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Since the publication of Venkatraman and Grant's (1986) article two decades ago, considerably more attention has been directed at establishing the validity of constructs in the strategy literature. However, recent developments in measurement theory indicate that strategy researchers need to pay additional attention to whether their constructs should be modeled as having formative or reflective indicators. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to highlight the differences between formative and reflective indicator measurement models, and discuss the potential role of formative measurement models in strategy research. First, we systematically review the literature on construct measurement model specification. Second, we assess the extent of measurement model misspecification in the recent strategy literature. Our assessment of 257 constructs in the contemporary strategy literature suggests that many important strategy constructs are more appropriately modeled as having formative indicators than as having reflective indicators. Based on this review, we identify some common errors leading to measurement model misspecification in the strategy domain. Finally, we discuss some implications of our analyses for scholars in the strategic management field.

In the modern era, the significance of product design has increased because customers’ priorities in the evaluation of products have changed from product price to product design. Companies consider product design to be one of the most important sources of competitive advantage and standards for evaluating their performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop and validate a new scale to measure product design along with its dimensions.

An extensive literature review and consumer interviews and surveys were conducted to generate an initial item pool. Exploratory factor analysis was used to reduce the initial item pool, and confirmatory factor analysis was performed for measurement validation. A total of four separate studies were conducted for the conceptualization and operationalization of a product design scale.

Using data from three samples, the authors develop and validate a new scale to measure product design along affective, cognitive, ergonomic and reflective dimensions. Furthermore, the results provide strong evidence of the reliability, discriminant validity, measurement invariance and nomological validity of the four product design dimensions. Finally, the effects of these product design dimensions on harmonious and obsessive brand passion were assessed. The results show that the affective and reflective dimensions appear to be prominent for capturing the obsessive brand passion, whereas the cognitive and ergonomic dimensions are capable of increasing harmonious brand passion.

This is the first study that develops and validates the measurement of product design as a four-dimensional construct that can be transferred to a scale and applied across a wide range of product categories.

The purpose of this paper is to test the properties of the well-known three-dimensional adjustment scale, established by Black et al. (1988, 1989), namely, its dimensionality and internal consistency. The theoretical basis of the construct is discussed in relation to formative and reflective measurement approaches.

Two different ways of organizing the adjustment items (random/non-random) were used to assess the internal consistency of the three-dimensional adjustment scale. The quantitative analysis presented is based on survey data from 468 assigned expatriates in Asia that were subjected to an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis as well as a structural equation modeling – more specifically the multiple indicators multiple causes model (MIMIC).

The study revealed that the adjustment construct is possibly misspecified, especially the general adjustment dimension, that was tested as a formative, not a reflective scale. There is further evidence that the wrong measurement approach skewed the coefficient that connects adjustment to performance, which is the key construct in its nomological network. Moreover, the dimensionality and the internal consistency of the scale are deteriorated to a large extent by randomization of the items. The findings highlight the need for a clear concept definition that would lead to an appropriate operationalization of the construct.

The study is one of the few rigorously testing the properties of a construct that has been used for almost 30 years, thus yielding some novel conclusions about its stability and consistency.

Although the relationship between leadership behaviors and team reflexivity has been investigated in prior research, little is known about the dimensions of reflective leadership or leadership behaviors that facilitate reflection in a group or organization. This paper aims to examine the interrelated characteristics of reflective leadership behaviors that promote team learning using survey data.

Because this research was exploratory in nature, a research model was developed based on the preliminary research. The research model was tested using a quantitative study of 507 employees in 98 teams.

Results of regression analyses of a group-level study revealed three types of reflective leadership – open reflection, problem-based reflection and goal-based reflection – and found that only the open reflection and goal-based reflection were positively related to team learning.

As reflective leadership has not been examined in previous studies, the research model and the measurement scales were developed based on preliminary research in the present research.

Team leaders need to understand that goal-based reflection plays a central role in reflecting on their work because it may provide members with criteria to recognize whether they are on the right track.

The present research revealed three dimensions of reflective leadership that had not been adequately investigated previously.

The purpose of this paper is to test and compare different conceptual approaches for perceived value in a service context.

Perceived value is an outcome construct that results from various benefits received and sacrifices devoted to achieve a particular exchange of a service. The paper compares three different modeling approaches (Type 1, Type 2, and Type 4) for perceived value using data from an in‐flight survey. The questionnaire covered topics such as perceived service quality and overall satisfaction, price perception, customer value, and customer retention.

The theoretical discussion repeatedly emphasizes that only the formative modeling of perceived value fits the arguments put forward in the existing literature. This study replicates and extends a study by Lin et al. in the airline service context. The paper reports details about the impact of the proposed seven “get” and “give” components, together with an analysis of the consequences perceived value has on satisfaction, loyalty, and word‐of‐mouth.

The findings suggest extensions and improvements concerning measurement and conceptual issues.

Perceived value shows a substantial effect on behavioral consequences. Service operations must observe the perception of atmospherics emerging from the main service encounters next to considering functional aspects.

Misconceptualizations of multi‐item constructs are well known. However, critical discussions and empirical tests are still scarce in the tourism field. This paper tests and compares different conceptual approaches for perceived value in a service context.

This research seeks to extend the work of Dabholkar et al. into the e‐retail domain to assess alternate theoretical frameworks of e‐service quality. Particular focus is placed on e‐service quality and whether elements of e‐service quality should be viewed by dimensions, as antecedents to a global evaluation of e‐service quality, or as a formative configuration to predict behavioral intentions. The mediating role of customer satisfaction is also to be explored in these frameworks.

