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The purpose of this paper is to report data empirically linking competencies of individual leaders to business profitability and demonstrate that competencies are cross‐culturally valid.

Participants in the initial competency study were 15 business unit managers identified as high performing. Data were collected using Critical Incident Interviews that were systematically coded using thematic analysis to identify the presence of competencies. Competencies identified were then adapted into a behaviourally‐based questionnaire used in a follow‐up validation study. Participants in the validation study (n=70) were managers from North America and two European countries who were participants in a management development program. Boss ratings of competencies were then correlated with business unit profitability.

A set of competencies was identified as predictive of unit profit growth in managers in both North America and the European Union. Subsequent regression analysis showed that 17 per cent of the variance in business unit profitability could be accounted for by four competencies, specifically team leadership, developing others, achievement orientation, and impact and influence. Cross‐cultural validity was demonstrated to the degree that similar competencies predicted performance in both North America and the European Union as evidenced by the correlation between boss rating of subordinate competencies and profit growth.

The initial study using Critical Incident Interviews was conducted with a small sample size and did not employ a comparison group of average performers.

Initial competency research using empirical methods should be used to help focus competency models used for selection, feedback, training, and performance management.

The study is one of the few published studies that link competencies to business unit profitability. The paper demonstrates that competencies have a degree of cross‐cultural validity.

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a five-country study of consumers’ need for uniqueness (CNFU) and examine its research and practical implications. Most studies examining CNFU have used single country or US-based samples. To promote cross-cultural research, the authors test the cross-cultural reliability and validity of the CNFU scale using data from the USA, a developed economy, Brazil, India, Thailand, and Mexico, all emerging economies.

The original CNFU scale was developed in the USA. Therefore, to cross-validate the scale, data were collected from consumers in the USA, Brazil, India, Thailand, and Mexico as these countries demonstrate important socio-economic and cultural differences. The scale was tested using confirmatory factor analysis.

The scale was estimated and validated in all five countries and the analysis reveals that the CNFU scale has sound psychometric properties. Further, the authors find that CNFU is a cross-cultural phenomenon that has a significant impact on market mavenism (MM), and this relationship is moderated by usage variety (UV).

The results indicate generality of all the scale items, and demonstrate that CNFU is a cross-cultural phenomenon. Greater nomological validity of the CNFU construct could be established by investigating its relationship with more constructs.

The authors provide empirical evidence on the cross-cultural validity of the CNFU scale; examine its effect on MM; and role of UV on the relationship between CNFU and MM.

The purpose of this paper is to create and validate a scale that measures consumer xenocentrism in developing countries, where this phenomenon is furthermost prevalent. This study aimed for the conceptualization, construct development and validation of a new scale labeled X-Scale. The theoretical framework was based on the theories of social comparison, system justification and culture.

This study employed a mixed-method and multi-stage research approach to investigate the domain of xenocentrism in the context of consumer behavior and subsequently develop a scale (X-Scale), while assessing its dimensionality, reliability and validity. Qualitative and quantitative techniques were used for the development of the scale. Multi-stage data from five developing countries were collected for validation purposes: Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and China.

Results indicate that the consumer xenocentrism construct has two dimensions: foreign admiration and domestic rejection. Each dimension is comprised of five items. The reliability tests, the goodness-of-fit measures and the psychometric properties indicate a reliable construct. In addition, this study shows that consumer xenocentrism is a key predictor of consumers’ preferences for foreign brands over domestic ones.

This is the first empirical study on consumer xenocentrism conducted in several developing countries. The X-Scale developed here is invariant across countries and, therefore, allows for comparison among them.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate cross‐culturally a short‐form, consumers' need for uniqueness (CNFU) scale. The length of the original scale (31 items) might have hindered its diffusion in research when questionnaire length and respondent fatigue are major considerations.

The paper uses survey‐based data from Israel, Slovenia, and the Palestinian Authority and uses a combination of statistical techniques, such as EFA, CFA, and structural equation modeling.

In general, support was found for the cross‐cultural reliability and validity of the new, short‐form CNFU scale.

Future research can use the short‐form scale with additional confidence in its cross‐cultural reliability and validity.

