Equivalence of survey data: relevance for international marketing

Abstract

The equivalence or comparability of survey data collected across countries is regarded as a basic issue in culture-comparative research. Despite the importance of bias, most culturecomparative studies in marketing and business research interpret differences at face value.Moreover, in commercial marketing research the issue is mostly neglected. In this article two general approaches found in the literature are presented, namely, an approach focussing more on the research process and an approach focussing more on measurement invariance. An integrated framework is presented as well as a case study showing it is useful to integrate both approaches to improve decision making in international marketing.3

Methodological issues in cross-cultural research: An overview and recommendations

“…Finally, the use of multicultural research teams and international collaboration is widely advised. 12,13,32 …”

“…The use of local agents is also advised. 13,17 Data collection equivalence can also be accomplished by making the setting and instructions of the research equivalent, using uniform data collection procedures and collecting the data within acceptable time frames. Furthermore, it is recommended to carry out preliminary research to assess the equivalence of the modes of administration.…”

“…19 Two approaches to equivalence are generally identifi ed in the literature. 13 The fi rst refers to those forms of equivalence that have to be addressed before and during data collection. The second approach focuses on the analysis of the data and examines the measurement equivalence or invariance of data already collected.…”

“…11,12 There are several reasons for this lack of improvement in the methodology of this type of research: the lack of knowledge between researchers, the diffi culty of setting and achieving equivalence at each stage of the research process, the methodological complexities involved in some procedures and the lack of clarity in the literature. 11,13 More importantly, the signifi cant number of sources about cross-cultural / national fi ndings make it diffi cult and time-consuming to get a basic overview. 14 To overcome this and encourage greater methodological rigor in survey research conducted across cultures and / or countries, this article provides a review of the relevant literature.…”

Examining Leader-Member Exchange as a Moderator of the Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Creativity of Software Developers

“…Though we translated our questionnaire and back-translated it with care in iterative cycles, translation equivalence (Van Herk, Poortinga, & Verhallen, 2005) may still be an issue. Multiple-group factor analysis in a structural equation model is required for identifying the measurement model equivalence in multiple groups simultaneously (Malhotra, Agarwal, & Peterson, 1996).…”