Contributions published at Marketing and Market Research (René Algesheimer)

The article presents the Polish adaptation of Goldberg’s IPIP-BFM-50 questionnaire for measuring the five personality traits in the lexical tradition (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Intellect). The adaptation procedure was carried out as a series of eight studies. Analyses were performed on a total of N = 7015 people aged from 10 to 83 (their mean age was 29 years). Reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Factorial validity was verified in confirmatory factor analysis. In multigroup confirmatory factor analysis, measurement invariance between various research situations was verified. External validity was assessed by comparing the scores obtained using the IPIP-BFM-50 with NEO-FFI and NEO-PI-R scores. The results support the conclusion that the IPIP-BFM-50 is a measure with satisfactory psychometric properties, fit for use in scientific research.

The most frequently used measures of personality consist of a large number of items. However, it is their short versions that have enjoyed popularity in recent years. This article is a presentation of the short form of Goldberg’s questionnaire for measuring the Big Five personality traits. The questionnaire measures five traits (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Intellect), and consists of 20 items. It is a shortened version of the 50-item Big Five Markers questionnaire from the resources of the International Personality Item Pool, whose Polish version was prepared by Strus, Cieciuch, and Rowiski (2014b). In constructing the short version, we followed the procedure developed by Donnellan and colleagues (2006), aimed at maximizing the internal consistency and independence of scales. The research was carried out on a group of N = 903 people aged between 16 and 83 years. The validity (verified in confirmatory factor analysis and in the analysis of correlations between the questionnaire’s scales and other measures of the five personality traits) and reliability (measured by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient) are satisfactory and make the questionnaire fit for use in scientific research.

The Polish Temperament Styles Questionnaire (PTSQ), derived from Student Style Questionnaire (SSQ) was developed to measure four bipolar temperament styles: extroverted versus introverted, practical versus imaginative, thinking versus feeling, and organized versus flexible. The study focuses on factorial validity and measurement invariance (configural, metric, and scalar) across gender and age groups using data from 1,022 students ages 8 to19. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supports the four factor model, and multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) supports measurement invariance for both age and gender groups.

Do the political values of the general public form a coherent system? What might be the source of coherence? We view political values as expressions, in the political domain, of more basic personal values. Basic personal values (e.g., security, achievement, benevolence, hedonism) are organized on a circular continuum that reflects their conflicting and compatible motivations. We theorize that this circular motivational structure also gives coherence to political values. We assess this theorizing with data from 15 countries, using eight core political values (e.g., free enterprise, law and order) and ten basic personal values. We specify the underlying basic values expected to promote or oppose each political value. We offer different hypotheses for the 12 non-communist and three post-communist countries studied, where the political context suggests different meanings of a basic or political value. Correlation and regression analyses support almost all hypotheses. Moreover, basic values account for substantially more variance in political values than age, gender, education, and income. Multidimensional scaling analyses demonstrate graphically how the circular motivational continuum of basic personal values structures relations among core political values. This study strengthens the assumption that individual differences in basic personal values play a critical role in political thought.

Determining whether people in certain countries score differently in measurements of interest or whether concepts relate differently to each other across nations can indisputably assist in testing theories and advancing our sociological knowledge. However, meaningful comparisons of means or relationships between constructs within and across nations require equivalent measurements of these constructs. This is especially true for subjective attributes such as values, attitudes, opinions, or behavior. In this review, we first discuss the concept of cross-group measurement equivalence, look at possible sources of nonequivalence, and suggest ways to prevent it. Next, we examine the social science methodological literature for ways to empirically test for measurement equivalence. Finally, we consider what may be done when equivalence is not supported by the data and conclude with a review of recent developments that offer exciting directions and solutions for future research in cross-national measurement equivalence assessment.

