Briana Anderson - Cornell University

Dependent Variables: Corporate Credibility and Endorser Credibility
27
To measure corporate credibility, the Grunig and Hon (1999) relationship
scale was chosen over the Newell and Goldsmith (2001) corporate credibility scale
because the Grunig/Hon scale worked better for a fictitious company as well as better
for the selling of a concept. The Newell/Goldsmith scale, on the other hand, fit better
for a known company selling a product. Specifically, the Grunig/Hon scale measures
a relationship (trust/integrity), which is more relevant to measuring perceptions related
to a company’s selling of a concept, i.e. corporate social responsibility. Additionally,
the Grunig/Hon scale was constructed around the idea that organizations create a
relationship with their public, which behaves similarly to interpersonal relationships
(Ledingham & Brunig, 2000). This idea fits better with the concept of public relations
(selling an idea) rather than advertising (selling a product). Additionally, because the
Newell/Goldsmith scale was focused on elements of expertise as well as
trustworthiness, this required that a respondent know something about the company.
Since this study used fictitious companies, the New/Goldsmith scale was not
appropriate.
The participants in this proposed study were asked to agree or disagree on a
10-point Likert scale with nine scale items related to corporate credibility. The scale
includes the following items of organizational credibility (Grunig & Hon, 1999):
1. This organization would treat people like me fairly.
2. If this organization makes an important decision, I know it will be concerned
about people like me.
3. This organization can be relied upon to keep its promises.
4. I believe that this organization takes the opinions of people like me into
account when making decisions.
5. I feel very confident about this organization’s skills.