
why the concepts are positioned to be related—should be
identified (see 'Table 1).
Definitions of Concepts
A theoretical statement relates X to Y where the X (extrin-
sic job satisfaction) and Y are concepts and provide the basic
building blocks of theories. A concept abstracts and groups
together certain characteristics or properties of objects or
things (Osigweh 1989; Zaltman, Pinson, and Angelmar
1973). Concept formation is a difficult task because an ideal
concept would be both a universal concept, applicable to
every situation in which the concept can be found, and a pre-
cise one (Osigweh 1989). As an example, a theoretical defi-
nition of the domain of job satisfaction is the following: "all
characteristics of the job itself and the work environment
that industrial sales[people] find rewarding, fulfilling, and
satisfying or frustrating and unsatisfying" (Churchill, Ford,
and Walker 1974). Theoretical concepts are open to different
operational definitions that can be used to measure the con-
cept. An explicit theoretical definition of the concept is
needed to convey its meaning and facilitate measurement
(Hage 1972).
Concept formulation can be accomplished by considering
the extension and connotation of a concept. The extension is
the class of things to which the concept applies. A broad
extension of job satisfaction could have it apply to any type
of work—paid, unpaid, white collar, blue collar, profession-
al, and so on. The connotation or domain of the concept is
the set of characteristics that anything must possess to be
denoted by the term. The connotation of job satisfaction
offered by Churchill, Ford, and Walker (1974) is broad,
because all characteristics of the job and work environment
that are found by the salesperson to be satisfying or dissat-
isfying are included.
A suggestion for concept formation made by Osigweh
(1989) is to define a concept by specifying what it is not. As
an example, consider the need for a distinction between job
satisfaction and role conflict. Role conflict is when a sales-
person believes that the role demands from role set members
are incompatible (Churchill, Ford, and Walker 1990). Role
conflict can have negative consequences for the salesperson;
thus it would be helpful to distinguish role conflict from the
negative feelings of job satisfaction. An explicit statement
that job satisfaction excludes role conflict would help define
job satisfaction.
In summary, concepts are the building blocks of theories.
A formal definition of important concepts in the theory
facilitates understanding and measurement. The connotation
or domain of each concept, that is, what phenomena the con-
cept includes, should be explicitly stated. Also, what the
concept excludes, that is, the distinction between related
concepts, can help achieve precision. Finally, the extension
of a theoretical concept should be a universal concept, that
is, apply to numerous settings.
Written Definition of Concepts
A written theoretical definition is an important tool for link-
ing theory and hypotheses. Basically, measures of the con-
cept in the hypothesis must be part of the domain of the con-
cept and clear specification of the domain is a first step in
obtaining valid and reliable measures (Churchill 1979).
Another reason for developing an explicit theoretical defini-
tion is that a modification in the definition can suggest new
hypotheses and opportunities for research. As an example,
Cronin and Taylor (1992) redefine service quality as an atti-
tude based on performance, compared with Parasuraman,
Zeithaml, and Berry's (1988) definition of service quality as
performance minus expectations. Cronin and Taylor (1992)
test a new hypothesis that overall service quality increases
as perfonnance increases, in contrast to Parasuraman,
Zeithaml, and Berry's (1988) hypothesis that service quality
increases as performance exceeds expectations. Concepts
should be defined—however, although satisfaction was an
important construct in Cronin and Taylor's (1992) service
quality study, a definition of satisfaction was not provided.
Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) did define service
quality as "the consumer's judgment about an entity's over-
all excellence or superiority" (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and
Berry 1988, p. 15).
Linkages Between Concepts
The theoretical statement "As extrinsic satisfaction decreas-
es, seeking another job is likely to increase" states a rela-
tionship or linkage between satisfaction and job search.
Hage (1972) has suggested that two types of linkages are
important: (1) the operational linkage, how the concepts are
related, and (2) the theoretical linkage, why the concepts are
expected to be related.
The example theoretical statement can be written as fol-
lows: X ^ Y, where X is extrinsic satisfaction and Y is job
seeking. In this example, the theoretical and operational
linkages are both negative. In addition to direction (positive
versus negative), a more specific operational linkage could
specify the mathematical form of the relationship, such as
linear, curvilinear, and so on. The form of the relationship
can sometimes be determined by plotting the data from prior
 The Theory-Setting-Testable Hypothesis Model
research or by careful consideration of the theoretical
model.
The operational linkage can be a possible source of
hypotheses because if the linkage is not clear, then research
to clarify the relationships could be conducted. A second
research possibility can arise from the usual assumption in
marketing that the relationship between concepts is linear. It
is possible that some relationships may be linear only with-
in a limited range. The researcher is more likely to fmd an
underlying nonlinear relationship if that possibility is inves-
tigated. If a nonlinear relationship is a possibility, the asso-
ciated operational linkage should reflect that form.
The operational linkage, how the independent variable is
related to the dependent variable, should be clearly speci-
fied. Cronin and Taylor (1992) did not do so, as illustrated
by one of their propositions: "Consumer satisfaction has a
significant impact on purchase intentions." Implicitly, their
model assumed a positive direct linear relationship between
satisfaction and intentions.
The theoretical statement "As extrinsic satisfaction
decreases (X), job seeking is likely to increase (Y)" relates
concepts, but understanding is deepened if theory can indi-
cate why the concepts are expected to be related (Zaltman,
Pinson, and Angelmar 1973); the why involves explanation.
Explanation can be treated analytically by considering the
content and type. Content refers to the processes that oper-
ate so that X is linked to Y. The type of explanation refers to
a formal classification of the scientific generalization, for
example, deterministic or probabilistic, that provides the
philosophical foundation for the explanation (Hunt 1991).
The processes linking X to Y, or the content of an expla-
nation, can often be found by searching for key words used
in providing an explanation. One may read that "X influ-
ences Y," or "X influences Y by the process of..." (Hage
1972).
