The purpose of this research is to investigate network drivers of intercustomer social support. In order to conduct this research, it was necessary to select a research context where high levels of intercustomer social support already exist. Therefore, certain context characteristics must be met by the research setting. First, intercustomer social support is more likely to occur when the customer has frequent interaction and contact with the company. Second, increased usage of the product or service increases the likelihood of intercustomer social support. Last, the research setting must occur in an organization where customers interact and are exposed to other customers of the
organization.
Given these boundary conditions, a health club was chosen as the research for the present research. This setting is a full-service, high-end health club offering weights, cardio, basketball, swimming, racquetball, aerobics, and a cafe. Current membership at the time of this research was approximately 9,000. Given the size, breadth of activities and number of members, this research setting provided ample opportunity for customers to interact. Members of the health club visit the facility an average of 2-3 times per week. Further, it is large enough where management employs strategies to increase membership and retention. Last, measures for intercustomer social support have already been developed for health clubs. These measures demonstrate high reliability and validity.
57 RESEARCH DESIGN
This research was a cross-sectional, between subjects field study design (Trochim and Donnelly 2007). Measuring variables in the field offers great realism; however, this design increases threats to internal validity (Trochim and Donnelly 2007). The two main concerns with cross-sectional research center on: 1) validity threats due to common method bias; and 2) the ability to infer causal inference (Podsakoff et al. 2003;
Rindfleisch et al. 2008). Three common methods offered to reduce these threats include: 1) multiple respondents; 2) multiple data sources; and 3) multiple periods of time
(Rindfleisch et al. 2008). The present research collected data via self-report, as well as from company records; therefore, it used multiple data sources. Recent research also illustrated that under certain circumstances, the results of a cross-sectional research design are comparable to those of longitudinal design (Rindfleisch et al. 2008).
Specifically, the authors recommend cross-sectional research when the research includes: 1) externally oriented constructs; 2) low likelihood of response bias; 3) heterogeneous measurement scales; 4) start/end dates are unclear; 5) theoretical foundation is well developed; and 6) nature of argument is between subjects. The theoretical foundation and external nature of the present research constructs have been illustrated in chapter three. Further, the survey instrument found in Appendix B demonstrates various response formats and lengths of scales. Last, the start and end points of intercustomer social support are unclear. Given this, cross-sectional research was an appropriate selection for the research context.
SAMPLING PROCEDURES AND DATA COLLECTION
The sampling frame included members of a local full-service health club. At the time of the research, the health club maintained a membership of approximately 9,000 members. Despite turbulent economic times and many people forgoing health club memberships, this health club is one of few to recognize continued retention and growth of its membership base in the area.
To gather the information necessary to test the research model, a survey was distributed to members of the health club. Data collection occurred within the service setting. This was done for three reasons. First, the present study focuses on
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to survey members who actually patronize the health club. Second, on-site recruitment of respondents improves response rates. Last, on-site recruitment ensure identifier numbers were correct (to link surveys to the health club data). For respondents who did not have the time to complete the survey onsite, an option was given to take the survey home and return it by a set deadline. Given the critical importance of matching identifier numbers, members were only allowed to take the survey home once they have filled out the identifier information on the survey.
A common problem with survey research is ensuring adequate participation. Low response rates can lead to nonresponse bias. Nonresponse bias occurs when the respondents who complete the survey have different characteristics than those who do not complete the survey (Armstrong and Overton 1977). Nonresponse bias was tested by “estimating the effects of nonresponse” (Armstrong and Overton 1977, p. 396); this involved comparing early responders to late responders and testing for significant differences in their responses.
Alternatively, researchers offer suggestions to increase response rates, thereby reducing the threat of nonresponse bias. These include incentives (Kanuk and Berenson 1975), survey length (Yammarino et al. 1991), and method of delivery (e.g. mail, in- person; Ibeh et al. 2004). In an effort to increase response rates, the researcher offered aluminum water bottles with the health club‟s logo as an incentive to the customers. Further, as mentioned previously, surveys were delivered in person to potential respondents. Last, attempts were made to keep the survey a reasonable length.
To improve reliability and validity of the survey instrument, certain measures were collected from the health club. Specifically, information regarding weekly patronage, monthly expenditures, customer referrals, and length of membership were collected from the health club practice management system. In order to link customer‟s surveys to this information, it was necessary for members to provide their membership number. To ensure anonymity, these identifier numbers, not names, were used to link to their accounts.
RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
The complete survey instrument can be found in Appendix B. Each section of the instrument corresponds to a specific set of research variables; Appendix A details the
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research variables and corresponding items. Structured questions were Likert-type format, as well as fixed alternative format. Prior to administering the survey instrument to members of the health club, the entire survey instrument was scrutinized and reviewed by expert faculty judges. Feedback was solicited regarding item wording and confusion. Additionally, as detailed below, all scales were based on established scales in the
literature. This information was used to edit and refine the survey instrument.