Consumer perceived value: The development of a multiple item scale

Value creation is widely discussed in the practitioner literature and is often a part of organizations' mission statements and objectives. It is seen by many commentators as the key to long-term success, with Albrecht (1992, p 7) arguing that "the only thing that matters in the new world of quality is delivering customer value." Despite this emphasis, little research has addressed the value construct itself and there is no well-accepted value measure, even in the retail environment in which customers evaluate products before purchase. The present research project describes the development of a 19-item measure, PERVAL, that can be used to assess customers' perceptions of the value of a consumer durable good at a brand level. The measure was developed for use in a retail purchase situation to determine what consumption values drive purchase attitude and behavior. Four distinct, value dimensions emerged that were termed emotional, social, quality/performance and price/value for money. The reliability and validity of the scale was assessed in a prepurchase situation, using exploratory and confirmatory analyses. All four value dimensions were found to help significantly in explaining attitudes and behavior. The scale was also tested in a postpurchase situation and found to be both reliable and valid in this context as well. The PERVAL scale has a variety of potential applications and can serve as a framework for further empirical research in this important area. (C) 2001 by New York University. All rights reserved.