According to Hunt (1991), the heart of an explanation is
that given certain conditions, the phenomenon could be
expected to occur. In marketing, most of our statements are
probabilistic and take the inductive statistical form: "If X,
then Y is likely" (Hunt 1991). An explanation combines (1)
facts of the situation so that the inductive statistical state-
ment can be applied, (2) the statement "If X, then Y is like-
ly," and (3) the expectation that Y will be observed. An illus-
tration of an explanation for job seeking follows. First, the
facts of the situation are that a number of salespeople for a
company are satisfied with their sales work, but dissatisfied
with their pay. Second, our theoretical statement was that as
extrinsic satisfaction decreases, job seeking is likely to
increase. Third, the process linking extrinsic satisfaction and
job seeking is as follows: As extrinsic satisfaction with a job
decreases, the worker is more likely to perceive that a prob-
lem exists, and that perception motivates the worker to
search for a solution to the problem. A possible solution
would be another job that offers more extrinsic rewards—
thus the worker is likely to search for a more extrinsically
rewarding job. Finally, we would expect to observe that a
higher proportion of extrinsically dissatisfied, compared
with satisfied, salespeople search for an alternative sales job.
An omission in some marketing articles is a treatment of
theoretical linkages. Such articles may provide an extensive
discussion of prior research that essentially says, "Y has
been found to be significantly related to X in a number of
studies"; however, why Y and X could be expected to be
related is not discussed. That omission can be found in
Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry's (1988, p. 16) study,
which quotes four studies in support of their assertion that
"service quality, as perceived by consumers, stems from a
comparison of what they feel service firms should offer (i.e.,
from their expectations) with their perceptions of the per-
formance of firms providing the services." However, an
explanation of why quality is determined by the comparison
of expectations to performance is not provided. In a later
article, Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1994) provide an
explanation, as they argue that expectations serve as norms
and norms function as standards "against which perfor-
mance is compared."
Understanding can be advanced if the theoretical linkage
or explanation is developed in some detail, but the ability to
do so is limited. First, a complete account would involve an
infinite regression. If one explained that the perception of a
problem, insufficient extrinsic rewards, was likely to pro-
vide motivation to seek an alternative job, then one would
need to explain why low extrinsic satisfaction would result
in a perception of a problem and so on. Second, current
knowledge may limit the depth of explanation. Determining
how far to go in terms of explaining in more detail can be
approached as follows. A basic goal of science is explana-
tion (Hunt 1991). Specifying only the relationship between
two variables without an explanation would provide knowl-
edge of an empirical regularity, which is of value. Providing
an explanation for the relationship would advance knowl-
edge (Zaltman, Pinson, and Angelmar 1973). However, a
researcher who has just discovered an empirical regularity
may not be able to offer an explanation. In summary, if a
researcher can develop the linkage in more detail, a signifi-
cant contribution to the literature is more likely.
Providing an Explicit Theoretical Statement
A research study should provide a clear, explicit theoretical
statement, because it is the foundation for an empirical
study. That appears to be a problem in Parasuraman,
Zeithaml, and Berry (1988). They test the implicit hypothe-
sis that as perceptions exceed expectations (X), service qual-
ity (Y) increases. The sentence in Parasuraman, Zeithaml
and Berry (1988, p. 17) that appears to serve as a theoretical
statement reads, "Perceived service quality is therefore
viewed as the degree and discrepancy between consumers'
perceptions and expectations." Without a explication of "the
degree and discrepancy," it would not be clear how quality
was related to perceptions and expectations. A close reading
of the entire article would make it possible to understand
Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988). A clear theoreti-
cal statement was provided by Teas (1993) who wrote that
perceived service quality increases as the differences
between performance minus expectations increase across
attributes.
Using Partial Formalization to Evaluate a
Theoretical Structure
An important element of a theory is that the set of statements
forming the theory must be systematically related. A useful
process for checking the interrelationships among state-
 Marketing Education Review
ments is partial formalization (Hunt 1991). To do so, each of
the theoretical statements in the model should be summa-
rized and ordered as follows:
1. Premises or assumptions that are not defined within the
model and
2. Derived statements that can be logically deduced from the
premises (Hage 1972; Hunt 1991).
The set of ordered statements should form a chain syllo-
gism (Blumberg 1976), such as the following:
•Premise: (1) If A implies B,
•Premise: (2) and B implies C,
•Derived: (3) then A implies C.
In the chain syllogism just given, statements 1 and 2 are
premises and statement 3 is a derived statement. The basic
theoretical statement "As extrinsic satisfaction decreases,
job seeking is likely to increase," can be derived by using
statements in the explanation as premises:
Premises.
1. Decreasing extrinsic job satisfaction (A) -^ perception of a
problem (B) (lack of adequate pay): A —> B.
2. Perception of a problem (B) —> motivation to search for a
solution (C): B ^ C.
3. Motivation search for a solution (C) —> search for a more
rewarding job (D).
Derived statement.
Decreasing extrinsic job satisfaction (A) —> search for a more
rewarding job (D): A —» D.
Ensuring that the statements composing the theoretical
argument are logically interrelated is a critical step. In a
well-known critique of consumer research, Kassarjian
(1971) states that attempts to relate general personality char-
acteristics, such as sociability, to brand choice failed
because the investigators did not develop a specific explana-
tion of why sociability should be related to selecting a brand
of toothpaste. Kassarjian (1971) cited a study by Jacoby
(1971) that overcame the problem. Jacoby predicts that low
dogmatics will be more innovative than high dogmatics on
the basis of the explanation that high dogmatics will avoid
the perceived risk of switching to a new brand.
The power of a theoretical statement to serve as a foun-
dation for deriving research hypotheses is rooted in the very
broad scope of the statement relative to research hypotheses.
The theoretical statement, with definitions of its concepts
and an understanding of the proposed explanation linking
the concepts, can support a large number of empirical
inquiries.
