Measuring integrated marketing communication by taking a broad organisational approach: The firm-wide IMC scale

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is twofold: first, to conceptualise integrated marketing communication (IMC) by adopting a more inclusive and broader organisational perspective, and second, to empirically develop and validate a new measurement scale to assess firm-wide IMC.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on a multistage research design adopting qualitative and quantitative approaches. First, a comprehensive literature review and a two-round Delphi study served as the primary basis for the development of the IMC theoretical framework, including generation of items and content validation. Second, a pilot study (n = 39) enabled us to purify the measurement tool. Third, the data gathered via an online survey conducted among CEOs and other senior managers (n = 180) led to empirical validation of the proposed firm-wide IMC scale applying second-order confirmatory factor and structural equation modelling analyses.

Findings

This research produced the firm-wide IMC scale, a 25-item Likert-format measure exhibiting adequate dimensionality, reliability and construct (convergent, discriminant and nomological) validity.

Originality/value

The need for a more holistic approach emerged from both the academic literature and the professional arena. However, even very recent attempts to measure integration have involved the adoption of a narrow marketing communications-centred approach. Thus, the value and uniqueness of this paper lies in its novel definition of IMC as a four-dimensional construct and the development of a theoretically consistent, valid and reliable measurement tool for the assessment of integration based on a firm-wide organisational approach.

Citation

Porcu, L., Del Barrio-García, S. and Kitchen, P.J. (2017), "Measuring integrated marketing communication by taking a broad organisational approach: The firm-wide IMC scale", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 51 No. 3, pp. 692-718. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-08-2015-0587