BETTER MEASUREMENT

PRACTICES ARE CRITICAL TO

BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF
SALES MANAGEMENT ISSUES
AUTHOR:- GILBERT A. CHURCHILL, JR.
PRESENTED BY:- AKANKSHA (H14127)
HRM - C (2014-16)

INTRODUCTION
Knowledge and understanding of measurement tools
must increase for advancement of sales and
marketing
Conceptual foundation of measurement as to how
they apply to sales research
Reviews the notions of validity and reliability
Suggestions on how sales researchers should
proceed with new or borrowed measures

NATURE AND IMPORTANCE OF

MEASUREMENT
Researcher
uses
theories
to
explain
phenomenon
These theories and models consist of constructs,
linkages between them and data that connects
the constructs to the empirical world
Single lines represent conceptual or constitutive
definitions in which a given construct is defined
with respect to other constructs in the set
This relationship can be precisely or imprecisely
defined
Double lines represent operational definitions
that specify how a construct is measured

NATURE AND IMPORTANCE OF

MEASUREMENT

Specifies activities that a researcher must undertake to

assign value to the constructs
Conceptual definitions logically precede the operational
definitions
Assess the strength, direction and form of relationships
between observable variables
Measurement
is
difficult
through
psychological
constructs
Measurement - Rules for assigning numbers to objects
to represent quantities of attributes
Rigour with which the rules have been defined & skill
with which they are implemented determine if the
construct has been captured by the measure

CLASSIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF

ERRORS
Observed measurement (XO) = True Score (XT) + Systematic Error (XS)
+ Random Error (XR)
Systematic error is a constant error
Random error is not constant & due to transient aspects
Differences between random and systematic error is essential to assess
the validity of measures
Validity of a measuring instrument: The extent to which differences in
scores on it reflect the true differences among individuals on the
characteristic we seek to measure, rather than on constant & random
errors
Researchers responsibility to ensure that the measure accurately
captures the characteristic of interest
The relationship between measured score & true score is never
established unequivocally but always inferred

VALIDITY MEASURES
PREDICTIVE VALIDITY:
Focuses on the usefulness of the measuring instrument as a predictor of some
characteristic or behaviour
Criterion related validity which is relatively easy to assess
CONTENT VALIDITY:
Focuses on the adequacy with which the domain of the characteristic is captured by
the measure
Face validity which is assessed by examining the measure with an eye towards
ascertaining the domain being sampled
CONSTRUCT VALIDITY:
Most directly concerned with what the instrument is actually measuring
The salespersons motivations, attitudes, behaviours etc. are constructs that are
measured through a set of observables
Most difficult type of validity to establish
Need to ensure the domain has been adequately sampled and there is internal
consistency
Convergent validity - High correlation with constructs designed to measure same

RELIABILITY MEASURES
RELIABILITY:
The similarity of results provided by independent but comparable measures of the same
object, trait or construct
Valid measures are usually reliable and the more reliable a measure is, lesser are the random
errors involved
It is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for validity of a measure
More easily measured than validity
STABILITY:
Measure the same objects at two different points of time and correlate the obtained scores
Scores should correlate perfectly, else random disturbances were operating in either one or
both of the test situations
This process is known as test-retest reliability assessment
EQUIVALENCE:
Focuses on internal consistency or homogeneity of the set of items forming the scale
Earliest measure was split-half reliability of scale but the necessarily arbitrary division of
items into equivalent halves has an inherent weakness
A better way is to look at all the items simultaneously using coefficient alpha as in the domain
sampling model

NEW MEASURE
Burden on researcher to prove the reliability and validity of the measure
The steps to be followed for the same are:1) Defining the construct & specifying its domain
2) Generating items to sample the domain
3) Collecting data & calculating the required indexes

BORROWED MEASURES
Researcher needs to assess the reliability & validity evidence gathered in
support of the measure
Scales developed in other situations might not display the same desirable
properties in the new context
Need to check these properties by calculating the appropriate coefficients

THANK YOU..