The statement "As extrinsic satisfaction decreases, the
worker is likely to perceive that a problem exists" could lead
to numerous studies. As an example, one could predict that
as extrinsic satisfaction decreases, the worker is likely to
search for means of receiving more rewards from the current
job. The possibility of increased rewards may depend on the
structure of the sales position. Salespeople working on com-
mission may allocate more time to calling on prospective
new accounts and spend less time providing services to low-
volume current accounts. A prediction based on a theoreti-
cal statement will move the research to the second major
step in the theory-setting-test sequence: the setting and
proposition(s).
The S Step: Theoretical Statement to
Setting and Proposition
The theoretical statement is abstract and broad and does not
refer to specific phenomena that could become the topic of
empirical research. The researcher must move from the
abstract world of thought to a real-world setting. The theo-
retical statement to setting and proposition step accomplish-
es that end. A major tool of hypothesis development is appli-
cable to this step: a ladder of abstraction.
To discuss the ladder of abstraction, we use the theoreti-
cal statement used previously as an example: "As worker
extrinsic job satisfaction decreases, job seeking increases."
By replacing the abstract concepts of the theoretical state-
ment with concepts that are specific to a setting, a proposi-
tion could be stated, "As the extrinsic job satisfaction of
industrial salespeople decreases, the salesperson is more
likely to take steps to leam of other sales jobs that offer more
material rewards." The same negative operational linkage
between concepts is found in both the theoretical statement
and the proposition.
The ladder of abstraction is the idea that the domain of a
concept includes referents ranging from the broad and
abstract to the narrow and concrete (Osigweh 1989;
Zaltman, Pinson, and Angelman 1973). A ladder of abstrac-
tion for extrinsic job satisfaction is as follows:
•Worker extrinsic job satisfaction,
•Sales worker extrinsic job satisfaction,
•Industrial sales worker extrinsic job satisfaction,
•Computer manufacturer salespeople extrinsic job satisfaction.
The ladder of abstraction can be of service to the
researcher in two ways. First, a proposition should be logi-
cally tied to the theoretical statement. Specifically, each cor-
responding proposition level concept should be a subset of
the domain of the theoretical concept, and the ladder pro-
vides a means of checking for congruency. As an example,
many consumer behavior attitude models have been drawn
from theoretical statements in psychology that apply to
humans in general. Thus, such models should apply to con-
sumers in any setting (Ladder: Humans, Consumers,
Consumers of Product X ...). However, the setting specific
subjects in tests of the models should be consumers of the
focal product, not just consumers. That line of argument has
resulted in what appears to be a general rule in marketing
that student subjects are acceptable if students are con-
sumers of the focal product.
Second, the ladder of abstraction can open the door to
many potential research topics, because it is possible to
come down the ladder of abstraction to develop many dif-
ferent propositions. A new proposition would be that for
retail salespeople, as extrinsic job satisfaction decreases, job
search increases. Dubin (1978) has proposed a general rule
for coming down the ladder of abstraction and that is to test
only new propositions that will be of scientific interest.
Once sufficient empirical evidence has been obtained testing
a theoretical statement, retesting it with new propositions is
of little interest. However, if a theoretical reason exists to
8 The Theory-Setting-Testable Hypothesis Modei
suggest that a new setting could make a difference in the
results as compared with prior research, testing a new
proposition would be of interest because this would be a
replication and extension. If the testing the job satisfaction-
search proposition in an industrial setting had found confir-
matory evidence, testing for the same relationship in a retail
setting would be of more interest to the extent that some rea-
son existed to anticipate that retail sales could be different
from industrial.
A fruitful source of ideas for hypotheses and a test for
consistency with theory is to array the concepts found in a
theoretical statement on a ladder of abstraction. A great deal
of research in marketing involves borrowing from other dis-
ciplines, which is a process of moving up a ladder of
abstraction to obtain a general statement, then moving down
the ladder to apply the statement within a setting of interest
to marketers. The borrowing process can be done properly if
congruency exists between the theoretical statement in the
mother discipline and the marketing proposition. Fishbein
attitude theory extended to marketing is an example of prop-
er borrowing. Borrowing is not proper if the basic theoreti-
cal statement with its concepts is not congruent with the
marketing proposition. As an example, Hunt (1991) con-
cluded that marketing investigations of the psychophysics of
price were flawed. In psychology, psychophysics involves
the perceptual limits of human ability to discriminate
between different stimuli, such as two identical packages
weighing 15 and 16 ounces. In marketing, the interest was
not in perceptual limits, but rather differences in price relat-
ed to consumer buying preferences. For example, would the
favorite brand be selected if it was priced at $1.89, compared
with $1.79 for another brand? Psychological psychophysics
did not concern such issues.
Research is strengthened if a discussion is provided to
justify the appropriateness of the setting for testing hypothe-
ses drawn from the theoretical statement. Parasuraman,
Zeithaml, and Berry (1985) justified the services chosen for
investigation by providing a cross section of services based
on a classification of services proposed by Lovelock (1983).
Cronin and Taylor (1992) did not justify their settings (bank-
ing, fast food, pest control, and dry cleaning) in terms of
appropriateness for testing the SERVQUAL model. The
SERVQUAL model covers only service delivery and
excludes service outcomes, such as the taste and so on of
food from a fast-food restaurant. Part of Cronin and Taylor's
interest was in satisfaction, and food is probably an impor-
tant facet of satisfaction for a restaurant (Swan and Trawick
1981).
In summary, the ladder of abstraction is a tool to assist the
researcher in checking for consistency between the domain
of the propositional level concepts and the theoretical con-
cepts. The process is more than a simple mechanical proce-
dure, in that the student must gain an understanding of sev-
eral critical issues, including the logical tie between the the-
oretical statement and hypothesis as supported by bridge
laws.