This paper is premised on an empirical study using cross‐sectional data from actual consumers. Data from a survey of 518 online consumers were used to test the research models through the use of a structured equation modeling (SEM) tool.

The results show support for all three theoretical models, and slightly stronger support for the formative model. Customer satisfaction was also found to play a mediating role on behavioral intentions within these e‐service quality models.

The research is limited to a single e‐retail product category of sport and leisure. The generalizibility of these findings is therefore limited. Further work in other sectors and over longer periods would establish the reliability of the findings. The paper also highlights some limitations in the e‐service quality literature, particularly the emphasis on the use of reflective indicators over formative approaches in the modeling of e‐service quality.

Multiple configurations of e‐service quality exist in the literature, as well as variations on how it is actually measured. The authors provide specific recommendations to improve future research (and practice) involving e‐service quality conceptualization and measurement.

The paper examines three alternate configurations of e‐service quality's antecedents, consequences and mediators. The authors provide a platform for further research to improve the conceptualization and measurement of e‐service quality and its effects.

The purpose of this paper is to measure the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The aim is to contribute to the extant literature about the role of EO for SMEs development, and more specifically to identify implications that can inform knowledge-based initiatives of entrepreneurship universities focussing on the development and diffusion of the entrepreneurial culture and capacity.

This research paper adopts a quantitative approach to investigate a conceptual framework linking EO to SME’s performance. The central postulated hypothesis is that EO positively affects performance of SMEs. This hypothesis has been tested by using a system of partial least squares of structural equations modelling, adopting the SmartPLS® 3.0 software (Ringle et al., 2015). The empirical context analysed 170 SMEs operating in the Bajio Region (México) in the leather–footwear sector.

The results provide evidence that Mexican companies that manifest EO have a positive effect on their firm performance. Similarly, findings emphasise that both risk taking and innovativeness are currently the central axes of EO for the analysed companies. Accordingly, entrepreneurial universities should be engaged in the development of EO of students, academic staff and companies by focussing on knowledge-based actions that can foster the improvement of some specific features of the EO.

The results provide insights about the relationships between EO and the performance of SMEs indicating that potentials initiatives of entrepreneurship universities aiming to support the development capacity of SMEs as well as of students and academic staff should be focussed on the critical dimensions characterising EO.

This paper provides insights into the role of EO for SMEs performance. It provides three main contributions. First, derived from literature research, it proposes a working definition of EO. Second, the empirical research findings support an understanding of the relationship between EO and Mexican SMEs performance and propose a multiple and reflective dimension of EO’s model. Moreover, finally, this research provides some implications for entrepreneurship universities aiming to create and diffuse an entrepreneurial culture and capabilities by fostering the development of the EO.

Individuals learn in different ways, using several learning styles, but lecturers may not always present information and learning experiences that match students’ learning preferences. Mismatches between learning and teaching styles can lead to disappointment with the course of study, personal discouragement and underperformance. The learning styles of 735 undergraduate Accounting students and the teaching styles of 46 lecturers from one United Kingdom and one South African university were empirically surveyed, using the Felder‐Solomon Index of Learning Styles questionnaire to consider the students’ learning styles, and an adaptation of the questionnaire to analyse the lecturers’ teaching styles. The study compared learning and teaching styles between two universities in two different countries and then examined possible matches/mismatches between learning and teaching styles. Little mismatch was found (p‐values smaller than 0.3). Other results are discussed and recommendations are made in relation to understanding and meeting students’ learning needs and the needs of professional bodies.

Learning styles are incorporated more and more in e‐education, mostly in order to provide adaptivity with respect to the learning styles of students. For identifying learning styles, at the present time questionnaires are widely used. While such questionnaires exist for most learning style models, their validity and reliability is an important issue and has to be investigated to guarantee that the questionnaire really assesses what the learning style theory aims at. In this paper, we focus on the Index of Learning Styles (ILS), a 44‐item questionnaire to identify learning styles based on Felder‐ Silverman learning style model. The aim of this paper is to analyse data gathered from ILS by a data‐driven approach in order to investigate relationships within the learning styles. Results, obtained by Multiple Correspondence Analysis and cross‐validated by correlation analysis, show the consistent dependencies between some learning styles and lead then to conclude for scarce validity of the ILS questionnaire. Some latent dimensions present in data, that are unexpected, are discussed. Results are then compared with the ones given by literature concerning validity and reliability of the ILS questionnaire. Both the results and the comparisons show the effectiveness of data‐driven methods for patterns extraction even when unexpected dependencies are found and the importance of coherence and consistency of mathematical representation of data with respect to the methods selected for effective, precise and accurate modelling.

The objective of this study is to develop and test a specific conceptualization and modeling specification of web site service quality and the influence web site service quality has on e‐service provider loyalty and word‐of‐mouth.

Data from an online survey of consumers across two studies were obtained.

The results support the conceptualization and operationalization of web site service quality and its effects on word of mouth and loyalty.

Implications for the measurement of consumer perceptions of web site service quality are highlighted for researchers, and directions for future research are discussed.

E‐service providers should carefully consider customer experiences on their web sites, and their management efforts to ensure they design and deliver the appropriate levels of service quality derived through the specific components of web site service quality.

The findings are of value to e‐service practitioners managing web site service quality and offer empirical support to its formative conceptualization. The focus here on formative modeling will stimulate discussion among e‐service researchers and practitioners, which could result in richer e‐service quality measures leading to improved marketing decision making and web site quality management.