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Scales, in form of questionnaires, are the most commonly used method of data collection in field research.
Several hundreds of scales developed to assess various attitudes, perceptions and opinions of customers,
employees, managers are the proof of this (Hinkin, 1995). Some of these scales have suffered from validity
and reliability problems thus are not accepted and used in literature. However, some others (like SERVQUAL
developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry, 1988) are widely cited and replicated. For a scale to be
successful, it should have a sound literature support and should survive various rigorous statistical tests
like validity and reliability.
Moreover, over the past decades, there have been a variety of debates in the literature in
consideration of service quality conceptualization and measurement (Parasuraman, Zeithaml
and Malhotra, 2005). A very important part of the debate is about the applicability of scales
developed for different industries and in culturally different settings, mostly in Western
countries (for discussion see; Hinkins, 1995; Litwin, Crotts and Hefner, 2004; Crotts, 2004;
Yuksel, Kilinc and Yuksel, 2006).
Keeping these points in mind, the present paper aims to provide an example for developing a measurement
scale by using car rental services as a case. To do so, both qualitative and quantitative methods are
utilized in three fundamental stages recommended by Churchill (1979) and Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry
(1988). In following their footsteps, at first, qualitative research was undertaken in the form of 23
in-depth interviews which produced 61 items that described users’ perceptions. Then, a quantitative study
was undertaken to purify the scale items, examine dimensionality, reliability, factor structure and validity.
After the rigorous statistical analysis an 18-itemed scale with six factors emerged. The paper also introduces
the setting of the research and briefly presents the need for scale development which is followed by discussion,
implications and limitations.
Keywords:
scale development, measurement, fundamental stages, value of fit measures, models, car rental services, North Cyprus.
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