The T Step: Proposition to Testable
Hypothesis
The proposition has moved the research project down a lad-
der of abstraction from the general concepts in the theoreti-
cal statement to a specific research setting. However, an
additional step down the ladder of abstraction is required for
empirical testing. The example proposition "As job satisfac-
tion with material rewards decreases, seeking sales work
with another firm increases" is not directly testable because
the prediction is not directly comparable to data. A research
hypothesis is needed.
A research hypothesis is a predictive statement in which
the concepts in the proposition are replaced by operational
definitions, and the operational linkage is replaced by a sta-
tistical test. The question of an appropriate operational defi-
nition and statistical test involves several issues, many of
which are beyond the scope of this article. Here the focus is
on logical tests of an operational definition and the linkage
between concepts. The form of the relationship (e.g., linear,
power curve) between the operational definitions determine
the appropriate statistical test (Hage 1972; Hunt 1991).
Qperational definitions or measures of the concepts, such as
"job satisfaction with material rewards," are needed.
Conceptual To Operational Definitions
The logical test of a hypothesis is that it must be homolo-
gous with the proposition it tests, which implies that the
operational definitions of each concept must be within the
domain of its respective propositional level concept (Dubin
1978). It is quite possible that more than one operational
level definition can be obtained for a single propositional
concept, and each additional operational measure can create
another hypothesis, so that one proposition can support sev-
eral hypotheses (Dubin 1978). This occurs because of the
wide domain of propositional concepts, and for each dimen-
sion of the concept another operational definition may be
possible.
The example proposition "As job satisfaction with mate-
rial rewards decreases, seeking sales work with another firm
increases" requires operational definitions of job satisfac-
tion with material rewards and seeking sales work with
another firm. Assume that the operational measures used
were (1) the "pay" component of the Churchill, Ford and
Walker (1974) measure of industrial sales job satisfaction
(INDSALES) and (2) a self report (JQB SEARCH) by sales-
people of job search activities such as reading trade publica-
tions to leam of sales openings. The testable hypothesis
would be the following:
Hj: As satisfaction with pay (measured by the pay component of
INDSALES) decreases, job search activities are likely to
increase (as measured by JOB SEARCH).
A lack of consistency between a concept's theoretical def-
inition and its operational definition is a potential problem
found in Brown and Swartz's (1989) study. They build their
model on a distinction between two types of expectations:
(1) expectations as experience based norms, performance
that the service should provide, and (2) predictive expecta-
tions, the performance that the consumer anticipates will be
provided. Brown and Swartz (1989) chose norms as their
 Marketing Education Review
theoretical concept. However, some of their measures
appear to he predictions, such as "I expect my doctor to talk
clearly...". Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) define
expectations as what consumers feel should be provided,
which is congruent with their operational definition in
which respondents were instructed to "show the extent to
which you think firms offering ... services should possess
the features described."
In marketing, practices on writing propositions and
hypotheses vary considerably. Frequently, the type of state-
ment that has been termed a "proposition" in this article is
labeled a "hypothesis" in marketing articles, and the type of
statement illustrated previously as a "testable hypothesis" is
not stated. Rather, the testable hypothesis is given implicitly
by describing the operational definitions of the independent
and dependent variables. As an example. Brown and Swartz
(1989) give the following statement, which they term a
hypothesis: "The level of positive client evaluation of the
professional service is inversely related to gap 1." The oper-
ational definitions of the variables were given so it would be
easy for a reader of Brown and Swartz (1989) to write out
the testable hypothesis. The explicit statement of both a
proposition and its testable hypothesis would add to the
length of an article and is probably unnecessary. The value
of writing a testable hypothesis is that it can assist
researchers in checking their work for theory-setting and
proposition-testable hypothesis congruency and help a
researcher in conducting a critical evaluation of the litera-
ture on the topic of interest.
Bridge Laws
Statements that tie the empirical setting to the theoretical
statement and propositions are termed bridge laws and serve
to close the gap between the theoretical level statement, with
its theoretical definitions, and the setting-specific phe-
nomenon, as expressed in a research hypothesis (Hunt
1991). Bridge laws are also termed guiding hypotheses or
assumptions.
The setting and propositional concept to operational mea-
sure step involves a series of bridge laws. Because the logi-
cal test of an operational definition is homology with the
propositional concept, it is appropriate to start with the
propositional level definition of the concept and compare it
with the operational definition (Dubin 1978). We use indus-
trial salesperson job satisfaction with material rewards as an
illustration. If material rewards were defined as resources
with exchange value, then such items as salary, commission,
bonuses, incentive awards such as an travel, and use of a
company car would be included (see Table 1). A bridge law
would be that the pay component of INDSALES was with-
in the domain of the propositional level concept. The
assumption would be reasonable, because by definition pay
is a resource with exchange value. "Pay" would not be a
complete measure of the concept and if additional measures,
such as job satisfaction with incentive awards, could be
obtained, other hypotheses could be formulated relating sat-
isfaction with incentives to job search.
In summary, the definition of the concept in the theoreti-
cal statement should be homologous with the definition in
the proposition and the two definitions should be tied
together by bridge laws. Next, the propositional level con-
cept and operational definition should be homologous. If a
gap is found, an opportunity for an empirical study may be
suggested. The next step in establishing theory to hypothe-
sis consistency is to ensure that the form of the relationship
between the concepts in the theoretical statement, proposi-
tion, and hypothesis is consistent.
Consistency of Operational Linkage and Statistical
Tests
The operational linkage specifies how the concepts in the
theoretical statement are related (Hage 1972). The example
posits that as extrinsic job satisfaction (X) decreases, seek-
ing another job is likely to increase (Y). The operational
linkage is negative and direct: As X decreases, Y increases.
The same linkage should be found in the propositions and
hypothesis.
At the hypothesis level, a statistical test that is homolo-
gous with the operational linkage is needed, and measure-
ment of the concepts becomes an issue. The INDSALES
scale has been treated as an interval level measure
(Churchill, Ford, and Walker 1974) and if the job search
measure was also an interval measure, then a statistical test
of association for interval measures such as regression
would be appropriate.