This study investigates the hierarchical structure of basic human values of Schwartz et al.’s (2012) refined value theory. Data were collected using a revised Portrait Values Questionnaire, which measures the 19 more narrowly defined values. 3,261 respondents from nine countries participated: Finland, Germany, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, and Turkey. Third-order confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the 19 refined values load on values belonging to the earlier catalog of values. Moreover, these values, together with the two new values introduced in the refined theory, load, in turn, on the theoretically postulated four higher-order values that form the third-order level of analysis. Findings support the proposition that the more narrowly defined values in the refined value theory are sub-dimensions of the more broadly defined values in the original theory of basic human values.

One of the most frequently used procedures for measurement invariance testing is the multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA). Muthén and Asparouhov recently proposed a new approach to test for approximate rather than exact measurement invariance using Bayesian MGCFA. Approximate measurement invariance permits small differences between parameters otherwise constrained to be equal in the classical exact approach. However, extant knowledge about how results of approximate measurement invariance tests compare to the results of the exact measurement invariance test is missing. We address this gap by comparing the results of exact and approximate cross-country measurement invariance tests of a revised scale to measure human values. Several studies that measured basic human values with the Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ) reported problems of measurement noninvariance (especially scalar noninvariance) across countries. Recently Schwartz et al. proposed a refined value theory and an instrument (PVQ-5X) to measure 19 more narrowly defined values. Cieciuch et al. tested its measurement invariance properties across eight countries and established exact scalar measurement invariance for 10 of the 19 values. The current study applied the approximate measurement invariance procedure on the same data and established approximate scalar measurement invariance even for all 19 values. Thus, the first conclusion is that the approximate approach provides more encouraging results for the usefulness of the scale for cross-cultural research, although this finding needs to be generalized and validated in future research using population data. The second conclusion is that the approximate measurement invariance is more likely than the exact approach to establish measurement invariance, although further simulation studies are needed to determine more precise recommendations about how large the permissible variance of the priors may be.

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The refined theory of basic human values (Schwartz et al., 2012) divides the circular continuum of values into 19 motivationally distinct values. Research with a new questionnaire discriminated these values in 10 countries and demonstrated the benefits of the finer distinctions. We ask, whether researchers can gain by applying the refined theory to the large repository of available data gathered with the 40-Item Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ40)? How many, if any, of the more refined values can be distinguished in PVQ40 data, and does this provide improved understanding of the topics studied? We addressed these questions with data from 13 countries on four continents (total N = 7,352). Theory-based multidimensional scaling and confirmatory factor analyses in each country revealed several more narrowly defined values in the PVQ data. Examples from 14 countries demonstrated that these refinements can increase predictive and explanatory power.

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the fundamental factors influencing the equity share in build-operate-transfer (BOT) investments in relation to the project risk profile.Design/methodology/approach – The relationships between risk factors and equity participation into the capital structure of a BOT contract are examined using regression analysis of a dataset of toll road projects.Findings – Results suggest that the inflation rate, the size of the investment, the construction period, the solidity of the vehicle company, and the organizational structure of the project are significant variables of the equity portion of financing.Practical implications – The analysis may support project promoters by providing better understanding of the factors that might facilitate high debt leverages and by providing lending institutions with valuable information to integrate the method of determining the appropriate debt resources to be injected into a BOT project.Originality/value – The paper contributes towards growing the body of knowledge regarding the way public-private partnership initiatives are carried over and helps refine the capital structures of BOT projects.

Although consumers increasingly use online communities for various activities, little is known about how participation in them affects people's decision-making strategies. Through a series of field and laboratory studies, the authors demonstrate that participation in an online community increases people's risk-seeking tendencies in their financial decisions and behaviors. The results reveal that participation in an online community leads consumers to believe that they will receive help or support from other members should difficulties arise. Such a perception leads online community participants to make riskier financial decisions than nonparticipants. The authors also discover a boundary condition to the effect: Online community members are more risk seeking only when they have relatively strong ties with other members; when ties are weak, they exhibit similar risk preferences as nonmembers.