First, since CNFU appears not to be culturally bound, marketers can identify cross‐country segments of high‐CNFU individuals and use standardized marketing campaigns to reach them. Second, marketers of unique products can use the antecedents identified in this study to develop and encourage CNFU. Third, the findings can be used to design advertising campaigns such as by emphasizing the social context of consumption of high‐uniqueness products.

An original and first presentation of a cross‐cultural validation of a parsimonious CNFU scale.

The purpose of this research is to expand cross‐cultural research and validate the Learning Transfer System Inventory in Ukraine. The researchers seek to translate the LTSI into Ukrainian and investigate the internal structure of this translated version of the questionnaire.

The LTSI is translated into Ukrainian using a rigorous translation methodology. The instrument was distributed to 511 (430 – usable data) individuals from various organizations throughout Ukraine. The exploratory factor analysis (common factor analysis with oblique rotation) was used to analyze the survey data.

The factor structure of the Ukrainian version of the LTSI (ULTSI) paralleled that of the original instrument. Most items loaded on appropriate factors with loadings over 0.4. Two factors (Opportunity to Use Learning and Performance‐Outcomes Expectations) did not emerge as clearly as in the original instrument and require further research.

The instrument was distributed to a convenience sample which limits the external validity of the study. Some translation issues may have possibly influenced low loadings for few items. The questionnaires distributed in the Eastern part of Ukraine were problematic because the population there is mostly Russian‐speaking while the instruments were in Ukrainian. The study provides evidence of construct validity of the LTSI in the Ukrainian business environment. With the limitations outlined above further research can address translation issues and language barrier problems. Some items may be included that will suit the Ukrainian environment better, which may resolve problems in two factors mentioned above. New methods of instrument translation could be utilized in future as well as alternative statistical analyses (Confirmatory Factor Analysis).

The ULTSI is now one of the first and few HRD tools in Ukraine. It can be used to assess the transfer climate in Ukrainian organizations in order to maximize the positive outcomes of the investment in training. As a diagnostic tool the ULTSI can provide necessary information about the environmental and organizational forces that are at play in a given organization, and it can help improve the results of training interventions.

This cross‐cultural study is one of the first efforts in existence to bridge the Ukrainian and Western cultures in terms of HRD. It provides a possibility for HRD methodology and theory to be introduced in Ukrainian businesses. At the same time, the study provides evidence of the construct validity and sound structure of the LTSI.

Despite the fact that shame is recognized as a significant factor in clinical encounters, it is under-recognized, under-researched and under-theorized in health prevention, assessment and cross-cultural contexts. Thus, this study aims to investigate the psychometric properties of the most widely used scale, the “Other as Shamer Scale” (OAS), to assess the risk and proclivities of external shame in adults. As in health care, there is a barrier between what is known through research in one culture and what is acceptable in practice in another culture.

The Urdu version was prepared using the standard back-translation method, and the study was conducted from June 2021 to January 2022. The translation and adaptation were completed in four steps: forward translation, adaptation and translation, back translation, committee approach and cross-language validation. The sample, selected through the purposive sampling method, is comprised of 200 adults (men = 100 and women = 100), with an age range of 18–60 years (M = 28, SD = 5.5), spanning all stages of life. The Cronbach's alpha reliability and factorial validity of the OAS were assessed through confirmatory factor analysis and Pearson correlation analyses. Internal consistency and test–retest reliability (at a two-week interval) were used to evaluate the reliability. Statistical analyses were performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version 22) software.

Preliminary analysis revealed that the overall instrument had good internal consistency (Urdu OAS a = 0.91; English OAS a = 0.92) as well as test–retest correlation coefficients for 15 days (r = 0.88). The factor loading of all items ranged from 0.69 to 0.9, which explained the significant level and indicated the model's overall goodness of fit.

Findings suggest that this scale has significant psychometric properties and the potential to be used as a valid, reliable and cost-effective clinical and research instrument. This study contributes to scientific knowledge and helps to develop and test indigenous cross-cultural instruments that can be used to examine external shame in Pakistani people.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a cross-cultural scale of customers’ perceived switching costs (PSCs). Customers’ PSCs function as a powerful defensive marketing tool that restrains customers from switching.