A limitation of many studies in marketing is that the the-
oretical statement specifies a direct relationship between
variables—for example: "As X increases, Y increases"—and
a linear model is used. Not all direct relationships are nec-
essarily linear; as an example, a curvilinear relationship is
direct. If a relationship was curvilinear but only linear
regression was employed, empirical support for a hypothe-
sis may have gone unrecognized.
How the variables are posited to be related theoretically
should be congruent with the operational linkage, the rela-
tionships created by the measurement process. Teas (1993)
believes that Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) had
problems in that area. Essentially, Parasuraman, Zeithaml,
and Berry (1988) specified that as Performance (P) minus
Expectation (E) increases, service quality (SQ) increases.
Teas (1993) noted that expectations were defined by
Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry as similar to ideal stan-
dards. If so, the classical ideal point attitudinal model would
be implied. However, in the ideal point model, performance
above the ideal point could decrease SQ, so SQ would not
always increase as P-E increases. Teas (1993) solved the
problem by modeling SQ as an ideal point where SQ
increased as performance came closer to the ideal point.
Domain Consistency
The domain of a theoretical statement is a specification of
that part of the natural world in which the statement is
expected to apply and the setting in which the hypotheses
will be tested should be consistent with the domain. Dubin
(1978) has presented an analytical approach to domain spec-
ification by noting that both a theoretical model's concepts
and linkages must be within their respective boundaries. He
defines boundaries as that part of the theoretical and thus
empirical world in which predictions can be made on the
basis of the model. As an example, some boundaries were
implicit in the sales force turnover example. Recall that the
model of seeking another job in the same occupation was
10 The Theory-Setting-Testable Hypothesis Model
posited to apply only to workers that were intrinsically sat-
isfied; that is, intrinsic satisfaction is a boundary condition.
The design of the study would need to include a method of
selecting salespeople that were intrinsically satisfied.
Domain incongruence appears to be a problem in the set-
ting selected by Cronin and Taylor (1992) to test the implic-
it proposition that as consumer satisfaction with a service
increases, purchase intentions increase. Cronin and Taylor
(1992) define the domain of satisfaction as being transaction
specific, in contrast to attitude as a long-run overall evalua-
tion. However, the satisfaction question was not transaction
specific. Domain consistency was evident in Parasuraman,
Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) as the domain for service quali-
ty was assumed to be a long-run evaluation of a service, not
transaction specific, and their measure of service quality
was the respondent's long-run experience with a service.
Summary of the Theory-Setting-Test Model
In summary, we illustrate a three-step procedure for devel-
oping hypotheses from theory (see Table 1):
1. Theory and predictions,
2. Setting and propositions, and
3. Testable hypotheses and measurement.
The three-step process of developing theoretically linked
hypotheses started with the theory step and identification of
a theoretical statement that relates an independent variable
to a dependent variable. The concepts that comprise the
independent and dependent variables are defined to specify
what part of the empirical world the theory includes. The
relationship between concepts in the theoretical statement
are identified and made explicit in two ways: First, the oper-
ational linkage specifies how the concepts are related (e.g.,
as X increases, Y increases); and second, the reason the con-
cepts are related constitutes the theoretical explanation. The
result of completing the theory step should be a clear under-
standing of a theoretical model of the phenomena of interest.
The setting and proposition step consists of moving the
second major step in hypotheses development down a ladder
of abstraction and identifying a specific setting that is with-
in the domain of the theoretical concepts. To help ensure that
the setting is a logical subset of the theoretical statement,
bridge laws, assumptions that justify the propositional level
concepts and statements, are identified. The set of bridge
laws should be examined for logical consistency, and a tool
for that task is the chain syllogism. The outcome of the
proposition step should be a set of propositions. The last
major step, testable hypothesis and measurement, is accom-
plished by replacing the concepts in the proposition with
operational definitions and choosing a statistical test that
will measure the form of the relationship between the con-
cepts. Finally the domain of the theoretical statement, that
part of the theoretical world to which the statement applies,
must be examined to set the boundaries of the theoretical
model. The setting for hypothesis testing must be within
those boundaries. We now offer some suggestions for using
the model in a doctoral seminar.
Using the Theory-Setting-Test Model in a
Philosophy of Science Seminar
The major purpose of the theory-setting-test model is to
assist doctoral students in developing skills to integrate phi-
losophy of science ideas about theory with a substantive
topic of interest to develop testable hypotheses. To do so, the
student must leam how to make connections between mate-
rial in the philosophy of science, a substantive empirical
research topic, and research methods for hypotheses testing.
We explain how our seminar (1) provides doctoral students
with an initial experience in integrating theory, a substantive
topic, and research methods and (2) identifies how the sem-
inar is positioned to provide skills that students can further
develop in subsequent doctoral level work.
Seminar Coverage of Theory, a Substantive Topic,
and Methods
The seminar is divided into three parts: (1) understanding a
research article, (2) research guided by realism as a philos-
ophy of science, and (3) qualitative interpretative research as
an alternative to realism. Two types of readings are used: (1)
conceptual readings that are employed to covey the basic
ideas and concepts that seminar covers, for example. Hunt's
(1991) Modern Marketing Theory, and (2) illustrative read-
ings that the students are to analyze using ideas from the
conceptual readings. The illustrative readings include a set
of articles selected by the instructor to illustrate good and
poor practice. A limited set of illustrative articles is
employed to give the students more time for analysis by
reducing the number of new readings. Service quality has
been selected as the illustrative topic because it contains
articles that provide appropriate examples and as a very
minor objective, it is a topic of importance in marketing.
Students are not expected to master the illustrative material,
and it is not included on the final exam in the seminar.
