Construction and Validation of the Customer Participation Scale

Abstract

Although the importance of a mandatory customer participation construct in service delivery has been much discussed in the literature, little research has been devoted to conceptualizing and measuring one. To fill this void, this study followed a seven-step process for creating and analyzing scales in order to develop a customer participation scale and evaluate its generalizability, reliability, and validity. In theoretical terms, this scale extends the service quality literature, which has heavily emphasized the service provider’s responsibility for service quality, and will facilitate further studies in customer participation. In practical terms, the scale provides practitioners with useful mechanisms that could enhance their interactions with customers through facilitating the latter’s mandatory role in service delivery.