Four sets of survey data were collected in the UK, Egypt, Germany, and China. An overall response rate of 86 percent was achieved across the four countries. Cross-cultural equivalence of the PSCs scale was assessed using multi-group confirmatory factor analysis.

Tests of configural, metric, and factor variance invariance confirmed that the PSCs scale is appropriate for meaningful cross-cultural comparisons.

Data were collected in four countries from the financial service context. Future researchers should test the short-form PSCs (PSCs-S) scale across different cultural and industrial contexts to enhance its generalizability.

The cross-cultural PSCs-S scale presented here will enhance international marketing researchers’ ability to test theory containing customers’ PSCs as central variables, and provide managers with a measurement tool that they can use to better segment and manage their customers.

This study is one of the first to develop a cross-cultural PSCs scale. Despite the growth of research into customers’ PSCs, research on the topic has been limited by the lack of a cross-cultural measurement instrument. The latter now furnishes the research community with the opportunity to gain a fuller understanding of switching behavior, to establish the scale's generalizability, and to make meaningful comparisons of PSCs across cultures.

Economic globalization is leading large companies to focus on international strategic management. Nowadays, the assets referred to as “corporate intangibles,” such as corporate reputation, are becoming increasingly important because they are considered a key factor for the viability of an organization, and companies therefore need to incorporate them into their scorecards for management. The problem is that their measurement is subjective and latent. These two characteristics impede direct international comparison and require demonstrating the accuracy of comparison via a minimum of two tests – construct equivalence and metric equivalence. As regards corporate reputation, construct equivalence was verified by Naomi Gardberg (2006). However, the subsequent studies did not address metric equivalence. Based on the results of a survey provided by the Reputation Institute (n = 5,950, 50 firms evaluated in 17 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia), the degree of RepTrak metric equivalence has been tested, using two different methodologies, multigroup analysis (structural equation model), and a new technique from 2016, the Measurement Invariance of Composite Model procedure from the Partial Least Square Path Modeling family. As one would expect from other cross-cultural studies, reputation metrics do not meet the full metric equivalence, which is why they require standardization processes to ensure international comparability. Both methodologies have identified the same correction parameters, which have allowed validation of the mean and variance of response style by country.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the cross‐cultural reliability and validity of the Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI‐2) in a cross‐cultural context.

Using a competency‐based approach to social and emotional intelligence (EI), the paper presents data on Indian managers from the manufacturing and service industries collected using self‐report and multi‐rater assessments. Factor analysis explored the latent structure of social and emotional intelligence competencies on the Indian sample. Divergent validity was assessed using a Stress Personality test. Internal reliability of the ECI‐2 was also determined for a sample of 400 Indian managers.

A two‐factor structure has emerged in the cross‐cultural context similar to the latent structure of the construct explored by the test developers of the ECI‐2. However, six items did not have significant loading. ECI‐2 has been found to have statistically significant reliability coefficient and divergent validity with Stress Personality test on the Indian sample.

The competency‐based approach to emotional and social intelligence, with a two‐factor structure, has found empirical evidence on the managerial sample in the Indian context. Future research can test this on other professional groups. Norms can be developed for various professional groups using a competency‐based framework of EI.

ECI‐2 can be used with modification based on the findings for talent management, employee development, counseling and succession planning for Indian managers.

Cross‐cultural validation, in the Indian context, of a competency‐based framework of emotional and social intelligence and its measure is useful for researchers and practitioners and for professional and leadership development of managers.

Three theoretical constructs that appear in many models of consumer behaviour and are of central importance to fashion marketing and management are enduring product involvement, opinion seeking and subjective product knowledge. Both basic and applied market research, however, have lacked valid, reliable and standardised measures of these variables. Recent published studies have presented multi‐item scales that fill this gap in fashion research methodology. All three scales, however, were developed using US data, chiefly students. This paper presents the results of three surveys of Korean adult (n = 479) and student (n = 387) consumers as well as US adult consumers (n = 318) that support the reliability and validity of all three scales and show their applicability for cross‐cultural fashion research.