The seminar starts with understanding a research article
as the first major topic. The five two-hour periods on under-
standing a research article provide students with an "easy"
first experience in relating theory, topic, and method
because that is the content of empirical articles in the major
marketing journals. This block of the seminar can also be
described as learning how to read a hypotheses-testing arti-
cle by analysis of its structure or morphology.
Our treatment of the morphology of an article starts with
an overview of the components of a research article. The
assignment is to read (1) an essay that describes and
explains the theory-setting-test model (hereafter the TST
essay) and (2) a straightforward research article (Hansen
and Robinson 1980). We point out that a research article is
focused on a unique contribution to the literature, and iden-
tification of the contribution, which should be a clear and
specific statement of how the article makes an incremental
contribution to knowledge, is an excellent means of gaining
an initial understanding of a research article. The contribu-
tion is built around one or more theoretical statements, com-
posed of concepts and the linkage between concepts. The
theoretical statement has been tested by moving it down a
ladder of abstraction to a specific setting and reformulating
the abstract theoretical statement as a testable hypotheses by
finding operational measures for the concepts. Data are col-
 Marketing Education Review
lected, hypotheses are tested, results are related to theory,
and theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
Vhe class assignment is to identify the components noted
previously in Hansen and Robinson (1980), and the in-class
discussion provides a brief overview of the morphology of
that article (see Table 2). The remaining periods on deci-
phering a research article cover the topics shown in
Appendix A.
After the material on understanding the morphology of a
research topic has been covered, students write a short essay
in which they identify and evaluate the morphology of a few
articles on a topic of their choice (see Appendix B). The
topic becomes the student's topic for the remainder of the
seminar. This paper and the second paper are viewed as an
opportunity for the development of student skills and the
provision of instructor guidance toward the major paper.
Typically, some students confuse part of the morphology.
Table 2. Morphology of the Hansen and Robinson (1980) Research Article
Research Article Component
Contribution
Theoretical Statement
Operational Linkage
Theoretical Linkage
Ladder of Abstraction and Setting
Definitions:
Theoretical: Compliance
Operational: Compliance
Theoretical: Small Initial Task
Operational: Small Initial Task
Theoretical: High Involvement Foot Questions
Operational: High Involvement Foot Questions
Theoretical: Low Involvement Foot Questions
Operational: Low Involvement Foot Questions
Proposition
Hypothesis"
Results'"
"Other hypotheses were tested but were excluded from class discussion.
••Other results were presented but were excluded from class discussion.
11
and the essay gives the instructor an opportunity to clarify
some points.
The next major block of material covers realism as a phi-
losophy of science and provides a philosophical foundation
for much of the material covered in the first third of the sem-
inar. As an example, we point out that theoretical linkages
concern explanation and use the coverage of that topic in
Hunt's (1991) philosophy of science text to help students
move from identification of theoretical linkages to criteria
for evaluating an explanation. Service quality articles serve
as illustrative material. Specific topics covered include
explanation, scientific laws, and theory (see Appendix C).
The essay on the theory-setting-test model is used to help
students work through the rather difficult material in Hunt
(1991). A short paper on realism is assigned, in which stu-
dents critique a few articles in light of the material covered
in this section (see Appendix D).
Component in Hansen and Robinson
1. Continued application of foot-in-door in marketing research
2. An explanation for mixed results of Reingen and Keman (1979)
Compliance with a small initial request enhances the likelihood of
compliance with a larger subsequent task
Positive, direct
Individuals infer attitudes and beliefs from observation of their
behavior, thus compliance with a small request causes the sub-
ject to infer a positive attitude about the subsequent (larger) task.
General: compliance using foot-in-door
Setting specific: Compliance in mail survey using high/low
involvement initial task
Not explicit
Mail survey response rates
Not explicit
Telephone interview of 5 minutes or less
Not explicit
Probe questions asked
Not explicit
Fixed alternative questions asked
Response rates will be greater for HIGH than LOW involvement
foot.
Response rates (as measured by portion of questionnaires returned
within 35 days that were 85% complete) will be greater for
HIGH (measured by experimental treatment-use probe ques-
tions)than LOW (measured by experimental treatment-use fixed
alternative questions) involvement.
Response rates by involvement
HIGH: 58% LOW: 43%
12 The Theory-Setting-Testable Hypothesis Modei
The major paper covers the theory-setting-test model, the
morphology of a research article and realism. The objective
of the paper is for the student both to develop and demon-
strate skills in the integration of theory, setting, and hypoth-
esis by reviewing about six articles on his or her topic. The
paper can be organized around a theoretical statement pro-
posed by the student or theoretical statement(s) found in the
literature (see Appendix E).
The final topic covered is qualitative research, which is
beyond the scope of our theory-setting-test model and this
article, so it will be only briefly mentioned here. Qualitative
research is initiated with readings from Kuhn (1970) and
one empirical article to convey the concept of a research
paradigm (see Appendix F). Next, the qualitative interpre-
tive research paradigm is contrasted with the realism
paradigm using Hudson and Ozanne (1988). The Hudson
and Ozanne contrast of interpretative research to realism is
easier to grasp because the class has previously covered
realism in Hunt (1991). Finally, readings in qualitative the-
ory and method (Lofland and Lofland 1984; Schwartz and
Jacobs 1979; Turner 1986) and marketing sources on meth-
ods (Swan 1985) and substantive works (Prus 1991; Sherry
1990) are used to convey to the class current qualitative and
inductive (Bitner, Booms, and Tetreault 1990) research in
marketing (see Appendix F).
Positioning This Seminar in the Doctoral Program
Sequencing this seminar in the doctoral program is another
concern. A new class of students starts the doctoral program
in the fall quarter, and we offer this seminar in the next quar-
ter. The major advantage of this is that it provides a founda-
tion for substantive seminars, methods courses, service as a
graduate research assistant, and work toward a dissertation
topic. Feedback on the seminar that we have received from
students indicates that it is important in helping prepare stu-
dents to read and understand articles assigned in substantive
seminars and it shows students how important research
methods courses are to the conduct of inquiry. Graduate
assistants are often assigned the task of helping to assemble
the scholarly literature on a topic and that task can be con-
fusing if one does not have a working knowledge of theory.
Finally, many students have entered the seminar with an
interest in a substantive topic, but lacked the skills necessary
to transform their topic into a dissertation proposal. The the-
ory-setting-test model has helped our students achieve that
goal.
Summary and Conclusions
The theory-setting-test model is important to doctoral stu-
dents because it helps them to bridge gaps between theory, a
substantive topic, and empirical research. It is especially
useful to a doctoral student who has not been exposed to a
special course module on the integration of the philosophy
of science, statistical methods, and a substantive area. The
model emphasizes the process of developing a set of inter-
related theoretical statements that are used to make predic-
tions relating independent and dependent variables. The pro-
cess continues with the specification of concepts that are
logically tied to the theoretical statement within a particular
setting. The verbal linkages between the theoretical state-
ment and specification of concepts are propositions.
Completing the third step of the model, hypotheses are cre-
ated by the development and/or selection of operational def-
initions, measurements, and statistical tools within the
domain of the theoretical statement. We have successfully
used the theory-setting-test model in a philosophy of science
seminar.
The theory-setting-test model describes the process of
moving from conceptual statements to hypotheses. As such,
it can be helpful for doctoral students in evaluating the work
of others as well as assisting them in developing their own
research ideas. We hope that our presentation of the theory-
setting-test model will stimulate marketing educators' pre-
sentations of their approaches to integrating theory and
hypotheses in doctoral education.
Appendix A: Seminar Coverage of the
Morphology of a Research Article:
Realism as a Philosophy of Science:
Topics, Readings, Assignments
1. Introduction: Research Article Morphology—Readings: The
TST Essay (C)i; Hansen and Robinson (1980) (I).2
Assignment: Identify in Hansen and Robinson Contribution,
Theoretical Statement, Linkages—theoretical and opera-
tional. Definitions—theoretical and operational. Proposition,
Hypothesis, Results.
2. Concepts: Theoretical and Operational Definitions—
Readings: The TST Essay (C), Zaltman, Pinson, and
Angelmar (1973), Ch. 2 "...Concepts" (C); Parasuraman,
Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) (I). Assignment: For the theoret-
ical definition of service quality, identify extension, domain
or connotation, distinction, role in science; Identify and eval-
uate the operational definition of service quality.
3. Concepts: Development of Operational Definitions—
Readings: Churchill (1979) (C); Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and
Berry (1988) (I). Compare the steps in the development of
concept measures recommended by Churchill (1979) to the
steps taken by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry.
4. Concepts: Development and Change Within a Research
Tradition—Readings: The TST Essay (C); Osigweh (1989)
(C); Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985) (I);
Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) (I); Cronin and
Taylor (1992) (I). Assignment: What continuities and
changes can you find in service quality in 1985, 1988 and
1992? To what extent has the Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and
Berry (1988) concept of service quality satisfied Osigweh's
goals of (1) wide extension and (2) precise connotation? and
his procedures for concept formation of (1) limited domain,
(2) many attributes included in the operational definition, and
(3) delimit the concept?
5. Linkages Between Concepts: Theoretical and Operational—
Readings: The TST Essay (C); Hage (1972), Ch. 4
"...Linkages" (C); Oliver (1980) (I). Assignment: Identify the
theoretical and operational linkages involving disconfirma-
tion, satisfaction, and intentions in Oliver (1980).
Appendix B: Paper One Assignment on
the Morphology of Research Articles
Select two empirical research articles on a topic of your
choice. In your articles, (1) identify the components listed
 Marketing Education Review
below and (2) evaluate, compare, and contrast each compo-
nent between your articles. Components: contribution, theo-
retical statement, concepts and theoretical definitions,
propositions including concepts and linkages, hypothesis
including operational definitions of concepts, validity, relia-
bility, and operational linkages.
Appendix C: Realism as a Philosophy
of Science: Topics, Readings,
Assignments
L Introduction: Theory, Positive Versus Normative Theory,
Discovery Versus Justification, Research Standards—
Readings: Hunt (1991), Ch 1. (C); Jacoby (1978) (C);
Babakus et al. (1991) (I); Cronin and Taylor (1992) (I).
Assignment: Compare Babakus et al. with Cronin and Taylor
on positive and normative theory, discovery, and justification
as covered by Hunt. Compare Babakus et al. with Cronin and
Taylor in terms of the following research standards in Jacoby:
theories, models, concepts, procedures, and methods.
2. Explanation—Readings: The TST Essay (C); Hunt (1991),
Ch 2. "The Morphology of Explanation," (emphasis on pp.
49-57); Ch 3. "Explanation: Issues..., (emphasis on pp.
83-88) (C); Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985) (I);
Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) (I); Parasuraman,
Zeithaml, and Berry (1994) (I). Assignment: Identify the
explanation for why service quality increases as performance
minus expectations increases, then answer the following
questions concerning that explanation: 1. Does it satisfy the
four criteria discussed by Hunt? 2. What type of explanation
is it and what implications does that have for testing it? 3. Is
the explanation circular? 4. Does it meet the criteria for a
causal explanation?
3. Scientific Law—Readings: The TST Essay (C); Hunt (1991)
Ch 4. "The Morphology ... Laws," Ch 5. "Scientific Laws...,"
(emphasis on pp. 129^5) (C); Cronin and Taylor (1992) (I).
Assignment: Evaluate from Cronin and Taylor as a possible
scientific law the statement, "As perceived service perfor-
mance increases, service quality increases," using the follow-
ing criteria from Hunt: generalized conditionals, empirical
content, nomic necessity, systematically integrated, and sub-
stantial empirical evidence. Identify a possible bridge law
that could be used in Cronin and Taylor to derive the state-
ment given above from work on attitudes.
4. r/ieory—Readings: Hunt (1991), Ch 6. "...Theory," (C), The
TST Essay (C); Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1994) (I).
Assignment: (1) Evaluate the following as a possible state-
ment in a scientific theory: As performance minus expecta-
tions increases, overall service quality increases. Use the fol-
lowing criteria: systematically related, law like generaliza-
tions, empirically testable. (2) Attempt a partial formalization
using statements in the explanation as premises to derive the
statement given previously.
5. Classification Schemata—Readings: Hunt (1991), Ch 7.
"Theory: Issues...," (emphasis on pp. 176-89) (C); Lovelock
(1983) (I); Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) (I).
Assignment: Analyze the five dimensions of service quality
as a classification schema by answering the following ques-
tions: (1) Was the classification based primarily on logical
partitioning or grouping? (2) How well does the schema sat-
isfy the following criteria: (a) Does it adequately specify the
phenomenon to be classified? (b) Does it adequately specify
the properties of services on which the classification is based?
(c) Are the categories mutually exclusive? (d) Are the cate-
13
gories collectively exhaustive? (e) Is the schema useful?
Compare the approach to classification used by Lovelock
with Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry.
Appendix D: Paper Two: Assignment
on Realism
Use the same two empirical research articles that you select-
ed for the first paper in this seminar. In your articles identi-
fy and develop the items listed: (1) Explanation, type of
explanation, and criteria: (a) expected, (b) pragmatic, (c)
intersubjectivity, (d) empirical content; (2) Laws and crite-
ria: (a) lawlike generalization, (b) nomic necessity, (c)
empirical content, (d) extensive evidence, (e) systematically
integrated; (3) Theory—define and (a) use a chain syllogism
to show that the statements are systematically related, (b)
use bridge laws to tie the theory to the setting, and (c) use
lawlike generalizations that are empirically testable.
Appendix E: Major Paper Assignment
Find and use a total of five or six articles on your topic.
Include the two articles used for the short papers and one or
two additional empirical research articles and one or two
conceptual essay articles (if available). Use a review of the
articles to develop a theoretical statement, think of a setting
in which the statement could be tested, state a proposition or
propositions, and present a hypothesis or hypotheses that
would follow from the proposition(s). Write a report on your
work that contains the following: (1) Your unique contribu-
tion to the literature; (2) Theoretical statement with concepts
defined and linkages discussed per Paper one; (3) Using the
criteria in Paper two, an analysis of your theoretical state-
ment as a possible scientific law; (4) An explanation for the
relationships in your theoretical statement and an analysis of
your explanation in terms of the criteria used in paper two;
(5) An evaluation of your work as a possible theory using a
chain syllogism as you did in Paper two; (6) Your proposi-
tion(s) and bridge laws; (7) Your hypothesis or hypotheses
with operational definitions and linkages; and (8) A discus-
sion of the issues of validity and reliability of your
measures.
Appendix F: Qualitative Research
Paradigm: An Alternative to Realism
Topics, Readings, Assignments
1. The Concept of a Research Paradigm, Normal Science and
Scientific Revolution—Readings: Kuhn (1970) Ch. II-IV,
VII, and VII (C); Cronin and Taylor (1992) (I). Assignment:
How does a research paradigm influence the work of science?
Was Cronin and Taylor influenced by a paradigm? How and
why does a paradigm shift? Does Cronin and Taylor illustrate
a paradigm shift or the start of a scientific revolution?
2. Qualitative, Ethnographic Paradigms Contrasted to
Realism—Readings: Hunt (1991), pp. 394-98, 402-10 (C);
Hudson and Ozanne (1988) (C); Jacobs and Dopkeen (1990)
(C); Prus (1991) (I); Cronin and Taylor (1992) (I).
Assignment: Contrast realism as found in Cronin and Taylor
with qualitative research in Prus (1991) on the following
points: ontological, axioiogical, and epistemological assump-
tions; the empirical research process; and criteria for a com-
14 The Theory-Setting-Testable Hypothesis Model
pleted research project. What are some limitations of realism
according to Jacobs and Dopkeen?
3. Research Goals and Methods—The general goal of qualita-
tive research is reality reconstruction and the two most fre-
quently employed methods are interviewing and participant
observation- Readings: Schwartz and Jacobs, pp. 1-16;
37-59 (C); Sherry (1990) (I). Assignment: Find some exam-
ples of the following in Sherry: reality reconstruction, use of
interviewing, use of participant observation.
4. Data Analysis and Theory Development in Qualitative
/fe^earc/i—Readings: Swan (1985) (C); Turner (1986) Ch.
15 (C); Lofland and Lofland (1984) (C); Prus (1991) (I);
Sherry (1990) (I). Assignment: Analytical induction (Swan
1985) is the most common method of data analysis in quali-
tative research. Frequently theory in qualitative research
informs data analysis by (1) providing general premises about
human behavior as does symbolic interactionism (see Turner
1986) and/or (2) giving specific concepts, Lofland and
Lofland's "thinking units" that can serve as a focus within a
study. Prus claims that his study was guided by symbolic
interactionism. How is symbolic interactionism reflected in
Prus? Did Sherry use any of Lofland and Lofland's Thinking
Units? How might Sherry or Prus have used analytical induc-
tion to develop any of their findings?
5. Qualitative Research in Marketing—Readings: Prus (1991)
(I); Sherry (1990) (I); Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry
(1985, 1988) (I); Bitner, Booms, and Tetreault (1990) (I).
Assignment: Qualitative research in marketing has included
the following types of articles: (1) the use of qualitative meth-
ods of data collection as a part of an overall research effort
guided by realism (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry 1985,
1988); (2) qualitative data collection, analysis, and theory
(Prus 1991; Sherry 1990). How would you classify Bitner,
Booms, and Tetrault 1990? Summarize the data collection,
analysis, and findings in Bitner, Booms, and Tetrault.
'C = conceptual reading.
^I = illustrative reading.
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